All Stories

When the Apollo 17 spacecraft carrying U.S. astronauts Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ron Evans returned to Earth on December 19, 1972, the Apollo lunar landing program came to its end. No human has set foot on the Moon’s surface since.

During the Museum's East-End reopening in the summer of 2025, astronaut Sian Proctor and Chauncey Spencer II were connected by chance thanks to Museum curator Cathleen Lewis.

For the first time, a spacecraft will explore the Mars moons, Phobos and Deimos. 

In her new book, On a Mission: The Smithsonian History of US Women Astronauts, Valerie Neal explores what makes an astronaut. 

Science fiction not only imagines different futures in space, it's a place where debates play out about what the future of space should entail. 

The majority of what has been accomplished in space has been carried out by uncrewed robotic craft. 

However, every historic milestone was once highly debated. Many of these debates continue today.

Space Camp opened at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, in the summer of 1982, as a weeklong sleepaway camp.

In the era of human spaceflight, the community of amateur horologists found a story ripe for their attention: the selection of the Omega Speedmaster Professional as the chronograph (a watch with stopwatch and other functions) certified by NASA for use on spaceflights, both inside and outside the spacecraft.

A new national Air and Space Museum gallery explores the different ways humans could build a presence in outer space.