On July 20, 1969, humans walked on the Moon for the first time.We look back at the legacy of our first small steps on the Moon and look forward to the next giant leap.

The Mercury spacesuit was a close-fitting, two-layer, full pressure suit developed by the B.F. Goodrich Company from their Mark IV pressure suit, as used by the U.S. Navy. It was selected by NASA in ...

We rely on the generous support of donors, sponsors, members, and other benefactors to share the history and impact of aviation and spaceflight, educate the public, and inspire future generations.

May 20, 1932: Amelia Earhart departs Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, in her Lockheed Vega on her solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic. On May 20-21, 1932, Earhart became the first woman—and the only ...

Otto Lilienthal compiled and published a table of coefficients of lift and drag for the airfoil shape he used on his gliders. The table became quite well known and was the starting point for ...

Cheers to astronomy! With our friends from Astronomy on Tap, the National Air and Space Museum is bringing you an evening of science, education, refreshments, and fun. At this inaugural AirSpace on ...

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC. This ...

After the competitive short-term goals of human spaceflight had been met in the 1960s, many advocates of space exploration envisioned a permanent human presence in space.

As the Apollo program took form in the early 1960s, NASA engineers always kept the safety of their astronauts at the fore in light of the enormous risks they knew were inherent in the goal of landing ...

Alan Shepard became the first American and the second man in space on May 5, 1961, when he piloted the Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7 on a 490-kilometer (300-mile), 15-minute suborbital flight.

The National Air and Space Museum hopes to expand interest and capabilities in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) fields by engaging and empowering our Aviation Explorers to seek ...

When the National Air and Space Museum opened its doors in July 1976, it featured in its theater a film produced specifically for the Museum called To Fly in a large format called IMAX.