What to Expect at the Newly Renovated National Air and Space Museum When It Opens This Month

The Smithsonian museum’s new galleries explore the challenges and delights of life in space

When the iconic building we call the Smithsonian Castle closed for renovations in 2023, I moved into an office overlooking the place where I started my Smithsonian career: the National Air and Space Museum, which is opening five new galleries in July, with more to come in 2026. Every day, I am treated to the awe-inspiring view of 18-wheelers offloading everything from the celebrated “Glamorous Glennis” Bell X-1 aircraft that first broke the sound barrier to SpaceShipOne, the first privately operated crewed spacecraft.

One exhibition opening this month, “Futures in Space,” is unlike any gallery I have ever seen at Air and Space. It is built around a set of questions about the future of space travel: Why continue to go to space? Who makes these decisions? What does the work look like? Some artifacts offer a glimpse into contemporary ideas, such as spacesuits from recent commercial voyages. Others reflect on how the space age has shaped pop culture. Helmets from “Halo” and “Doctor Who,” R2-D2 from the Star Wars films, even a model rocket that one of our curators made at space camp are on display. 

I especially admire the way “Futures” manages the march of time. Science fiction movies often envision faraway futures of flying cars, neon jumpsuits and personal robots. Many times, our projections are wildly inaccurate, but “Futures” anticipates this divergence. It’s built to be updatable, says Matthew Shindell, the lead curator. “We can future-proof it by bringing in newer artifacts as time goes on.” 

And like the best space stories, it has a prequel. “At Home in Space,” opening next year, takes visitors aboard the International Space Station, with artifacts that help demonstrate what it is like to be in orbit. This exhibition probes the challenges and celebrations of life in space, from reckoning with unsuccessful missions to growing vegetables (and even baking cookies). The goal, says lead curator Jennifer Levasseur, is “to bring spaceflight down to Earth.” It recognizes the extraordinary research, visuals and lessons that the space program has already provided—and prompts us to wonder: What’s next?

When Air and Space opened in 1976, Neil Armstrong’s first small step was fresh in our memories. With the nation’s 250th anniversary nearing, there is no better time to ask: Where have we been, where are we today, and where are we going? These new galleries inspire us to dream of a better tomorrow.