All Stories

To tell the story of the first American in space, the Museum has conserved and digitized the Mercury suit Alan Shepard wore during the first American human spaceflight in 1961. The suit will be displayed in the new Destination Moon exhibition.

Author Michael W. Hankins interview.

When metal was in short supply, the de Havilland Mosquito prevailed without it.

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.

On the scale of thrilling aviation activities, hot air balloon rides normally rank pretty low. But how would you feel if one balloon ride was your ticket to a better life? AND what if you had to not only pilot the balloon yourself, but build it from scratch, in secret? What started with a magazine article about the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta ended with a thrilling aerial escape from East Germany in 1979. On this episode of AirSpace, we hear what it was like from someone who lived it firsthand. And we talk to a modern-day balloonist to learn just how difficult it is to create your own air-worthy balloon.

The lunar roving vehicle (LRV), gave Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17 astronauts the ability to travel far distances and haul equipment and samples with ease. Read about the conservation treatment of the qualification test unit LRV, used for testing to ensure that the rovers for the Apollo missions functioned properly while on the Moon.

When researching QueerSpace, we repeatedly saw creators blending themes of space and themes of queerness in their art. Many of these artists use their art to envision new futures. Futurist thinking uses the experience of the past and present to contextualize and reimagine what the future could be, often creating a future that’s more equitable and radically different than what we have now.

To tell the story of the Space Age, the new RTX Living in the Space Age exhibition will share how the Space Age impacts the lives of people worldwide, through the stories of people and objects which brought it about. Learn more about the upcoming reimagined gallery.

Recently an old trophy with a standing figure of the Roman god Mercury on top was treated by our Conservation Unit. Discover the story behind it and learn about its conservation treatment.

Despite being known as a leader in terms of gender and racial integration, it wasn't until 2017 that the first openly gay characters were introduced in a Star Trek television show. We talk to curator Margaret Weitekamp about Star Trek's history with LGBTQ+ stories and characters.