EXHIBITIONS

Twin Astronaut

March 17, 2015 – March 7, 2016
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC

Accompanied by an online catalogue and an Audio Guide

In his famous work on special relativity in 1905, Albert Einstein predicted that when two clocks are brought together and synchronized, with one being moved away and brought back, the clock that undergoes the traveling would be found to be lagging behind the clock which has been stayed put. In 1911, he restated and elaborated on this result as follows:

“If we have identical twins, one of whom makes a journey into space in a high-speed rocket for several decades, and returns home to find that the twin who remained on Earth has aged more.”

Due to the limitation of technology in that early 20th century, this experiment could not be done, thus remained in theory. Soon after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a global conflict pitting democracy against communism. Space became a critical theater in the Cold War, as each side competed to best the other's achievements in what became known as the Space Race. This forced the implementation of the so-called Twin Astronaut Project.

NASA decided to recruit an astronaut who has a twin. This particular space trip would be as long as 35 years, providing a chance to prove Einstein’s prophet. They chose the twins from a small town in Alabama, named Tom and Jerry Legstrong. Jerry was chosen to part the earth for 35 years, while Tom remained home.

The space travel began in 1980. After three years, when the spaceship was getting closer to light speed, the signal was lost. After losing contact with Jerry for nearly 30 years, NASA decides to re-perform the experiment in 2015. This new mission called “One Year Crew” is much more conservative than the previous. The selected investigations will occur during astronaut Scott Kelly’s yearlong spaceflight, aboard the International Space Station beginning in March 2015. Retired astronaut Mark Kelly (Scott’s identical twin brother) will carry on with his daily life on Earth during Scott’s one-year mission. This experiment uses data collected from genetically similar astronauts to observe the effects of spaceflight on humans. And the analysis of these data would provide answers to Einstein’s experiment.

As an introduction of the One Year Crew, as well as a remembrance of Jerry Legstrong, MoSF would exhibit a collection in National Air and Space Museum, displaying objects related to 1980’s space mission. The exhibition would last for one year from March 2015 through March 2016. 

To Learn more about "One Year Crew".


Organized by Dr. Jennifer Levasseur, Curator, Department of Space History in National Air and Space Museum

Related Events

Past
Family Story in Family Day
Saturday, February 21, 2015, 10 a.m to 3 p.m.

Installation Shot

Audio guide

Exhibition Objects

Picture
Tom and Jerry in 4
Date: 1951
Creator: Unknown
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimension: 3 1/2×3 1/2 inches
Picture
New York Times Dec. 4, 1980 
Date: 1980
Creator: New York Times
Medium: Paper
Dimension: 13 1/2×22 inches
Picture
AG7-TP Space Pen
Date: 1978
Creator: Paul C. Fisher
Medium: Metal
Dimension: 0.375 in. diameter, 5 in. length

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Location in Museum

Picture
This exhibition will on display in the Space Race area at the first floor of National Air and Space Museum through March 15, 2015 to March 18, 2016.