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All the United States New Mexico Alamogordo New Mexico Museum of Space History

New Mexico Museum of Space History

Home of the International Space Hall of Fame.

Alamogordo, New Mexico

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Leslie McIntyre
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CAPTION
Little Joe II rocket, the largest ever to be launched from New Mexico   Willy Logan
The New Mexico Museum of Space History overlooks two important research facilities  
Living and Working in Space exhibit   New Mexico Museum of Space History
Space Science in New Mexico exhibit   New Mexico Museum of Space History
The Daisy Track and its Air Gun   New Mexico Museum of Space History
The grave of Ham, first chimp to survive spaceflight.   AllenS/Wikimedia Commons
The grave of Ham, the astrochimp.   David N. Lotz
Looking Out, Looking Back exhibit explores the importance of satellites   New Mexico Museum of Space History
The International Space Hall of Fame   New Mexico Museum of Space History
Here is a closeup of a welded strut on the F-1 rocket engine. The stainless steel components required a special welding process.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
Need some SPACE.   MAGNETs / Atlas Obscura User
This is a Project Mercury capsule that has been modified so civilians can sit in it. The first manned orbital flight in 1962 used a capsule similar to this one.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
Stern Warning   Naga Jolokia / Atlas Obscura User
An enormous Saturn V rocket engine is on display here at the museum. They powered the Apollo astronauts to their lunar missions.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Most Americans are familiar with New Mexico's place in the history of space exploration insofar as they associate the state with the site of the supposed Roswell UFO incident. More devoted space fans, however, know that New Mexico's Tularosa Basin, home to the Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range, has long been a hub of experimentation and innovation that has done much to advance our understanding of the cosmos.

The New Mexico Museum of Space History, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, showcases the state's long history of rocket launches, satellites, and simulations that helped make human space flight possible. The museum is home to numerous notable artifacts, including the coveralls worn by the only scientist to walk on the moon, the Daisy Track used at Holloman Air Force Base to test the effects of rapid acceleration and deceleration on both mechanical and biological systems, and the Sonic Wind I rocket sled, aboard which researcher John P. Stapp made history as the Fastest Man on Earth. The museum's Basin Overlook, meanwhile, offers visitors a spectacular view of the facilities where many of these experiments took place.

It's not all about New Mexico, though; the museum is also home to exhibits, such as the Living and Working in Space exhibit, that explore broader concepts of space exploration, as well as the International Space Hall of Fame, established in 1976 to celebrate the achievements of aeronautic pioneers worldwide.

One such individual is Ham, the first hominid to be successfully launched into and recovered from space. The space chimp's remains are interred in a grave in front of the museum's flagpoles.

Related Tags

Space Exploration Museums And Collections Museums Instruments Of Science

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Added By

Leslie McIntyre

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Molly McBride Jacobson, MAGNETs, breaingram, Naga Jolokia...

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • MAGNETs
  • breaingram
  • Naga Jolokia
  • rbt45769
  • SemiruralYeti

Published

August 1, 2013

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New Mexico Museum of Space History
3198 State Route 2001
Alamogordo, New Mexico, 88310
United States
32.921601, -105.920613
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