All Stories

Every rock can tell us a story, once we know how to read it. On their return from the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin brought back 170 pounds of lunar rock and soil. The sample designated 15016 tells a story of how two visitors from another world happened to collect it.

We have a flair for the dramatic here at AirSpace (Who… US?!). And we’d be lying if we told you we don’t occasionally daydream about the end of the world. But, like, scientifically speaking. We’ve seen plenty of sci-fi depictions of what the end might look like, but what will actually happen when the Sun engulfs the Earth? And what does the “end of the universe” even mean? To dissect these grim questions, we’re diving into a sci-fi series that offers a lot of hopeful examples of humanity’s perseverance: "Doctor Who."

Space history curator Michael Neufeld tells the story of Gus Grissom's suborbital flight in July 1961 and the blown hatch that resulted in the sinking of his Mercury capsule.

Wally Funk is finally going to space. After being the youngest of the female pilots tested by Dr. Lovelace, Funk will become the oldest person to fly into space at age 82.

Welding and fabrication specialist Meghann Girard takes us through the way she combined contemporary technology with traditional metalworking techniques to fabricate missing parts from our Lincoln-Standard H.S.

Earth’s twin or Earth’s evil twin? It depends on who you ask. And no, we’re NOT talking about Mars (take a break from the news cycle, Ingenuity). We’re talking about the beautiful, enigmatic, and hot (VERY hot) VENUS. Not one but TWO NASA spacecraft are heading to Venus later this decade. 

What do archivists do when they’re not in the archives? Last summer, in addition to making digital collections available to researchers all over the world, National Air and Space Museum archivists Elizabeth Borja and Melissa Keiser experimented with historical recipes found in the Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Collection.

What do archivists do when they’re not in the archives? Last summer, in addition to making digital collections available to researchers all over the world, National Air and Space Museum archivists Elizabeth Borja and Melissa Keiser experimented with historical recipes found in the Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Collection.

The Museum’s Anzani A 2 was missing the cast aluminum intake elbows, rockers arms, and push rod assemblies on each cylinder. Fabrication specialists in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hanger endeavored to recreate these missing components so that the engine could be displayed in a more complete and accurate state.

Get a sneak peek at the first eight reimagined galleries that will open at the Museum in DC in late 2022.