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.

522 results
Mars appears as a crescent pointed up, like a smile.
See NASA’s Stunning New Images of Mars Captured During an Asteroid-Bound Spacecraft’s Strategic Flyby
The Psyche mission, on its way to study an asteroid of the same name, approached within 2,864 miles of the red planet on May 15.
Smithsonian Magazine
Article
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Space & Aviation
Culture & Community
Space & Aviation
Cosmic Pitch invites players, fans, and explorers alike to see how every match on Earth reflects the science of the skies. Let’s connect to the Universe: one kick, one curve, or one collision at a time.
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Video

Cosmic Pitch

Image of an entirely blue planet.
Neptune’s Moon Nereid Might Be the Sole Intact Survivor of an Ancient Lunar Collision
A study suggests that the ice giant’s largest moon, Triton, made a dramatic entrance to the Neptunian system long ago, kicking Nereid outward and destroying the planet’s other original lunar companions.
Smithsonian Magazine
Article
Close-up combined views from different NASA solar cameras that each see different temperatures of hot gas (shown in cyan, yellow, and red) of a failed solar eruption from data collected in March 2024. The panels show the same eruption from different angles, as seen on the Sun’s face by the Solar Orbiter spacecraft.
Astronomers Uncover Why Some Solar Eruptions Die
A team of scientists has recorded one of the most detailed views ever of a failed solar eruption, a powerful blast from the Sun that never broke free.
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Article
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Space & Aviation
Technology & Innovation
American History
Space & Aviation
Aerial view of Olympus Mons on Mars, displaying a massive volcanic structure with a wide, circular caldera at the summit. The surrounding Martian terrain appears barren and dust-covered, blending into the reddish-brown color of the volcano.
Five Fun Facts About Mars
Blue sunsets, whirling dust devils, giant volcanoes, tiny moons, and marsquakes—there’s a lot to discover on Mars!
National Air and Space Museum
Article
Related to:
Space & Aviation
Technology & Innovation
American History
Space & Aviation
Pink logo reading ‘AIRSPACE’ over a purple-tinted city street scene, with a stylized white helicopter illustration hovering beside the text
Whirly-Girl #13: How Jean Ross Howard Phelan Created an International Organization of Women Helicopter Pilots
In 1955, Jean Ross Howard Phelan gathered every woman helicopter pilot she could find to form an international organization. Today on AirSpace, a helicopter history lesson and the story of the Whirly-Girls.
National Air and Space Museum
Podcast
A NASA cleanroom as seen from an elevated point of view with lots of equipment.
This Microscopic Fungus Survived NASA’s Sterilization Protocols—and Is Potentially Hardy Enough to Contaminate Mars
The microbe was gathered from the agency’s clean rooms, where experts build spacecraft in carefully controlled environments. The findings reveal gaps in the agency’s procedures to prevent durable hitchhikers.
Smithsonian Magazine
Article
Learn about another elite zero-gravity indicator with the National Air and Space Museum!
National Air and Space Museum
Video

Another Elite Zero-Gravity Indicator