Press Kits

The 20th anniversary of opening the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will take place in December. 

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum reopens Friday, October 14, 2022, with eight new and renovated galleries in the west wing of its building in Washington, D.C. The planetarium and museum store will also reopen, along with the new Mars Café. The east wing of the museum will remain closed while it is renovated.

Building on a commitment from Congress, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum will raise $250 million from leaders in the aerospace industry and individual donors to dramatically transform exhibitions and renovate the entire museum, inside and out.

Throughout 2019, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo missions and help lead the national celebration of the first moon landing July 20, 1969. By sharing the national collection and expertise of staff, the museum will spark conversations exploring the legacy of Neil Armstrong’s first small step and contemplating the next giant leap.

The National Air and Space Museum has announced that nine major commercial airlines contributed gifts totaling $28 million to support the transformation of the flagship building in Washington, DC. These are among the first major gifts received for the campaign to transform all of the museum’s exhibitions and visitor experience. 

The Apollo 11 command module Columbia will temporarily leave the Smithsonian for the first time in 46 years to begin a journey to museums across the country for the traveling exhibition “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission.” The exhibition, a partnership of the National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the extraordinary achievement of man’s first step on the moon in 2019.

June 28, 2016 - The National Air and Space Museum will reopen the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall July 1 in conjunction with the museum’s 40th anniversary. Several of the museum’s most iconic artifacts will remain on view, and new ones have been added. 

The National Air and Space Museum is one of the world's most popular museums with more than 8.2 million visitors in 2012. Its mission is to commemorate, educate, and inspire visitors by preserving and displaying aeronautical and spaceflight artifacts. The museum maintains the world's largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft. It is also a vital center for historical research on aviation and spaceflight and related science and technology, and home to the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, which performs original research and outreach activities in planetary sciences.

January 2014 - "Spirit and Opportunity: 10 Years Roving Across Mars," a collection of remarkable photographs of the red planet, opens Jan. 9 at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

April 2013 - If people want to know where they are, they need a reliable clock. It might seem surprising, but knowing the accurate time is essential for determining position. A new permanent exhibition at the Museum in Washington, DC, Time and Navigation: the untold story of getting from here to there, explores how revolutions in timekeeping over three centuries have influenced how people find their way.