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This week in 1976, the Museum's Douglas M-2 became airborne for the first time in 36 years following a large-scale restoration effort. The mail plane later joined our collection and is on view at the Udvar-Hazy Center: s.si.edu/3qk9s7f

A closeup of Ganymede 📸 On this day in 2021, NASA's Juno spacecraft flew within 645 miles of Jupiter's moon Ganymede. This flyby was the closest we had gotten to the largest moon in our solar system since a flyby by the Galileo spacecraft in 2000.

Can’t wait until the summer to see the reimagined “World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation” gallery? Here’s a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of the Museum’s de Havilland DH-4 being installed in the exhibition.

The spacecraft from which Ed White completed the first American spacewalk is in our collection. It carried White and James McDivitt to space and back on the Gemini IV mission, which ended on this day in 1965. #AirSpacePhoto

Serving aces at a stadium named for an almost-ace. Stade Roland Garros, home of the #FrenchOpen, is named for a pilot! A pioneering French fighter pilot, Garros downed four enemy aircraft before his death in 1918, so he was one away from earning the title Flying Ace. This

On this day in 1959, the North American X-15 flew for the first time, piloted by Scott Crossfield on an unpowered glide flight. After completing its initial test flights, the X-15 became the first winged aircraft to achieve Mach 4, 5, and 6: s.si.edu/3qtzoxf #AirSpacePhoto

On this day in 2007, Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on STS-117, a nearly two-week mission to deliver building materials for the International Space Station.

Emergency landings on water, more commonly known as “ditching,” often become survival stories that encompass fleeting moments of descent followed by hours, days, or even weeks of endurance at sea. We explore in the latest #ASQ: s.si.edu/3Zlp358

On this day in 1974, the Northrop YF-17 Cobra made its first flight. The aircraft was Northrop's initial entry into the U.S. Air Force's Lightweight Fighter technology evaluation program.

Today in 1928, Australian pilot Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and crew completed the first trans-Pacific flight. Flying the Fokker FVIIB-3M "Southern Cross" from the United States to Australia, they landed in Brisbane, Queensland, after a journey of approximately 7,250 miles.

To get a rocket off the ground in the '20s, Robert Goddard had to build many of his own tools. When he began work on liquid-fuel rockets, he had to devise a way to transport liquid oxygen (LOX). Get the full story behind this under-the-radar artifact: s.si.edu/4jLktUZ

Aviator Pancho Barnes was larger than life. She raced airplanes and flew them in movies and spent 75 years defying every societal norm she found stuffy, boring, or just plain stupid. Get to know the irrepressible Pancho Barnes in the latest AirSpace from the National Air and Space Museum: s.si.edu/3SIfbi8

Mars Exploration Rover Spirit launched on a Delta II rocket on #TDIH in 2003. The rover was en route to Gusev Crater, a place where mineral deposits suggested that Mars had a wet history.

15 years ago today, this lifeboat from the historic airship Akron that was used on two early Atlantic crossing attempts, arrived at the Udvar-Hazy Center to join our collection. The lifeboat is 27 feet long with a 6-foot beam.

To supply its World War I allies with thousands of aircraft, the United States felled acres of spruce. Preston Lerner explores the overlooked story of the Army's Spruce Production Division in this #ASQ article: s.si.edu/4ikq6sJ

This lifeboat, added to our collection 15 years ago on this day, was key to one of our favorite animal aviation tales—Kiddo the Cat. Discover the story of this reluctant feline aviator, and his trip in this lifeboat: s.si.edu/42v3MEN

On #TDIH in 2004, the Cassini spacecraft made a flyby of Saturn's moon Phoebe, capturing two images that make up this mosaic.

The first Ford 4-AT Tri-Motor made its first flight #OTD on 1926. The Ford Tri-Motor made air travel popular, showing the public it was safe and reliable. Pictures is a 5-AT Tri-Motor, a more powerful version of the 4-AT: s.si.edu/3pK9JMk #AirSpacePhoto

Today in 1927, Charles Lindbergh received the first Distinguished Flying Cross ever awarded. He and the Spirit of St. Louis returned to the United States that same day, arriving at the Washington Navy Yard aboard the USS Memphis. 📷: @USNHistory

The "dark side of the Moon" is also known as the farside (and the side facing Earth, the nearside). The phrase is used to refer to the mysterious or unknown. For most of human history we did not know what the farside even looked like. Read the blog now: s.si.edu/3HAWoTL