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  • National Air and Space Museum in DC
  • Udvar-Hazy Center in VA
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View of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center tower at sunset

One museum, two locations

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.

What's On

What's On

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  • IMAX and Planetarium
Apollo 11: Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

At the museum and online

Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually.

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Explore

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space shuttle launch

Dive deep into air and space

Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content.

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Learn

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Women in Aviation and Space Family Day

For teachers and parents

Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are.

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Bob Hoover Gives an Air Show Performance

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Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts.

Meridiani Planum as seen by the Opportunity rover

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  1. Home
  2. Multimedia Gallery
  3. Meridiani Planum As Seen By The Opportunity Rover
  • An area of sand dune plains on Mars, with tracks from Opportunity rover's path visible.
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    What lies beneath the Opportunity rover? Much of the plains of Meridiani Planum as seen by the Opportunity rover are flat, featureless, and covered by sand dunes.  In May 2005, while the Mars Express spacecraft orbited high above, the Opportunity rover on route to Endurance crater and driving through “Purgatoy Dune” got stuck in the deep sand for more than a month. The MARSIS radar sounder has probed deep below the surface of Meridiani Planum revealing deposits of windblown sand are as much as 1,000 meters (about 3,280 feet) thick in some areas.  

  • An area of sand dune plains on Mars, with tracks from Opportunity rover's path visible.

Credit:

<p>NASA/JPL/Cornell</p>

Source:

NASA/JPL/Cornell

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National Air and Space Museum

6th St. and Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20560

202-633-2214

Open daily
10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Free Timed-Entry Passes
Required

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151

703-572-4118

Open daily
10:00 am - 5:30 pm
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