Space & Aviation
Explore Space & Aviation across the Smithsonian through stories, events, and exhibitions. Use the filters to browse by format, then bookmark events and exhibitions to keep track of what you want to visit or attend.
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Scientists using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) directly measured the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the “Lighthouse” Nebula, for the first time.
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum joins the aviation and spaceflight communities in mourning the loss of Wally Funk, who was a remarkable pilot, flight instructor, Air Safety Investigator, and record-setting commercial astronaut.
The National Air and Space Museum’s building in downtown Washington DC just turned 50 years old, but the Museum’s story began long before the ribbon-cutting in 1976. In this episode, we’re going way back in time for some deep Air and Space lore.
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A flyby conducted by the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 uncovered the asteroid’s strange shape. Data gathered by the probe will also help defend the planet against potentially threatening space rocks.
For our 50th anniversary, we asked 50 members of our team to say what comes to mind when they think of the Museum. What would you say?
"RTX Living in the Space Age Hall" explores how innovations in space technology have transformed our lives, covering topics from the beginning of the Space Age in the mid-20th century to the present and beyond.
Astronomers spend much of their time mapping the universe, but until now their results have been collected and archived in so many different ways that the data can’t talk to each other.
In 2015, the Museum began a process of reimagining all its gallery spaces. A lot had changed since the Space Hall’s last major update in 1997. As a result, the Space Race exhibition was reimagined as the RTX Living in the Space Age exhibition.