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 21 - 30 of 143

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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June 16, 2022 Summer 2022 - Up To Speed Story | Air & Space Quarterly

What's new in aviation and space

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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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April 30, 2022 Ingenuity’s First Year on the Surface of Mars Story

Analogous to the Wright brothers on December 17, 1903, the first flights of Ingenuity clearly demonstrated that a powered machine could fly under control in the thin Martian atmosphere. Read about how the Mars Helicopter has exceeded expectations and what it has accomplished on the surface of the Red Planet for an entire year.

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March 22, 2022 Attack of The Martian Dust Storms Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Mars massive dust storms that periodically engulf and continue to puzzle planetary scientists—and pose threats to future expeditions. NASA’s beloved solar-powered rover, Opportunity, was killed in the line of duty when a 2018 dust storm blotted out the sun.  Individual dust particles on Mars are very small and slightly electrostatic, so they stick to the surfaces they contact like Styrofoam packing peanuts. As such, the dust can potentially gum up delicate machinery and space suits.

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March 14, 2022 Up To Speed: Spring 2022 Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Meet Wally Funk and The Mars Ingenuity Team, the recipients of the Michael Collins Trophy. Soar to new heights with an air taxi eVTOL prototype and test a supersonic aircraft.

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February 18, 2022 One Year of Perseverance Story

It has been one year since we all heard words “touchdown confirmed” spoken by Swati Mohan, confirming that the Perseverance rover had successfully landed on Mars. Let’s take a look at some of the major milestones accomplished over the past year.

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January 04, 2022 Up To Speed: Winter 2022 Story | Air & Space Quarterly

Remembering Dale Snodgrass, see the sun through a new lens, become a space scientist, and more!

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October 19, 2021 Six Months of Ingenuity Story

The first six months of testing the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has surpassed expectations to say the least. Ginny has shown us that flight on the Red Planet is not only possible, but it may even be considered in future planetary endeavors. Explore six things we learned from the tiny Mars flyer in the first six months.

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September 14, 2021 Mercury’s Mantle Goes with the Flow Story

Mercury is a one-plate planet, and as the smallest of the terrestrial planets of our solar system, it has a lot to teach us about how small rocky planets evolve. Read about a perspective of Mercury has that been determined from images and data returned by spacecrafts Mariner 10 and MESSENGER.

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