Past Events

Exploring Space Lectures

Aside from the meteorites that fall to Earth haphazardly, direct analysis of the materials of the solar system has required explorers–both human and robotic–to collect and return samples from the Moon, comets, asteroids, and one day other planets. The four lectures in this year’s series will spotlight the sample return missions that have helped us better understand the origin and evolution of the Earth and other planets.

This lecture series is made possible by the generous support of Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, and United Launch Alliance. 

Showing 1-10 of 10

Lecture More Things in the Heavens: Infrared Exploration with the Spitzer Space Telescope Presented Online

Michael Werner, the Spitzer Project Scientist for over 30 years, discusses Spitzer’s technical innovations and the scientific advances they enabled.
Lecture Seeing the Unseeable: Capturing an Image of a Black Hole Presented Online

Sheperd Doeleman, founding director of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, talks about how his team accomplished the historic achievement of imaging a black hole.
Lecture POSTPONED When Did the Universe Begin? National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

A century ago there was a "Great Debate" among astronomers if galaxies exist. Today, a new debate has arisen: How old is the Universe? Join Wendy Freedman, John and Marion Sullivan University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, as she explores the options in this newest and most fascinating question.  
Lecture The Sun in a New Light National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

Mark Cheung, senior staff physicist at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, will discuss how NASA’s fleet of science missions are revealing the mysteries of the Sun.
Lecture The Future of Lunar Exploration National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

In this lecture, NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green will discuss NASA’s future plans for going to the Moon to stay and then traveling on to Mars and how the Moon provides a natural, yet challenging, environment for our next-generation robotic and human explorers. 

 

Tickets are free but required.
Lecture Apollo Landing Sites Revisited: Modern Datasets at Familiar Locales National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

In this lecture, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) scientist Noah Petro shares perspectives on the Apollo landing sites and sheds new light on future explorations.

 

Tickets are free but required.
Lecture The New Moon National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

In this lecture, planetary scientist Brett Denevi will explore revolutionary new views of both the Moon’s ancient history and how its surface continues to change today. Tickets are free but required.
Lecture Apollo Legacy National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

In this lecture, Farouk El-Baz will describe his experiences as an eyewitness to the management, planning, and implementation of the Apollo program. Tickets are free but required.
Lecture The Historical Quest to See to the End of the Universe Or Its Beginning National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

In this lecture, Robert Smith, professor of history at the University of Alberta, will examine how astronomers in the past set out to address fundamental questions about the universe. Tickets are free but required.
Lecture The Hubble Space Telescope: Opening Cosmic Doors for JWST National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

In this lecture, Jennifer Wiseman, Hubble Space Telescope senior project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, will highlight Hubble’s newest incredible observations of stars, distant galaxies, and even planets outside our solar system. Tickets are free but required.