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The mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance somewhere over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937 persists to the present day.  

Not far away is the wreckage of his U.S. Navy Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter, near the barrier islands known as the Outer Banks, my uncle Roy Len Lee’s remains lie at the bottom of the sea. He was one of thousands of Americans who left their families to fight for their country and perished in training.

Scientists and engineers are trying to use what they do know to create bat-inspired flying machines, but traits like bats' self-cambering stretchy wing skin, skeletal muscles and tiny hair sensors are proving difficult to replicate. 

Scientists and engineers are trying to use what they do know to create bat-inspired flying machines, but traits like bats' self-cambering stretchy wing skin, skeletal muscles and tiny hair sensors are proving difficult to replicate. 

There are a lot of different aircraft that fight wildfires, but today we're taking about a truly unique, purpose-built firefighting airplane: the Super Scooper. This plane skims the surface of a body of water, collects a shocking amount through tiny scoop ports, flies off, and dumps it on a wildfire. We talk to a pilot about what it's like to fly one.

There are a lot of different aircraft that fight wildfires, but today we're taking about a truly unique, purpose-built firefighting airplane: the Super Scooper. This plane skims the surface of a body of water, collects a shocking amount through tiny scoop ports, flies off, and dumps it on a wildfire. We talk to a pilot about what it's like to fly one.

Over the years the Museum's Conservation Unit has received grant funding from the National Collections Program to help care for our most vulnerable artifacts. These projects showcase the artistry and engineering innovations of early aviation while addressing unique treatment challenges posed by fragile materials and past repairs.

The Cold War story of the Nuclear Test Aircraft, the NB-36H, the world’s first flying nuclear reactor. 

A new National Air and Space museum gallery explores how American military aviation evolved, grew, and shaped our world in the years since World War II.

Aviation and space in the news.