The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has completed a seven-year renovation of its flagship building in Washington, DC, with the opening of “At Home in Space” on October 30. The exhibition is the final spaceflight gallery to open as part of the project, which cost nearly $1 billion.
Curator Jennifer Levasseur described the gallery as a story of long-duration spaceflight, from the preparations and space shuttle missions that enabled people to reach orbit to decades of life aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The exhibition also looks ahead to the next stages of human spaceflight.
“At Home in Space” follows earlier galleries covering the first US astronauts and the Moon landings, robotic exploration of the solar system, the influence of space technology on daily life, and possible future approaches to spaceflight. Alongside the similarly themed “Moving Beyond Earth,” the new gallery focuses on the equipment, spacecraft and orbital platforms that have made it possible to move from visiting space to living there. It also points toward potential bases on the Moon and Mars.
Sources: Ars Technica.