Air & Space Magazine

The Apollo 10 Command Module, "Charlie Brown," as seen from the detached Lunar Module, "Snoopy."

A Smithsonian Curator Reflects on Apollo 10, the Mission that Made Landing on the Moon Possible

Fifty years ago, the astronauts who crewed the “dress rehearsal” for Apollo 11 paved the way for history to be made just a couple months later

Curiosity's view of rock strata at the foot of Mt. Sharp on Mars. Finding signs of Martian life will require scientists to keep an open mind.

On Mars, Organics Are Hard to Find

And now we know the reason why.

Over the now-peaceful farms of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, which 75 years ago was within Drop Zone C for D-Day paratroopers, a C-47 returns to base after delivering its paratroop reenactors. They were there for the 2014 commemoration of one of the most momentous days of World War II.

Return to Normandy

On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, C-47s go back to France to honor those who crossed the Channel.

It came from Mars: the Nakhla meteorite.

Claimed Signs of Life in a Martian Meteorite

Like other previous claims, this one may not hold up.

Edward G. Gibson, science pilot for Skylab 4, demonstrates zero-gravity as he floats through the airlock module hatch. About astronauts’ life in space, Raymond Loewy wrote, “Whether their experience will be one to which they wish to return, rich and rewarding, or a ghastly stretch in some cosmic Devil’s Island, is, in a large way, up to us all.”

Making Skylab Human-Friendly

Best known for his iconic designs, from the Lucky Strike logo to <i>Air Force One</i>, Raymond Loewy also consulted on NASA’s first space station.

Breakthrough Initiatives are designed to think big. One idea that has attracted a lot of attention is to construct solar sails capable of achieving velocities up to 20 percent of light speed, thus making interstellar travel possible.

Astrobiologists In Search of a Breakthrough

Researchers consider the frontiers of life at an annual conference in Berkeley.

Identical twin astronauts, Scott and Mark Kelly, are subjects of NASA’s Twins Study. Scott (right) spent a year in space while Mark (left) stayed on Earth as a control subject.

NASA's Study of Astronaut Twins Creates a Portrait of What a Year in Space Does to the Human Body

Wide-ranging research compares astronaut Scott Kelly to his earthbound twin brother, Mark

Nuclear power plants could leave evidence of our existence for future civilizations.

The Timing and Causes of Mass Extinctions

Could there be a human signal in the geological record?

The image reveals the black hole at the center of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides 55 million light-years from Earth and has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the sun.

Astronomers Capture First-Ever Image of a Supermassive Black Hole

The Event Horizon Telescope reveals the silhouette of a black hole at the center of a galaxy 55 million light-years away

Cosmonauts installed ESA’s Expose-R2 facility on the outside of the space station in 2014.

Exposed on the Space Station

A test of how microbes survive in space

An artist's concept of the Axel rover rappelling into a lunar pit.

NASA Considers a Rover Mission to Go Cave Diving on the Moon

The deep caverns and pits that dot the lunar surface could hold clues to the moon's history and perhaps provide shelter for future human exploration

Lincoln Ellsworth in 1926.

Danger Down Below

A new book explains what it took to make the first flight across Antarctica.

At Mach 1, shock waves coming off a T-38 (seen using Schlieren photography) will coalesce to form a mighty boom.

Lower the Boom

NASA's new supersonic X-plane won't rattle your windows.

The Apollo 14 Lunar Module on the moon, February 5, 1971. Grumman engineers helped six LMs to land, and their crews to return, safely.

Lunar Landing Nightmares

The author’s job was to confront the worst things that could happen to the first men on the moon.

The National Air and Space Museum opened on July 1, 1976.

An Aerospace Landmark Begins a Major Renovation

Architect Gyo Obata's marble-and-glass museum is home to thousands of aerospace treasures.

On May 31, 1919, the U.S. Navy’s NC-4 arrived at Plymouth Harbor, England. It was the first airplane to successfully cross the Atlantic.

The First Airplane to Cross an Ocean

A family photo album of a landmark in aviation history.

Marines and sailors are finishing their repairs at the “Airport in the Sky,” expected to reopen this month.

At Catalina Island, Time to Send in the Marines

About 22 miles across the sea from California, an island's old runway gets a makeover from an unusual work crew.

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From the Director of the National Air and Space Museum

Behind every artifact is a story that begins with an improbable dream.

Key to World War II action, PBYs still cast a spell. This magnificent specimen is a PBY‑6A, an amphibious variant (note the landing gear tucked into the port side).

Legends of an Ocean-Crossing Seaplane

A wide view of World War II through the blisters of PBY Catalinas.

Museum of the Moon, October 2017, Leeds, England.

Apollo at 50: A Celebration Guide

The 50 best films, events, books, websites, and souvenirs.

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