The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day with a full day of activities and programs Thursday, June 6, at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Museum experts will give an aeronautical perspective of the Allied invasion of Normandy, which gave them the foothold they needed to defeat Nazi Germany the following year. These talks and hands-on activities will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The National Air and Space Museum has announced its latest commemorative activity, Race to the Moon, as part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. Apollo 11 was the collective achievement of 400,000 individuals working towards a common goal. To celebrate this shared experience, the museum is challenging a new generation. Race to the Moon is a 50-day virtual race on the social fitness app Strava that will challenge participants to run 50 miles in 50 days. The race starts June 1 and ends July 20.

The National Air and Space Museum received an $11 million gift from Allan and Shelley Holt made through The Hillside Foundation to support the creation of a new gallery, part of the dramatic transformation of the museum’s building on the National Mall. The “Allan and Shelley Holt Innovations Gallery” will be a dynamic space that explores how new inventions shape aviation and space exploration in this century and the next. 

The National Air and Space Museum has announced Apollo at the Park, an exciting program that will display full-sized statues of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit in 15 Major League ballparks across the country, as part of the museum’s nationwide celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. America’s national pastime meets history’s greatest adventure June 4 when the first statue will be unveiled at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The other 14 suits will appear in ballparks soon after.

Thousands of young cliff-like, fault scarps detected in images taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) are evidence of a shrinking moon and recently active lunar faults. But just how recently these faults were active was not known.

The National Air and Space Museum will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing with a five-day celebration at the museum and on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. From July 16, exactly 50 years from the launch of Apollo 11, to July 20, the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the moon, visitors can take part in celebrating this momentous milestone in history. A variety of educational and commemorative activities will take place throughout the week. Regular updates will be posted to the museum’s website.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will award its 2019 Trophy to Gen. Charles F. “Charlie” Bolden for Lifetime Achievement. In the category of Current Achievement, the Trophy will be awarded to the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC). The recipients will receive their awards March 26 at a black-tie dinner in Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to launch their newest interactive online exhibit, “Once Upon A Try,” which pays tribute to the stories of humanity’s greatest inventions and discoveries. The project showcases unsung heroes of invention, extraordinary stories behind ordinary objects and stories behind world-changing inventions.