Technology & Space

Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams and other members of the SCLC Poor People's Campaign march through the lunar lander exhibit at Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Apollo 11.

Smithsonian Voices

How Space Exploration and the Fight For Equal Rights Clashed Then and Now

Smithsonian curator Margaret Weitekamp reflects on the historic parallel between 2020 and 1969

Jupiter's moon Europa may have the ingredients necessary for hosting life: liquid water, an energy source and organic compounds.

We’re Better Equipped to Find Extraterrestrial Life Now Than Ever Before

Astronomers have more places to look for signs of intelligent life and more advanced tools to find it

Captain Edward J. Dwight, Jr., the first African American selected as a potential astronaut, looks over a model of Titan rockets in November 1963.

Ed Dwight Was Going to Be the First African American in Space. Until He Wasn't

The Kennedy administration sought a diverse face to the space program, but for reasons unknown, the pilot was kept from reaching the stars

The central region of our Milky Way is a bustling galactic downtown with a supermassive black hole at its hub.

Chandra Telescope Observes Two Decades of Turning Theory Into Reality

A new book, 'Light From the Void,' showcases the telescope’s images of nebulas, supernovae, supermassive black holes and more

In the image captured by Cassini, the rings are illuminated both by direct sunlight and by light reflected off Saturn's cloud tops.

Saturn Could Lose Its Rings in Less Than 100 Million Years

Recent discoveries suggest that the planet's distinctive feature may be gone in the cosmic blink of an eye

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

How Neil Armstrong Trained to Land the Lunar Module

To prepare him for landing the lunar module, Neil Armstrong practiced on a training vehicle right here on Earth

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Future of Space Exploration

Interactive Map Shows All 21 Successful Moon Landings

Humans have walked on the moon six times, and robotic probes have been touching down on the lunar surface for decades—but there is still much to explore

NASA Mission Control during the Apollo 11 moonwalk, with the live broadcast from the lunar surface on the screen.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

A Wind Storm in Australia Nearly Interrupted the Moon Landing Broadcast

As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, radio telescope operators in New South Wales scrambled to receive the live video

Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, July 24, 1969

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

How Neil, Buzz and Mike Got Their Workouts in on Their Way to the Moon and Back

To counter the effects of weightlessness, NASA equipped Apollo 11 with an Exer-Genie for isometric exercises

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Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

We Chose to Go to the Moon

A collection of stories to celebrate the semicentennial of the Apollo 11 mission

This lunar extravehicular visor assembly, photographed by Cade Martin at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar- Hazy Center, was worn by Neil Armstrong on the Moon in July 1969. Armstrong’s helmet visors were designed to protect against hazards, from micrometeoroids to infrared light.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

What You Didn't Know About the Apollo 11 Mission

From JFK's real motives to the Soviets' secret plot to land on the Moon at the same time, a new behind-the-scenes view of an unlikely triumph 50 years ago

The Smithsonian has completed its multi-year conservation project of the Neil Armstrong spacesuit, digitizing the historic Apollo artifact so that soon authentically realized duplicates can be downloaded for study and appreciation.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

In Celebration of 50 Years Since the Moon Landing, Neil Armstrong's Spacesuit Set to Return to Public View

Duplicates of the 3D scanned historic Apollo artifact will also tour Major League ballparks this summer

An artist's concept of the Beresheet lunar lander on the moon.

Israel's Private Lunar Lander Blasts Off for the Moon

The Israeli spacecraft Beresheet will gradually raise its orbit to reach the moon, landing after about a month and a half of flight

An artist's concept of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity superimposed on a photo of Victoria Crater, taken by the rover.

How NASA's Opportunity Rover Made Mars Part of Earth

After more than 15 years exploring the surface of Mars, the Opportunity rover has finally roved its last leg

Visitors can still see iconic aircraft, like the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis (right) and Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis in the centralized “Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall.”

National Air and Space Museum Says Pardon Our Renovation, but Come Anyway

In need of a new facade, the museum undergoes top-to-bottom change, bringing state-of-the-art technology and 21st century stories into its exhibitions

Though the technological challenges for a future Mars mission are considerable, a proposal to "live off the land" using resources on the Red Planet might dramatically simplify exploration plans.

A Smithsonian Researcher Reflects on What It Will Take to Land Humans on Mars

In a new book on space exploration, Smithsonian curator emeritus Roger D. Launius predicts boots on the Red Planet ground by the 2030s

1960s science fiction illustration of lunar exploration.

The Missions to the Moon That Never Left the Drawing Board

From pioneers of science fiction to the height of the space race, these are the ideas for lunar flight that never launched

Beneath the Space Window at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where a seven-gram sample of moon rock is incorporated into the design, a sold-out crowd gathered this week for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8.

NASA Won’t Be Going ‘Back’ to the Moon—It Wants to Go Beyond It

At a 50th-anniversary event for Apollo 8, NASA’s Jim Bridenstine envisioned the moon’s potential for future space exploration

Clean and compelling, Spacewar! pitted two player-controlled ships against one another and rewarded superior strategists. The PDP-1 lacked the memory to accommodate AI opponents.

How the First Popular Video Game Kicked Off Generations of Virtual Adventure

A simple contest of sci-fi strategy, ‘Spacewar!’ ushered in what is now a 140 billion dollar industry

An artist's rendering of the small rover that will be deployed on the far side of the Moon as part of the Chang'e-4 mission.

China Launches First Mission to Land on the Far Side of the Moon

Not glimpsed by humanity until 1959, the surface of the far side of the Moon has never been visited before

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