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National Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian Voices

Prosthetic Spock ear tips against black background

The Iconic Ears of Mr. Spock

A set of prosthetic ear tips made for Leonard Nimoy to portray Mr. Spock in “Star Trek: The Original Series” have joined the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.

Amy Stamm | December 16, 2021

NASM2021-06115-2.JPG

National Air and Space Museum to Temporarily Close March 2022 to Finish Brand New Galleries

The National Air and Space Museum will temporarily close on March 28, 2022. When it reopens in fall 2022, it will reopen with eight new galleries.

Amy Stamm | November 24, 2021

Smoke pours from the west wing of the Pentagon building September 11, 2001 in Arlington, Virginia, after a plane crashed into the building and set off a huge explosion. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Smithsonian's Chris Browne Was the Manager at Ronald Reagan National Airport on 9/11

The acting director of the National Air and Space Museum reflects 20 years later on the rapid grounding of air traffic across the US

Christopher U. Browne | September 10, 2021

Michael Collins' NASA astronaut portrait.

Remembering Michael Collins

The National Air and Space Museum looks back at the extraordinary life of pilot, astronaut, and statesman Michael Collins, who has died at the age of 90.

Margaret Weitekamp | April 29, 2021
This view of Gemini VII from VI-A in December 1965 shows the spacecraft’s orbital configuration.

Gemini VIII’s Near-Disaster

On March 16, 1966, the Gemini Vlll astronauts faced the first life-threatening, in-flight emergency in the short history of the U.S. human spaceflight program.

Michael J. Neufeld | April 12, 2021
Vera Rubin and Kent Ford (white hat) setting up their image tube spectrograph at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Photo: THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE)

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory and Women of Chilean Astronomy

The Vara C. Rubin Observatory is perched on Chile's Cerro Pachon in the foothills of the Andes Mountains and stands as a doorway to exploring the women of Chilean astronomy.

Samantha Thompson | April 12, 2021
The Perseverance captured this image of itself and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter days before its maiden flight. (NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ ASU/ MSSS/ Seán Doran)

The Wright Moment: Ingenuity Prepares for Flight

Ingenuity, the small, four-pound autonomous aircraft, will attempt the biggest of feats. The Wright brothers lifted their 1903 Wright Flyer off the ground over a century ago, and now the Mars helicopter will attempt the same. Ginny took off from the surface of the Red Planet on Monday, April 19.

Michael Persaud | April 9, 2021
Eating canned food in space. (NASA)

I’ll have the Veal! Preservation with a Can-Do Attitude

Is it practical to retain perishable material and what long-range obligations are required? To find the answers, a collaborative efforts was required, allowing for preservation of our collection of space food.

Lauren Anne Horelick, Deborah Duerbeck Parr, and Daniel Ravizza | April 5, 2021
Christina Koch (left) poses for a portrait with Jessica Meir while preparing for their first spacewalk together. (Image courtesy of NASA)

A Seat in the Cockpit: Recognizing and Replacing Biases with Gender Inclusive Language

The era of "manned" spaceflight ended long ago, and the continued use of this language diminishes and erases six decades of women's contributions to spaceflight

Emily A. Margolis | April 5, 2021
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