"At Home in Space" opens, caps Air and Space Museum renovation

The module has interactive elements on one side and showcases some of the crew equipment-related artifacts, including coffee cups engineered for use in microgravity.

“This is probably the best section in my mind because it has fun stuff,” said Levasseur, pointing out the flown miniPCR biotech toolkit and MinION portable device used to sequence DNA in space for the first time.

“My absolute favorite thing to work on in this gallery answers the questions: What does space smell like, and what does the ISS smell like? We have little scent oils inside each of these that allow people to smell them,” she said.

Nearby, the  first 3D printer used in space is also on display. In 2014, Made In Space (now part of Redwire) and NASA flew the printer, which produced hundreds of objects, from astronaut tools to space station repair parts.

Awaiting Artemis

The gallery concludes with a space reserved to exhibit the Artemis I capsule, the spacecraft that flew without astronauts to the Moon in 2022. A Lockheed Martin scale model of Orion holds the place until NASA delivers the real spacecraft to the Smithsonian, which is expected later this year.

“This is the piece of Wright Flyer fabric that went to the moon with Artemis II, so that’s on display here, too,” Levasseur said, concluding the tour.

The renovation of the National Air and Space Museum also included refacing the exterior cladding, replacing mechanical systems, and other improvements. The first half of the museum reopened in 2022 with eight new or reimagined galleries, the Northrop Grumman Planetarium, museum store, and the Mars Café. The second phase opened in 2025 with five new galleries, and five additional galleries opened July 1.

Following “At Home in Space,” “Modern Military Aviation” will open on November 11.

“We are thrilled to complete the most extensive project the museum has ever undergone,” Chris Browne, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the museum, said in a statement. “With the opening of these last two galleries, the public will once again be able to visit the entirety of the museum and learn from and engage with the nation’s world-class aerospace collection.”

Admission to all of the National Air and Space Museum galleries remains free, but timed-entry passes for the building are required to visit.