National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC

We visited the National Air and Space Museum, the most popular of the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D. C. We had to wait in line to get in (along with signing up for digital, timed tickets). The museum is a classic for a reason--a lot of amazing and dramatic stories are told here.

Not an amazing and dramatic exterior, though

The lobby is better

One famous item on display is the Spirit of St. Louis, the airplane that Charles Lindberg used for the first solo transatlantic flight in 1927 (almost a century ago).

Spirt of St. Louis

I was surprise to see, almost across the gallery from the Spirit of St. Louis, an x-wing fighter with an R2 unit on display. 

Drawing attention to the gift shop, no doubt

We visited a few of the permanent exhibits. First was Exploring the Planets, all about our solar system with some stuff about exoplanets (those that orbit other stars in our galaxy).

Exoplanet info

Wonder about planets has been a part of human culture even to prehistoric times. This dual display also shows an ancient gear that was discovered, so we have been fascinated by technology for millennia too!

Historical astronomy and technology

The kids loved the interactive exhibits that let you design solar systems or explore the make-up of various planets.

Building a better world

Rovers we sent to Mars are on display.

Well, mock-ups, not the actual rovers which have not come back

Destination Moon is an exhibit about lunar exploration, starting with a lot of the less-the-accurate speculations about the moon's makeup and inhabitants from over a hundred years ago. Most of the exhibit chronicles the Cold War race to the moon.

Explaining the phases of the moon

Lunar propaganda!

The Soviets were the first to launch an artificial satellite and to send a living creature (a dog) into orbit. The U. S. sent a chimp up in the capsule below. The compartment includes some levers and switches for the chimpanzee to manipulate while in space. The capsule recorded reactions and times to see what sort of effect zero-gravity and confined space would have.

Primate capsule

The Soviets also put the first man in orbit, Yuri Gagarin, though the U. S. Mercury program was not too far behind.

Mercury vs. Vostok space ships

Alan Shepherd rode the Freedom 7 as the first American astronaut in space.

Freedom 7

One corner showed a lot of information about the Space Race, a dramatic component of the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Racing to explore

Another display shows various items made for the space program, mostly produced domestically.

Was the big knife to deal with aliens?

The Gemini program sent up multiple astronauts at a time, part of building up skills for an eventual moon landing.

Gemini VII, room for two

The high point was the Apollo program which intended to land men on the Moon.

Apollo lunar suit

Items from Apollo 13

The command module from the Apollo 11 trip is on display. Three astronauts lived and worked in there as they executed the mission that put people on the Moon's surface for the first time.

Command Module Columbia

The underside of the module

Random upside-down plane that we didn't read the display about--make up your own story!

The final gallery we went too was Pioneers of Flight, all about the Wright Brothers' lives and accomplishments.

Statues of Wilbur and Orville Wright

The brothers were in business building and selling bicycles but their hobby was working on powered flight. They spent their spare time working on a machine that would let men fly in a heavier-than-air craft. They did a lot of experimentation and working out of details, spending years before they achieved their success.

One of four extant Wright bicycles

The Wright Flyer from Kittyhawk, North Carolina

The museum has plenty of other galleries that we did not see and will be opening new galleries in 2026, so a large portion of the museum was under wraps for the future. I am sure we will go back.