Technology

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin works at the deployed Passive Seismic Experiment Package on July 20, 1969. To the left of the United States flag in the background is the lunar surface television camera.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

The Best Books About the Apollo Program and Landing on the Moon

From astronaut autobiographies to definitive accounts from leading historians, these are the must reads about the landmark mission

A prototype floating dairy farm in Rotterdam, Netherlands is home to 35 dairy cows. In the future, similar platforms will be set up nearby to grow vegetables and farm eggs.

Will Cities of the Future Have Floating Farms?

In the Netherlands, an experimental floating dairy farm promises to reduce emissions and increase food security

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh discovered a new form of flight in dandelion seeds.

Five Scientific Findings That Could Lead to New Inventions

From cat tongues to dandelions seeds, engineers often look in peculiar places for inspiration

A Saturn V rocket being rolled out to the launch pad for Apollo 10.

Future of Space Exploration

Apollo Engineers Discuss What It Took to Land on the Moon

The people who bent metal and built spaceships recall the culture and leadership that made it possible to send humans to the lunar surface

Detail from a promotional poster for Thunderball showing James Bond escaping with the help of a jet pack.

In Battles of Man Versus Machine, James Bond Always Wins

We love the suave character because he soothes our anxieties about the power of humans in an increasingly technological world

Racer Danny Thompson’s view from inside the cockpit of the Challenger 2 during a run at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August 2016. A HANS (Head and Neck Support) safety device immobilizes his head, so the side windows are only peripherally visible from his vantage point.

Danny Thompson's Blazing Nitromethane-Fueled Pursuit of Racing Glory

An American tale of speed demons, murder and a son's attempt to complete his father's unfinished legacy

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

The author likes to think the lunar rover's design was informed in part by his father's experience retooling the family station wagon.

From the Family Station Wagon to the Apollo Lunar Rover, My Dad's Engineering Talent Had No Limits

Stricken with polio as an adult, he retired from the military and joined NASA's ingenious design team

At the apex of the Walkman craze, 1987 to ’97, the number of people who reported that they walked for exercise rose by 30 percent.

The Walkman's Invention 40 Years Ago Launched a Cultural Revolution

In 1979, the new device forever changed the way we listened to music

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's annual fireworks report, there were about 5,600 fireworks-related injuries between June 22 and July 22 of last year.

Seven Inventions for a Safer Fourth of July

From fireworks shields to seat belts, these inventions throughout history have made summer fun less risky

Introduced in 1959, the Xerox 914 could make 100,000 copies per month. The Smithsonian received this machine in 1985.

How Xerox's Intellectual Property Prevented Anyone From Copying Its Copiers

The company used patents and trademarks to develop a line of machines based on inventor Chester Carlson's 'electrophotography'

The “cry language recognition algorithm” was trained on recordings of baby cries taken from a hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

A Translator for Baby Cries? Yes, Please

Researchers have developed an algorithm to identify cries that signal pain or sickness

Commuters ride up escalators at the Dupont Circle Metro Station in Washington, D.C.

How the Escalator Forever Changed Our Sense of Space

Sure, the 19th-century invention transformed shopping. But it also revolutionized how we think about the built environment

As women entered through the “Ladies” side of a turnstile, Lenna Winslow’s “Voting Machine” concealed ballot items on which they could not vote.

The Voting Machine That Displayed Different Ballots Based on Your Sex

In an era of partial suffrage, these inventions helped women cast their votes

Though photons do not have mass, they do transfer momentum when they reflect off a reflective space sail, giving it a slight boost.

Future of Space Exploration

LightSail 2 Launches to Space to Soar on the Power of Sunshine

The Planetary Society's second solar sail will attempt to use sunlight to fly through space

The new app allows users to walk on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Education During Coronavirus

The Augmented Reality App That Lets You Experience the Moon Landing

Tied to a new series from the Smithsonian Channel, the app is the closest you can get to being on the moon without time-traveling to 1969

The Super Soaker was the top-selling toy in the world in 1992.

The Accidental Invention of the Super Soaker

A leak in a heat pump gave rocket scientist Lonnie Johnson the idea for his powerful squirt gun

Every year its manufacturer, 3M, sells enough of it to circle Earth 165 times.

How the Invention of Scotch Tape Led to a Revolution in How Companies Managed Employees

College dropout Richard Drew became an icon of 20th century innovation, inventing cellophane tape, masking tape and more

Women compare A.J. Freiman shoes.

'Vis-O-Matic' Was the 1950s Version of Online Shopping

A Canadian department store tried to revolutionize buying when it opened a shop with booths and screens for ordering merchandise

The robot is a bit slow moving at about 1.5 body lengths per minute. But the new design shows promise for future hybrid systems.

Engineers Built a Robotic Lionfish With an Energetic Bloodstream

The robo-fish pumps energy-packed liquid through vein-like tubes to move its fins and swim for hours

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