Bilbo Baggins journeyed many places in Middle-Earth, but it turns out his quest extends to other planets, too.

During the conservation of the Museum's Ranger 7 spacecraft, our conservator and space history curator uncovered some unexpected details about the object. 

Shaq does shark week. Ronda Rousey against a bull shark. Bear Grylls faces off with … yes … a shark. Shark Week is full of celebrities having close encounters with one of the ocean’s greatest predators, but did you know early astronauts were also prepared for their own tussle with the fearsome fish?

On July 20, 1969, a whole nation tuned in to see astronaut Neil Armstrong take one small step on the surface of the Moon, ushering in a new era of space exploration. But how did Armstrong and the Apollo 11 astronauts get to the Moon in the first place?

Is the American flag backwards on the side of Space Shuttle Discovery? No, the “backwards” flag is actually part of the US Flag Code.

Other planets in our solar system experience seasons, too. On Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, seasons last an average of 40 years, complete with nitrogen snow. Here’s how Triton’s summer solstice compares to Earth’s.

June of this year marks the 40th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon. At the time of Charon’s discovery, scientists weren’t even looking for it.

Today is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Here are three things you might not know about the longest day of the year.