CURRENT ISSUE

May 2016

Features

The trail-blazing sci-fi series debuted 50 years ago and has taken countless fans where none had gone before

Interviews by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman

This artifact in the Air and Space Museum collections boldly returns to public view

If neuroscientists are right, you’ll soon be able to sharpen your focus and boost your memory by recharging your brain—with electricity

David Noonan; Photographs by Lynn Johnson

NASA's innovative deputy administrator Dava Newman explains just how close we are to sending astronauts far, far away

A Nevada real estate magnate has poured $290 million into a wild dream of being a landlord in outer space. His first tenant: NASA

Charles Fishman; Photographs by Dan Winters

A cautionary tale about the android who just wasn't suited for the task at hand

Even before the "Jetsons," people dreamed of flying cars. Now breakthroughs in technology are helping all kinds of vehicles get off the ground

Jack Hitt; Photographs by John Lee

Reader responses to our April issue

Phenomena

C'mon baby light my flier

Phenomena

These images evoke a world of endless distraction

Phenomena

Phenomena

When nature knows best

Phenomena

Two new books offer divergent theories on the authorship of the much-heralded film

The story behind the most famous betrayal in U.S. history shows the complicated politics of the nation's earliest days

From user-generated content to political screeds, the future of news happens to look a lot like the past

Just a sampling of what we can learn from those who have been to space

Smithsonian Books