Press Releases

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum welcomes two new acquisitions to the collection⸺the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) Pathfinder and Parker Solar Probe model. The Pathfinder is a full-scale engineering model used as the primary test article for the flown Webb spacecraft, which launched Dec. 25, 2021. The Parker Solar Probe is a full-scale model of the flown spacecraft whose mission is to study solar wind. Both acquisitions were transferred by NASA and are on display at the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is celebrating 50 years since the building in Washington, D.C., opened to the public and will commemorate this milestone throughout 2026. The museum opened July 1, 1976, as a gift to the nation for the U.S. bicentennial. Five new galleries will open to the public on the museum’s 50th anniversary, July 1, and in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary. The remaining two renovated galleries will open in the fall, which will complete the multi-year project. Programming will also take place throughout the year to celebrate 50 years, including a film series, lectures, special merchandise and digital offerings.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will award its 2026 Michael Collins Trophy to Farouk El-Baz for Lifetime Achievement, and the crew of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test—astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore—will receive it for Current Achievement. These annual awards will be presented to this year’s recipients at a ceremony March 26 at the museum’s building in Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will open its newly renovated Flight and the Arts Center July 1. The gallery, which is part of the museum’s multi-year transformation, will open with the inaugural exhibitions “The Ascent of Rauschenberg: Reinventing the Art of Flight” and “The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight” on the 50th anniversary of its flagship building in Washington, D.C. The exhibition focused on the art of Robert Rauschenberg will open during the centennial celebration of the artist’s birth.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will host its annual “Air & Scare” family day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. At this year’s event, visitors will explore the spooky side of air and space with candy stations and science activities for all ages inside the museum and outdoors. Attendees will be required to reserve free timed tickets for the outdoor portion of the event in advance. Tickets are not required for the indoor Air & Scare activities or for touring the exhibits.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has announced the expansion of its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. This will be the first major construction and physical change to the center’s public areas since its opening in 2003. Additional display space will be added to the north end of the Boeing Aviation Hangar, increasing its size by 20%. The additional 44,000 square feet of space will allow the museum to bring artifacts out of storage and display new acquisitions. Construction is anticipated to be complete at the end of 2028, at which point the museum will begin to move artifacts into this new space. Like the rest of the center, the expansion will be privately funded.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum welcomes a McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle, the first aircraft of its kind to be accessioned into the Smithsonian collection. The F-15C Eagle is one of the most historically significant fighter planes of the post-World War II period. It arrived at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Aug. 13 and will go on display there in the coming weeks.  

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum welcomes the Wisk Gen 3 prototype electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft for a temporary display of innovations in the emerging field of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). 

A new study co-led by the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the University of Maryland reveals that surface changes near the location of the Apollo 17 landing site, in the form of landslides and boulders rolling down slopes, resulted from strong moonquakes. The paper, published in Science Advances, shows the possibility that future moonquakes could cause new thrust faults, the type of faults that produce escarpments, to form on the surface of the moon, and existing fault scarps to grow. These moonquakes could pose a potential hazard to exploration and long-term outposts and infrastructure on the moon.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will open five new galleries, the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater and the museum’s redesigned entrance on Jefferson Drive along the National Mall Monday, July 28.