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Trail of tears: Spirit

Space Exploration

No More A-Roving

NASA’s Spirit rover goes into survival mode on Mars.
January 2010 | By Michael Klesius

Page 1 of 8

Humans vs. Robots

Which way lies our future in space? A discussion.
June 2008 | By Tony Reichhardt

Cosmonauts (from right) Konstantin Feoktistov, Boris Yegorov, and Vladimir Komarov head to the launch pad for their Voskhod 1 flight, October 12, 1964.

Feoktistov's Starship

The pioneering cosmonaut who dreamed of interstellar flight.
December 2009 | By Tony Reichhardt

The Air Force hopes its unmanned X-37

Space Shuttle Jr.

After 2010, the only spaceplane in the U.S. inventory will be the Air Force's mysterious X-37.
January 2010 | By Michael Klesius

The Soviet Skif-DM launches from Baikonur.

Soviet Star Wars

The launch that saved the world from orbiting laser battle stations.
January 2010 | By Dwayne A. Day and Robert G. Kennedy III

The 2009 Class of NASA astronauts: All dressed up, but nowhere to go.

No Stimulus Plan for Astronauts

For NASA's flying corps, it looks like 1975 all over again.
February 2010 | By Matthew Hersch

An Orion-derived spacecraft approaches an asteroid, with Earth in the distant background.

The Million Mile Mission

A small band of believers urges NASA to take its next step—onto an asteroid.
July 2008 | By Michael Klesius

Far out: Pluto’s methane ice boils off into its thin atmosphere in a misty scene no human has observed. In the background are Pluto moons Charon and tiny Nix (upper left). Beyond lies the Kuiper Belt, one of the solar system’s most mysterious regions.

Where the Wild Things Are

We’re about to get a peek at the solar system’s final frontier.
July 2009 | By Guy Gugliotta

Today’s state-of-the-art in imaging planets around other stars: combined Hubble telescope pictures (taken years apart) show a world three times as massive as Jupiter circling the star Fomalhaut.

Block That Star!

How can we find other Earths if their suns keep blinding us?
September 2009 | By Tony Reichhardt

Engineers at NASA

Creation of a Cover Shot

Photographer Eric Curry shows how he made our March 2010 cover.
March 2010 | By The Editors

Enterprise Shuttle parked at  the new home, the National Air and Space Museum Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia in 2003.

Shuttles For Sale

Three orbiters in search of good homes. Not cheap.
March 2010 | By Guy Gugliotta

 NASA rovers have explored Mars

Our Favorite Martians

It’s the perfect long-distance relationship: Scientists need the Mars rovers in order to see; the rovers need the scientists in order to think.
March 2010 | By Michael Klesius

One of the nearest-term ideas for future space travel: a nuclear thermal rocket that could get to Mars in 30 days.

Mars, and Step on It

When it’s not the journey but the destination that counts.
September 2009 | By Michael Klesius

Practicing with a mockup of the <i>Spirit </i> rover n the "sandbox" at NASA

Freeing Spirit

NASA's Mars rover prepares to escape the worst trouble of its life.
November 2009 | By Tony Reichhardt

Dust devils like this one form frequently at Eldorado Valley.

Devils’ Advocates

Some people go to Las Vegas to gamble, others to learn about Mars.
September 2009 | By Tony Reichhardt

Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson, and Dan Tani

Then and Now: Joy to the World

January 2010 | By Roger A. Mola

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next »

Reader Scrapbook


Send In Your Photos

Check out our scrapbook of readers' aviation and space pictures. Then add your own.

Snapshot


A Changing Pluto

There's color way out there.

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  2. Legends of Vietnam: Bronco's Tale
  3. Giant Amphibian
  4. Shuttles For Sale
  5. The Gold-Plated Cabin
  6. The Gift of Art
  7. Don't Cross That Line
  8. B-36: Bomber at the Crossroads
  9. The First Photo From Space
  10. The French-Russian Connection

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Air & Space Videos

Space Station Fly-Around

Space Station Fly-Around

Take a narrated tour of the station with the same animation astronauts use in training.

Lunar Run

How a plasma-powered rocket would shoot for the moon.

The First Lunar Landing

The First Lunar Landing

One of history's great voyages, captured on 16mm film.

Aviation Training in the United States, 1917-18

WW I Pilot Training

Rare footage of Army pilots learning to fly Jennies in 1917.

Armstrongs Close Call

Armstrong’s Close Call

A fiery bailout while training to land on the moon.

Mercury Astronauts Meet the Press, 1959

Mercury Astronauts Meet the Press, 1959

...and answer the question: "What was your least favorite test?"

Marines Test the Joint Strike Fighter

Marines Test the Joint Strike Fighter

A Marine takes the new F-35 for a spin.

On the Prowl

On the Prowl

Climb into the cockpit for a flight in an EA-6B Prowler.

Dodging Missiles

Dodging Missiles

F-105 pilots recall the dangers of flying over North Vietnam.

F-105 Walkaround

F-105 Walkaround

Get a close look at the National Air and Space Museum’s Thunderchief.

PTQ: Put Together Quickly

PTQ: Put Together Quickly

Watch Boeing technicians repair an airliner—in two minutes.

Operation Tumbler-Snapper

Operation Tumbler-Snapper

Atomic bombs versus airplanes in the Nevada desert.

In the Magazine

March 2010

  • Our Favorite Martians
  • Hornet v. MiG
  • Shuttles For Sale
  • Head Skunk
  • Don't Cross That Line
  • Restoration: Connecticut's State Warbird

View Table of Contents »

Air & Space Interview

Joe Chappell

Former Flight Engineer for Air Force One.

New Worlds

Confidence Booster

This little known Apollo artifact caused astronauts to rest a little easier.

View full archiveRecent Issues


  • Mar 2010


  • Jan 2010

  • In his portrait of the storied racer Rare Bear and its crew, photographer Tyson Rininger captures the sense of anticipation that surrounds air races. “Something’s coming,” this quiet night scene seems to suggest. “Tomorrow, it’s win or lose.”
    Nov 2009

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About Us

Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine has been delighting aerospace enthusiasts with the best writing about their favorite subject since April 1986. As an adjunct of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Air & Space matches the grand scope of the Museum, encompassing every era of aviation and space exploration. With stories that range from the Wright Brothers to the design of NASA's next lunar lander, Air & Space emphasizes the human stories as well as the technology of aviation and spaceflight.

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