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: Ironically, the artifact that gave it its start is absent a half-century later. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum turned 50 on Wednesday (July 1) with five renovated galleries awaiting visitors. One object not on display, though (or at least not identified as such) is the Viking lander surface sampler that received a signal from Mars and cut the museum's opening ribbon. For the anniversary, a tale about a 50-year-old arm.
: Retro 51 and Goldspot Pens have introduced the Voyager Golden Record Tornado, a limited edition writing instrument. The acid-etched brass barrel of each of the 500 rollerball pens is adorned with the diagrams that cover the discs traveling through the interstellar medium, awaiting their discovery by extraterrestrial, intelligent life. The $76 pen comes in tube inscribed with the two records' greetings in 55 languages.
: The United States has been launching items into space for a little less than one-third of its history. As the country celebrates its 250th anniversary, collectSPACE considers the question: What is the oldest example of Americana that was carried off the planet? The (possible) answer involves a number of United States' icons, from a Revolutionary War flag to the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Spike and the Star-Spangled Banner.
: When an Artemis mission lands with the next astronauts to explore the surface of the moon, they will mark their success in part by deploying the United States' flag revealed on America's 250th birthday. The red, white and blue banner was flown over the U.S. Capitol before being presented to Apollo 17 lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt and the Artemis II crew during a speech by President Donald Trump on July 4th.
: Canada's first astronaut to fly to the moon is leaving the country's space agency. Jeremy Hansen announced on Monday (July 6) that he will end his full-time assignment to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and transition to being a reservist in the Royal Canadian Air Force in September. Hansen made history as the first non-American to leave low Earth orbit as a mission specialist on NASA's Artemis II mission in April.
