Space & Aviation

A team of explorers used an autonomous underwater vehicle to locate the remains of the Pan American ‘Clipper Endeavor’ about five miles off the coast of Puerto Rico.

The history of galaxy formation is, in many ways, the story of diffuse cosmic gas being transformed into galactic stars.

While the celestial body seems to host three features that could make a livable environment—an atmosphere, a rocky composition & a temperature that could allow liquid water to sit on the surface—researchers have not currently detected any residents.

Scientists confirmed the astronomer’s suspicions with an expedition to the site in Quebec. The discovery offers a rare case of a reported new crater turning out to be real.

The Viking project became my introduction to how spacecraft data are crucial for scientists to understand the geologic history of other planets and moons.

The scrapbook I kept about the Viking mission and everything related to space exploration is here with me now in my office at the National Air and Space Museum.

It has been 50 years since the landing of Viking 1 on Mars.  On July 20, 1976, Viking 1 touched down on the Red Planet, and became the first robotic spacecraft to successfully carry out a scientific mission on the Martian surface.