Apollo Program

A photograph of the moon by the Apollo 17 crew on their return trip back to Earth. The new study analyzes material gathered from the lunar surface during the 1972 mission.

The Moon Is 40 Million Years Older Than Thought, Lunar Rock Samples Suggest

A new analysis of crystals from the moon pushes its age back to just 110 million years after the solar system formed

Hosts Emily Martin and Matt Shindell speak with Anisha Abraham and to her actor friend Jo Chim, who has written and directed a 30-minute film called “One Small Visit,” dramatizing a visit the Abraham family (above) enjoyed with the astronaut Neil Armstrong.

A New Neil Armstrong Film Makes One Giant Leap for Kindness

Smithsonian podcasts deliver doses of optimism this month, featuring Bill Nye and a story of a warm welcome from the astronaut’s family

Sacha Jafri's We Rise Together—With the Light of the Moon is designed to endure on the moon’s surface.

One Small Step for Space Art

A new artwork by Sacha Jafri could travel to the moon next month

Giving a nod to previous human flight and exploration is a tradition of space travel.

Ten Strange and Amazing Historical Artifacts We’ve Launched to Space

As spaceflight catapults us into a high-tech future, several missions have made sure to honor the past

NASA streamed the Orion spacecraft's approach of the moon Monday morning, with Earth visible in the background.

See the First Stunning Photos of the Earth and Moon From Artemis 1

The uncrewed Orion spacecraft is equipped with 16 cameras that have been documenting its journey through space

The Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Wednesday morning, kicking off NASA's Artemis moon program.

NASA Launches Artemis 1 in Giant Leap Toward Returning to the Moon

The historic event has brought humanity one step closer to walking again on the lunar surface

The Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, the only part of the spacecraft from the first moon-landing expedition to return to Earth, is on view with the space suit that Neil Armstrong wore when he walked on the moon in July 1969.

The Incredible Technology That Made Humanity's Moon Dreams a Reality

A new, completely reimagined exhibition goes beyond the Cold War narrative to explore the full story of lunar landings

A mannequin named after Arturo Campos is headed into space on NASA's now-postponed Artemis 1 mission.

How Artemis 1 Honors an Apollo 13 Hero—and a Champion for Diversity in Space

A mannequin that will orbit the moon is named for Arturo Campos, a Mexican-American electrical engineer who worked on several NASA missions

Aldrin's Apollo 11 inflight coverall jacket

These Objects Tell the Story of Buzz Aldrin's Career

The astronaut is auctioning off his moon-landing jacket and other space gear

The plants in lunar soil were compared to a control group of plants grown in volcanic ash and a lunar soil simulant known as JSC-1A. The lunar samples on the right do not appear as developed as the control samples grown in volcanic ash on the left.

Scientists Prove That Plants Can Grow in Soil From the Moon

The experiment is a milestone in the path to helping humans one day experience extended stays on the lunar surface

Each sample in the redesigned facility is handled with gloves in a sealed, nitrogen-free box and stored inside a walk-in freezer kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Fifty Years Later, Researchers Unbox Samples From Apollo 17

The lunar surface material was kept in a freezer at NASA's Johnson Space Center since December 1972

Materials and manufacturing details of the specially made suit of America's first space traveler were extensively analyzed before being prepared for display on a customized mannequin.

The Second Man in Space Had a Wee Wish—That He'd Used the Bathroom Before Blasting Off

Alan B. Shepard's historic Mercury spacesuit undergoes hours of conservation work for its debut when the National Air and Space Museum opens this fall

The lunar dust collected by Neil Armstrong as part of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission in will be auctioned off with a number of space-related items, and is expected to fetch between $800,000 and $1.2 million at auction

Apollo 11 Moon Dust Samples Go Up for Auction Against NASA's Wishes

Auction house Bonhams is expecting around $1 million

The high-tech gadget dubbed the Apollo can opener was designed to pierce the vacuum-sealed cylinder while capturing any lunar gases that may still lurk within its walls.

Why Scientists Waited 50 Years to Study This Moon Dust

This Christmas season, researchers will finally get to unseal the contents of a soil sample from the Apollo 17 mission

Not much is known about mysterious quasisatellites because of their small dimensions, distance, and ability to conceal themselves in the shadows. Kamoʻoalewa is the first quasisatellite to move within observing range of large telescopes.

A Chip Off the Moon May Be Tailing Earth on Its Orbit Around the Sun

Researchers suspect the fragment may have been debris from a cratering event on the lunar surface

A man shopping at a garage sale found this moon rock from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.   

Florida Man Discovers Moon Rock at Garage Sale

Mounted on a wooden plaque, the lunar nugget had been a gift to the people of Louisiana from NASA

Michael Collins' NASA astronaut portrait.

Remembering Michael Collins

As the third director of the National Air and Space Museum, the former astronaut campaigned for a museum on the Mall in time for the nation’s bicentennial

The lunar module Eagle, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, ascends back up to the command module Columbia with Michael Collins. It is often said that Michael Collins is the only human, living or dead, who is not in this photograph.

Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins on the Past and Future of Space Exploration

On the occasion of the lunar landing's 50th anniversary, we spoke to the former director of the National Air and Space Museum

Alan Shepard, who was both an astronaut and a golf lover, said he got the idea while training for his Apollo 14 mission. “I thought: What a neat place to whack a golf ball.”

When Astronaut Alan Shepard Hit the Golf Shot Heard 'Round the World

“The Moon is one big sand trap,” the astronaut said after he brought the game to a new frontier

On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 launched from Kennedy Space Center at 7:51 a.m. EST with Frank Borman in command. His crew became the first humans to ride the mighty Saturn V rocket, breaking the bonds of Earth’s physical pull and entering the gravitational field of another celestial body.

How Apollo 8 Delivered Christmas Eve Peace and Understanding to the World

In a new book, Smithsonian curator Teasel Muir-Harmony examines the geopolitics during NASA’s space flight program

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