Anticipating moon tourism by 2000, Pan Am issued 'First Moon Flights' club cards

American Express was the first company to offer 'gold' cards to borrowers

American Express began offering gold cards to affluent consumers in 1966. However, other credit card companies began offering similar, premium cards in the 1980s, which quickly became a status symbol for wealthy Americans.

In 2001, a $20M ticket officially kicked off space tourism

On that day, American businessman Dennis Tito became the first paying passenger to visit space, spending a week aboard the International Space Station. Since then, space participants have been members of suborbital flights, which do not require intensive training to prepare for.

American Express debuted its first charge card in 1958 to give travelers access to cash abroad

The original American Express charge card was made of purple paperboard and allowed customers to book travel. Unlike credit cards, the card's balance had to be entirely paid off each month. When the card first launched, 250,000 customers used it, and 17,500 companies had agreed to accept it.

Space tourism opportunities have been explored since the end of the Apollo era

In the 1970s, Rockwell International, a NASA contractor, and others investigated manufacturing passenger modules that could fit into the Space Shuttle's payload bay. NASA also opened spaceflights to nongovernment professionals, but many such programs were ended after the Challenger disaster, which killed the first Teacher in Space participant.

Scientists used to speculate about life on the moon

In the 17th century, Galileo's observations suggested the moon could be inhabited, leading to fictional speculations about lunar life. In the 19th century, stories were published claiming the discovery of various creatures, including human bats. The Apollo missions in the 20th century explored the possibility of life there, but further exploration showed this idea to be less likely than before.

As of 2022, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX are the primary space tourism companies

Blue Origin offers 11-minute suborbital flights for $28M, while Virgin Galactic provides a 90-minute suborbital flight for $450,000. SpaceX offers orbital flights for $55M, including trips to the International Space Station, and plans to offer civilians trips to the moon by 2030.

Before the first human spaceflight in 1961, scientists sent fruit flies, monkeys, and dogs into space.

Only 34% of Americans supported the Apollo program in 1967

After a fire killed three astronauts on the launchpad of Apollo 1, the public became ambivalent about funding the multibillion-dollar program until the successful moon landing in 1969. The landers alone cost $388M, while each spacesuit cost $100,000.

The Artemis program to bring humans to the moon for the first time since 1972

Using NASA's next-generation megarocket, the Space Launch System, Artemis I will take an uncrewed spacecraft on a 42-day journey around the moon. Subsequent missions plan to land the first woman on the lunar surface.

In 2013, American Express became the first credit card company to open an airport lounge

American Express opened its first airport lounge, the Centurion, in Las Vegas more than a decade ago. Since then, not only has American Express increased the number of lounges it has in airports across the country, but other credit card companies have also opened lounges.

An oral history of the 1969 moon landing

Twelve Central Illinois residents are asked to share their thoughts on where they were when the first people landed on the Moon. This almost one-hour program is a collaboration of Eastern Illinois University's Booth Library, the EIU Department of History, and WEIU, and it premiered at EIU's Booth Library, January 24, 2019.

The US once had a plan to nuke the moon

In the 1950s, the US considered detonating a hydrogen bomb on the moon as part of a Cold War show of force. Known as Project A119, the classified plan aimed to create a visible explosion from Earth to signal American dominance in the Space Race.

The US once had a plan to nuke the moon

In the 1950s, the US considered detonating a hydrogen bomb on the moon as part of a Cold War show of force. Known as Project A119, the classified plan aimed to create a visible explosion from Earth to signal American dominance in the space race.

Watch the full broadcast of humanity's first walk on the moon

On the night of July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped down the lunar module's ladder onto the moon's surface. The broadcast was watched by an estimated 650 million people—about a fifth of the then global population.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Why are we finally returning to the moon after 50 years?

After 50 years, NASA is heading back to the moon. Artemis missions will push beyond Apollo, landing astronauts on the moon's south pole by 2027. But why the long wait? Budget cuts, shifting priorities, and outdated tech stalled lunar exploration—until now. With new goals and modern tech, NASA is ready to return.

Firefly Blue Ghost lands private craft on the moon

On March 2, 2025, Firefly Aerospace landed its Blue Ghost craft on the Moon. The private company then operated the craft for two weeks, conducting surface operations and becoming the first private space company to have a fully successful mission on the Moon. This short video captures pristine, dramatic footage of the mission's successful touchdown.

The Apollo program built US space technology and showcased its Cold War dominance

Beyond landing humans on the moon for the first time, Apollo served to advance rocket engineering and guidance systems through crewed and uncrewed missions. By Apollo 15, the Lunar Roving Vehicle was developed and driven on the moon.

Experience the Apollo 11 mission in VR

Take one small step today and experience the historic moon-landing through VR. This video showcases how VR is allowing the public to travel through space through the eyes of those who lived through it.

John Glenn's Friendship 7 flight finally put the US in orbit in February 1962

After the Soviets took the lead in the space race, John Glenn's three-orbit Friendship 7 mission on February 20, 1962, made him the first American to orbit Earth. This NASA anniversary piece delivers a minute-by-minute account—from launch delays to splashdown and recovery.

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, sent its first passengers to space in 2021

Founded in 2000, Bezos spent many years working on the company as a side project before it became more well-known around 2004, when a plot of land in Texas was purchased as a launch site for the company’s rockets. He has said that the goal of Blue Origin is to build “reusable space vehicles.” This resource details what passengers experience from takeoff to landing on a Blue Origin flight.

Explore a collection of moon interactives from NASA, including a 3D lunar surface explorer, a tool for classifying moon rocks, and an interactive map for observing the moon each day of the year.

In 1882, American Express began offering money orders to compete with the US Postal Service

Money orders were American Express' first move into financial services. USPS launched its money order service in 1864 as a way for Civil War soldiers to send money back home. Between the 1880s and 1920s, immigration into the United States surged;the American Express money order service gave immigrants a way to send money to family members living in other countries.

Watch President John F. Kennedy's speech on going to the moon

The space race was a Cold War rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union that culminated in the US landing astronauts on the moon in 1969.

Relive the Apollo 11 moon landing minute by minute

This interactive project lets you experience Apollo 11 in real time—listening to exchanges between the astronauts and NASA's Mission Control as they guided humanity's first journey to the lunar surface and safely home.

Watch a documentary on what the first 10,000 days of colonizing the moon look like

Alongside the construction of the first lunar base with help from SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System, transported astronauts would establish a sustainable human presence through the construction of lunar dust shields, light-bending towers, and 3D-printed habitats.

View 60 years of NASA space exploration

Established in 1958—a year after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has taken humanity into outer space and helped reveal the nature of the universe. Historic moments include the Apollo 11 mission putting humanity on the Moon and construction of the International Space Station.

Simulating the moon's surface in the desert

And why is the next cohort headed there? The geological conditions in Flagstaff, Arizona, can easily echo those of the moon, making the area a prime spot to train astronauts. This article explains how scientists crafted these training grounds and why astronomers are drawn to the nearly century-old city.

The origins of Neil Armstrong's moon landing quote is still debated

When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon on July 20, 1969, his first words, transmitted across the globe, became legendary. Decades later, historians still debate whether he meant to say "one small step for a man," and where the phrasing may have originated.

NASA purchased about 60% of all integrated circuits from 1961 to 1965

The US government adopted the new technology to support the development of the Apollo Guidance Computer, which would help astronauts fly to the moon. This drove manufacturing up and costs down, setting the stage for the modern computing era.

SpaceShipOne was the first privately built spacecraft to reach the boundary of space

The rocket-powered aircraft was built by Richard Branson's company Virgin Galactic. The English business magnate has described being inspired to go to space since he was a child watching NASA's moon landings.

American Express is credited with inventing the traveler's check

In the 1890s, then American Express President James C. Fargo was frustrated that he couldn't get cash while traveling in Europe outside of major cities. Marcellus Berry, an American Express employee, came up with the idea of a traveler's "cheque": a prepaid check, similar to cash, that requires the signature of both the customer and the receiving institution to be valid. American Express never modernized the spelling of the word "cheque" and stopped providing them at the end of 2020.

Pan Am was once the largest international airline in the US—but it shut down in 1991 after a series of financial issues, beginning with increased operating costs and reduced demand driven by the oil crisis in the 1970s.

How NASA plans to build a lunar base, from roads to habitats

The Apollo program aspires to return humans to the moon—and to build humanity's first permanent habitat on its surface. The project involves complex construction plans, including creating roads from moon dust, baking bricks to build habitats, and more.

The Russian Federal Space Agency enabled the first space tourism journey

NASA refused to take Dennis Tito, who had no formal training as an astronaut, up to the International Space Station. Instead, the American engineer and entrepreneur traveled aboard the Soyuz TM-32 mission and described the initial experience of microgravity after engine shut-off as the "most spectacular" part of the flight.

The space race of the 21st century is focused on a permanent lunar outpost

After decades of dormancy, NASA and SpaceX hope the Artemis program will provide opportunities for lunar resource extraction. Countries like India, China, and the UAE have also shown interest in developing future lunar economies.

A gallery of shots taken during the lunar flyby of Artemis 2

On April 6, 2026, the four-person Artemis 2 crew took photos of "earthset" and "earthrise" from the Orion spacecraft window during their lunar flyby. It was the first time humans had flown around the moon in over 50 years.

Ahead of constructing a lunar base as part of the Artemis program, NASA will send a fleet of hopping drones to scout the moon's south pole.

A look at the foods eaten by astronauts during and after the space race

After John Glenn became the first American to demonstrate that eating in space was possible by eating apple puree out of a tube, meals were prepared for astronauts to meet an approximately 2,800-calorie-a-day requirement via freeze-dried foods. Meal quality gradually improved throughout the Apollo program, including the Apollo 8 crew's nondehydrated Christmas meal in 1968.

A lunar 'satellite catapult' revives a 50-year-old idea for launching rockets

Elon Musk has proposed building a mass driver on the moon to fling satellites into space, exploiting low gravity to cut fuel and costs. The concept dates to 1970s space-settlement studies, highlighting how older industry ideas are resurfacing amid today's AI and space-infrastructure race.

View a collection of digital museum resources about the Apollo program

Created by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, this collection includes detailed biographies of astronauts and scientists who worked on the program and interactive features on the technologies that made it possible.

Learn about the missions of the Artemis program, which aims to return humanity to the moon and develop the technology for future human space exploration.

Commercial air travel's early days: Flights were short, cold, depressurized, and generally comfortable

After World War II, airlines competed for their high-end passengers by offering cocktails, meals, and plush seats, cultivating the image of the elite "Jet Set." By the 1960s, air transport was completely changing global trade and offering big profits to companies able to ship via plane.

In 2024, China announced plans to establish an international lunar research station

The strategy, which runs until 2050, focuses on advancing space science, fostering technological innovation, and exploring habitable planets and extraterrestrial life, beginning with landing astronauts on the moon before 2030.

100 years of passenger air travel: a visual guide

This interactive timeline covers the first 100 years of passenger air travel, which was created in 1925 when the U.S. Post Office allowed private airlines to start delivering mail.

Watch a montage of space-based Earth views as astronauts discuss their overview experiences

As of 2023, more than 600 astronauts and 63 space tourists have seen Earth from space, experiencing a life-changing perspective shift as they view the entirety of our home planet.

The 'Centurion' card is American Express' highest-tier, invite-only credit card.

Hear how the first moon landing was saved

This podcast series explores Apollo 11 through firsthand stories from the engineers, mission controllers, and astronauts who made the moon landing possible, culminating in 13 minutes of NASA archive audio leading up to the landing.

Apollo 11’s design relied on shedding parts to reach, land on, and leave the moon

Despite Apollo 11 starting as a 3,000-ton spacecraft, the only part of it that returned to Earth was the small command module, which splashed down in the Pacific Ocean carrying three astronauts and moon rocks.