Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

Lt. Ward Hitt, Jr., sitting in the cockpit of his North American F-86A Sabre fighter, gives his crew chief the OK hand sign, South Korea.

70 Years Ago: F-86s and MiGs over Korea

Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command talks on the phone as part of a video celebrating the NORAD Santa Tracker's 65th year.

Why NORAD Tracks Santa Claus

Chuck Yeager with Bell X-1. (NASM)

Remembering Chuck Yeager, a Pilot with the Right Stuff

Three-quarter left front view of Cessna BW-5 (r/n C6623, National Air Races race no. 98) on the ground, possibly at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York, circa September 1928. Posed standing beside nose of aircraft are pilot Francis D.

Francis D. Bowhan: Osage Pilot

Informal classroom portrait of teacher Herbert Stephen Desind (1945-1992), wearing a reproduction Apollo-era spacesuit, holding an American flag; circa 1980s.  Desind was a space flight aficionado, and his collection of photographs of aircraft and spacecraft was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1997. This image is part of the Herbert Stephen Desind Collection.

Herbert Desind: A Passion for Spaceflight

Arthur C. Clarke poses for a photo while he sits at his desk, circa 1969.

Famous Correspondents of Arthur C. Clarke

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Surface System Test-Bed (SSTB) is nearly identical to the MER twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity that landed on Mars in 2004. Photo by Mark Avino, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM2020-00501).

A Mars Rover Lands in Virginia

Ruth Law stands in front of her Wright Model B biplane at the New York State Fair, Yonkers, 1913.

Women's Suffrage Stories in the Archives

The Hope spacecraft of the United Arab Emirates' Emirates Mars Mission during testing.

Launching Hope to Mars