Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired. 

Showing 71 - 80 of 319

January 22, 2021 Mars Project: Wernher von Braun as a Science-Fiction Writer Story

Wernher von Braun was a superb engineering manager, an excellent pilot, and a decent pianist. In the U.S., he became a national celebrity while speaking and writing about spaceflight. But we don’t think him as a science-fiction writer.

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January 19, 2021 Voyages to Mars: Searching Story | Voyages to Mars

The search for life is a pillar of Mars exploration. But our search isn’t only confined to the planets of our solar system. Radio telescopes search for signals of intelligent life from far away planets, orbiting other stars. In his story, “The Great Silence,” science fiction author Ted Chiang features the Arecibo telescope as he considers the significance of the animal life that surrounds it.

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December 31, 2020 Celebrating the Holidays with Arthur C. Clarke Story | From the Archives

As I have been scanning the correspondence that science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke received over his lifetime, a constant staple of correspondence always crops up near the end of a year. These being the abundant number of Christmas cards Clarke would get around the holidays.

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December 30, 2020 Wonder Woman and the Smithsonian Story

Explore the history of Wonder Woman and the Smithsonian, including how Wonder Woman 1984 was filmed at three Smithsonian museums.

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December 24, 2020 AirSpace Season 3|Ep.12
Never Surrender
Story | AirSpace Podcast

It’s safe to say that the AirSpace pod loves Galaxy Quest, but doesn’t everyone!? It has it all: sci-fi, action, and comedy, an underdog who saves the day, and feel good story with space aliens! For the Trekkies among us, it’s an unswerving love letter to the importance of fans in any successful franchise. In the final episode of season 3, Emily, Matt, and Nick discuss why this is the movie to watch with your family this holiday season.

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December 24, 2020 Yes, NORAD Says There is a Santa Claus Story

How did a misdialed phone number lead to a holiday tradition.

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December 15, 2020 AirSpace Presents
Voyages to Mars: Dreaming
Story | Voyages to Mars

Interplanetary road trips take a WHILE. So for this episode of Voyages to Mars, while we cruise onward towards the Red Planet, we’re listening to some poetry that pays tribute to long duration space travel.

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December 10, 2020 AirSpace Season 3|Ep.11
Blinded by the Light
Story | AirSpace Podcast

Most of us live in places that give us a less than ideal view of the stars because of light pollution from our cities and suburbs. But keeping our skies dark is important for so many reasons – for nocturnal animals, for science and astronomy, and for cultural traditions around the world.

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December 08, 2020 Remembering Chuck Yeager, a Pilot with the Right Stuff Story

The greatest pilot of the Greatest Generation has passed. Seventy-nine years to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, famed test pilot, World War II ace, and the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound, Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager, died at the age of 97.

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November 25, 2020 My Favorite Classic Star Trek Episode Story

I became enamored of Star Trek back in the early 1970s, when it went into syndication after completing its three-year run on NBC in 1969. Many fans agree that the 1967-68 season produced some of the best episodes of the series, yet contrary to the opinion of most, I believe The Doomsday Machine is the best of them all.

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