‘Outside the Spacecraft’ at the National Air and Space Museum

Astronaut Michael Gernhardt during his Extravehicular Activity, image courtesy of NASA

“Outside the Spacecraft” exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum

From January 9 through June 8, 2015, The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington hosts the exhibition Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity.

The exhibition, located on the second floor of the museum, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first astronauts who ventured outside their space vehicle protected only by the thin barrier of a spacesuit.

Top: Mission specialist Bruce McCandless went “free-flying” to a distance of 320 feet away from the Orbiter; bottom: Edward H. White floating out of Gemini 4 spacecraft; images courtesy of NASA

Through original artifacts, photographs, artworks, and personal documents, the exhibition depicts the history of extra-vehicular activities from the first EVA by Aleksei Leonov and Edward White in 1965 to the present day.
EVA activities deeply marked the history of man in space, from the conquering of the Moon to the Skylab; the deployment of the Hubble telescope, the construction of the International Space Station, and more.

Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity
From January 8 to June 8. 2015
Second floor
National Air and Space Museum
Independence Ave at 6th St, SW
Washington, DC 20560
https://airandspace.si.edu/

The exhibition is made possible through the generosity of NASA, the National Air and Space Society, OMEGA, and the United Technologies Corporation

top:  astronaut Alan Bean’s A7-LB suit used in the 1973 Skylab 3 mission; Image by Mark Avino, Smithsonian Institution; middle: astronaut Mark C. Lee with the Earth as a backdrop; image courtesy of NASA; bottom: pilot James B. Irwin loads up the “Rover” during Apollo 15 mission; image courtesy of NASA