Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired. 

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November 14, 2024 AirSpace Revisited: Journey to the Past Story | AirSpace Podcast

As we wait for season TEN (!!!) we're looking back on this season six favorite. Every day, satellites orbit Earth taking pictures. These images are used for everything from intelligence to weather prediction and even today’s topic – archaeology. 

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July 19, 2024 Dr. Edward C. Stone's Contributions to Aerospace Story

Ed Stone’s long and distinguished career in space science connects to many of the planetary exploration objects displayed in the galleries at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. That so many of the Museum’s objects have connections to his professional achievements illustrates Stone’s significant legacy in space science and exploration.

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March 20, 2024 Red Rovers Story | Air & Space Quarterly

For twenty years Mars Rovers and Orbiters have worked to unlock the secrets of the Red Planet. This excerpt from curator Matt Shindell's book For The Love of Mars tells the tale.

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March 20, 2024 The Little Copter That Could Story | Air & Space Quarterly

The Ingenuity prototype will join other robotic explorers on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

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December 14, 2023 Flying the Martian Skies Story

The Museum has acquired from JPL the prototype Ingenuity helicopter that achieved the first successful free flight under simulated Martian conditions. A series of prototypes, engineering, and flight models to learn and better understand design challenges and work through solutions was required before flight on another planet could be possible.

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December 11, 2023 AirSpace Season 8, Episode 6: These Are the Droids We’re Working With Story | AirSpace Podcast

In a lot of political and financial circles space exploration is often talked about in terms of human space exploration VERSUS robotic space travel. But most scientists and engineers who work on space missions think this question is better answered with a "yes, and."

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February 23, 2023 AirSpace Season 7, Ep. 6: Drops From Jupiter Story | AirSpace Podcast

The Juno spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter almost didn’t have a camera, and boy would that have been a shame. On this episode of AirSpace, we unpack how JunoCam has contributed to science and completely changed the way we view this beautiful gas giant.

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November 18, 2022 A Milestone for Curiosity: 10 Years of Exploration in Gale Crater on Mars Story

The Curiosity rover reached a significant milestone on Mars this year. The rover has been exploring the Gale crater for 10 years. Read more on how Curiosity shows no signs of slowing down and the discoveries related to the past potential habitability of the Red Planet.

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July 14, 2022 Exploring the Red Planet with Robots Story

Take a look back with us at the landers, rovers, and helicopter that have explored Mars.

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July 14, 2022 4 Ways We Have Explored Our Planets Story

Lean about four different ways we explore and research the planets in our Solar System.

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