It’s been nearly 50 years (!) since humans last walked on the Moon. But NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions will soon return astronauts to the lunar surface.
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In 1971 an Apollo 14 astronaut took about 500 tree seeds into orbit around the Moon. When he got back, those seeds were distributed, germinated, and planted all around the United States. And then… they were mostly forgotten about, even by NASA. That is, until the mid-1990s when a teacher at a Girl Scout camp in Indiana wondered what was up with this “Moon Tree” at her local camp. On this episode, we speak with the NASA planetary scientist who received her question, and as a result, started a database to track down the Moon Tree locations. Today, there are 67 known, living, first generation Moon Trees all over the United States – maybe even in your town!
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93% of televisions in the United States tuned in to see Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon. Can you believe 7% were watching something else? At 11pm on a Sunday?? But as much as we love it now, Apollo 11’s contemporary acclaim wasn’t exactly universal. Many people, all over America, had reservations about spending billions of dollars on space exploration instead of solving problems here on Earth. And some Americans had their eyes on a very different, much more important prize. The rise of Apollo coincided with the peak of the Civil Rights Movement (which technically ended with the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1968—but we all know the struggle and the movement didn’t end there). In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick explore the intersection of these two moments in American history, discuss the protests, activists, and anthems of the time, and talk to Sylvia Drew Ivie about the issues then and how we’re still working to turn it all around.
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In the fifties and sixties to get hired as a stewardess put you in a club that was akin to being a movie star. Around this time, a highly qualified woman, top of her training class, beautiful and poised, didn’t understand why she wasn’t being hired, until an instructor told her it was because she was Black.
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It’s Halloween eve, 1938, and you’re listening to the radio when you hear a breaking news bulletin that there’s been a Martian attack!… On New Jersey? Obvious spoiler: there was no Martian attack that night. But there was a radio play — a performance of Orson Welles’ adaptation of “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells.
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Have you always wanted to experience what it’s like to be an astronaut but without the queasy upshot of actually shooting into space? Then we’ve got news for you! Only around 550 people have been to outer space (like, ever!). But many more can and do participate in simulated space missions right here on Earth—and it turns out they’re super important.
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Thanks to GPS, ecologists today can track thousands of animals all the time with tracking devices that can be smaller than a quarter. But in 1970 there was just a weather satellite, a 23 pound collar, and an elk named Monique. On this episode of AirSpace, we talk to some of the scientists who use space to track animals here on Earth.
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Join authors Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham in conversation with NMAAHC curator Michelle Joan Wilkinson as they discuss their visions for the present and future and the way they see these visions captured by artists, activists, and thinkers.
She is also co-host of the podcast Still Processing, as well as a sound healer, reiki
Meet the people who make the incredible work of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum possible.
astronomy outreach, and young adult strategies, including efforts like the Museum’s podcast
Read stories from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
of World War II AeroEspacial Air & Space Quarterly Air and Space Photos AirSpace Podcast
