‘Flight originated from the imagination’: how artists have captured space travel

As the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary, an exhibition explores how art has mirrored humanity's journey into space, from Bruce Stevenson's iconic portrait of astronaut Alan Shepard to NASA's own art program. This retrospective highlights how art not only reflects but also inspires space exploration, showing that space travel has always been as much about imagination as it is about science. This context underscores the profound connection between human creativity and our quest to explore the cosmos.