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 11 - 20 of 110

February 23, 2023 AirSpace Season 7, Ep. 6: Drops From Jupiter Story | AirSpace Podcast

The Juno spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter almost didn’t have a camera, and boy would that have been a shame. On this episode of AirSpace, we unpack how JunoCam has contributed to science and completely changed the way we view this beautiful gas giant.

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November 18, 2022 A Milestone for Curiosity: 10 Years of Exploration in Gale Crater on Mars Story

The Curiosity rover reached a significant milestone on Mars this year. The rover has been exploring the Gale crater for 10 years. Read more on how Curiosity shows no signs of slowing down and the discoveries related to the past potential habitability of the Red Planet.

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August 09, 2022 Three Ways Satellites Help Us Understand Our Environment Story

Learn about three ways that satellites have led to a better understanding of how we affect our environment.

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July 14, 2022 How the Rocky Planets Got Their Shapes Story

Join us in taking a closer look at how Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars took shape.  

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July 14, 2022 Why Earth? Looking for Life on Other Worlds Story

There is no place like home—at least in our neighborhood.

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May 26, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 3: Here Comes The Sun Story | AirSpace Podcast

In 1859 the Sun threw a temper tantrum directed at Earth.  It spewed magnetized plasma into space, which made its way here and triggered effects that *literally* shocked telegraph operators (not to mention knocking down telegraph lines and causing aurora to be seen near the equator). If a geomagnetic storm of this size happened today, it could cause a widespread electrical and communications blackout. Events of that magnitude are rare but the Sun’s activity affects us all the time – from static on the radio to a diverted commercial flight or a wonky GPS app. The good news is scientists are monitoring the Sun to predict when and where effects will be felt. On today’s episode, we speak to experts from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center to learn how and why they stare at the Sun (for science!).

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May 11, 2022 AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 2: Ice Ice Baby Story | AirSpace Podcast

On today’s episode, we’re cheering for the fraternal twins of the outer solar system. You might know them as the Ice Giants, but really they’re big mush-balls: Uranus and Neptune. And like most siblings, these two planets have plenty in common: both discovered by telescope, both have ring and moon systems, and both were studied by Voyager 2. Scientists have learned a ton about Uranus and Neptune over the last few decades, but since these planets are hard to see and even harder to get to, many questions remain. It’s all about the coolest planets of the solar system today on AirSpace.

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March 22, 2022 You Do What? Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Unusual careers in the aviation and space with behind-the-scenes jobs at the National Air and Space Museum.

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February 10, 2022 AirSpace Revisited - Supermassive Black Hole Story | AirSpace Podcast

We’re hard at work on Season 6 (and a super special project coming in just a few weeks!!). But today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from last year. They’re incredibly dense, super cool, and mind-bendingly-mysterious -- BLACK HOLES! But how do you imagine – let alone study—the unseeable? And seriously—what happened at the end of “Interstellar?”

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January 04, 2022 Galactic Archaeology Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Astronomers are deciphering the violent history of the Milky Way, one star at a time.

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