All Stories

Letters home from the front reveal the personal side of wars.  On Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, marking the end of World War I, many American soldiers serving abroad were instructed to write victory letters to their fathers. As we move towards the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of Armistice Day, a pair of victory letters from France and Connecticut illustrate a different understanding between home and the front, armistice and peace. 

Other planets in our solar system experience seasons, too. On Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, seasons last an average of 40 years, complete with nitrogen snow. Here’s how Triton’s summer solstice compares to Earth’s.

June of this year marks the 40^th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon. At the time of Charon’s discovery, scientists weren’t even looking for it.

Today is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Here are three things you might not know about the longest day of the year.

Parker Solar Probe's mission to figure out three strange things that the Sun does.

On the 35th anniversary of Sally Ride's historic trip to space, a look at other groundbreaking women in aerospace.

While Bessie Coleman never realized her dream of opening a flight school for African American pilots, her legacy as the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license has impacted and inspired flight students for decades.

Space is a mess. At this moment, there are literally thousands of human-made objects cluttering up Earth orbit.  

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has the world’s premier collection of aviation and space artifacts. Less well-known is that the museum also has an outstanding collection of aerospace models.

When a team accomplishes what, at times, seemed impossible, it becomes a victory for all—an entire city or country, or all humankind. We see this in milestones throughout aviation history, and we celebrate those shared victories throughout our Museum. And when a sports team brings a championship to a city that hasn’t seen one in 25 years, the whole city comes out to celebrate.