> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.unknowndivide.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # At Home in Space Opens at the National Air and Space Museum October 30 - URL: https://www.unknowndivide.com/at-home-in-space-national-air-and-space-museum/ - Published: 2026-10-27T11:20:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-27T11:29:20.000Z - Description: One of the last two galleries in the museum's huge renovation, At Home in Space traces more than 50 years of learning to live and work in orbit, with a Space Shuttle Main Engine, Sally Ride's tennis racquet and Robonaut 1A. - Author: unknowndivide staff - Tags: Culture, #surfacing The [National Air and Space Museum](https://airandspace.si.edu/whats-on/exhibitions/home-space?ref=unknowndivide.com) is about to open the gallery a lot of space fans have been waiting for. *At Home in Space* opens on Friday, October 30 at the museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and it is all about the part of spaceflight that rarely gets the spotlight: how people actually live and work up there. ## Fifty years of learning to stay The museum describes it as an immersive, highly interactive exhibition that follows a journey of more than 50 years: learning how humans can live and work in space continuously, and how to venture beyond Earth orbit. It looks at the challenges and the payoffs of a permanent human presence in low Earth orbit, and how lessons from the Space Shuttle and the space station programs shape where we go next and what we do once we get there. That framing is what makes it interesting. Launches get the headlines, but the real story of the last few decades is about building habitats, running science and technical experiments for months at a time, and slowly figuring out how to make orbit a place people can stay. The gallery connects that work to life on Earth, too. ## What you can see The object list already teases some highlights. There is a [Space Shuttle Main Engine](https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/engine-rocket-space-shuttle-main-ssme/nasm%5FA20040205000?ref=unknowndivide.com), which is a serious piece of hardware to stand next to. There is a far more personal object too: [Sally Ride's tennis racquet](https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/tennis-racquet-sally-ride/nasm%5FA20140271000?ref=unknowndivide.com). The in flight suit jacket worn by Guy Bluford on STS 8 is on the list, along with an in cabin 70mm IMAX camera and Robonaut 1A, a robot that looks every bit the space station coworker. The museum has also shared an artist's rendering of the gallery, showing a towering engine, a station style module, spacecraft models hanging overhead and display cases spread across a bright, open floor. Treat it as a preview of the plan rather than a photo of the finished room. ## The last pieces of a huge renovation This opening matters beyond one gallery. The museum building first opened on July 1, 1976, and it has spent 2026 marking its 50th anniversary. A multi year renovation has redesigned all 20 exhibition spaces, refaced the exterior and replaced aging systems. Five new galleries opened on July 1, and *At Home in Space* is one of the final two, with Modern Military Aviation following on Veterans Day, November 11\. Once both are open, the transformation is complete. ## Plan your visit Admission is always free, but the museum in DC requires free timed entry passes, so book ahead on the [official visit page](https://airandspace.si.edu/visit/museum-dc?ref=unknowndivide.com). The museum is open daily from 10 am to 5:30 pm. ## Our call This one is Surfacing. Space exhibitions often lean on rockets and moon landings. This one zooms in on the daily reality of living off planet, from engines to a tennis racquet, and that makes it feel human. If you are anywhere near DC this fall, put it on the list. Into exhibitions that blend science and design? Read our take on [Becoming America at the Science Museum](https://www.unknowndivide.com/becoming-america-science-museum-london/) and the immersive work in [Es Devlin: Other Worlds at the Design Museum](https://www.unknowndivide.com/es-devlin-other-worlds-design-museum/). [At Home in Space](https://airandspace.si.edu/whats-on/exhibitions/home-space?ref=unknowndivide.com) · [Visit the museum in DC](https://airandspace.si.edu/visit/museum-dc?ref=unknowndivide.com) · [Exhibitions reimagined](https://airandspace.si.edu/about/major-projects/transformation/new-exhibits?ref=unknowndivide.com) · [50th anniversary plans](https://airandspace.si.edu/newsroom/press-releases/national-air-and-space-museum-announces-plans-celebrate-50-years?ref=unknowndivide.com)