Air & Space Magazine | Smithsonian Magazine

Team HAKUTO’s two robotic members, Tetris and Moonraker, get a workout.

Japan’s Co-Op Lunar Mission

Team HAKUTO aims for the moon, and something even more ambitious—opening the space business to everyone.

November 13, 2015

Another Way to Land on the Moon

It’s difficult and expensive to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon, so why bother?

November 12, 2015

SETI: Shortcut or Longshot?

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is improving, yes, but don’t give up on other astrobiological investigations just yet.

November 10, 2015

Don't Look Down

A U.S. Air Force search-and-rescue training mission aboard a UH-N1 Iroquois.

November 9, 2015

Artist's Drive, Mars

This photo by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera shows the lower slope of Mount Sharp, a valley called Artist's Drive.

November 6, 2015

James Bond has a rough ride in a BN-2 Islander in the newest flick, SPECTRE, which opens in theaters November 6.

The Airplanes of James Bond

The definitive list of every flying machine that appears in the 007 oeuvre.

November 5, 2015

All X-ray backscatter machines were removed from U.S. airports by June 2013.

Airport Security: “Disappointing and Troubling”

A Congressional hearing highlights problems with TSA screeners. At least the X-ray machines are safe.

November 4, 2015

Puma Launch

Marines working with the U.S. Coast Guard launch an RQ-20A Puma from a lake in North Carolina to show how the UAVs can be used aboard small watercraft.

November 4, 2015

China Rolls Out New Passenger Jet to Compete With Boeing and Airbus

The Comac C919 is unveiled to fanfare, but it’s a very ambitious gamble.

November 3, 2015

Possible future: Artist’s conception of a vehicle at the Mars surface station, sometime in the 2030s.

Human Mars Mission a “Go” For 2035

NASA takes the first step in a historic journey.

November 2, 2015

The International Space Station's robotic arm grabs JAXA's HTV-5 cargo ship, called Kounotori, filled with supplies and experiments. It stayed docked to the station for a few weeks before being refilled with garbage and sent to burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

November 2, 2015

Herculean Fireworks

October 30, 2015

Artist's concept of early Earth, when things were still hellishly hot.

Life on Earth Is 100 Million Years Older Than We Thought

New evidence points to an origin 4.1 billion years ago.

October 28, 2015

Wright Whirlwind

October 28, 2015

The Long Range Strike Bomber will join the B-2 (above) in the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet.

Northrop Grumman Will Make the Next Stealth Bomber

The 'bomber of the future' still awash in secrecy

October 27, 2015

One of the Museum's most popular models, this replica of the Johnson Monoplane was built in 1959 by Julius and Harry Johnson—who designed and built the original aircraft in 1910.

You Think Your Model Airplane Collection is Big? The Smithsonian Has More Than 4,000

Tiny treasures at the National Air and Space Museum