View an interactive collection of historical documents from the Viking project

Planetary exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life kicked off with Viking

NASA's Viking 1 and 2 missions revealed Mars' geological activity and potential for past life through their evidence of past surface water. Viking 1 held the record for the longest Mars surface operation until the Opportunity rover surpassed it in 2010.

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.

View a media gallery from the assembly of Voyager 1 and 2

This archive includes the many steps it took to put together each Voyager probe. Photos focus on individual parts, like the 8-track tape deck, the large dish-shaped antenna, and its long arm magnetometer boom.

View a collection of historical documents about molecular biology's history

The collection features materials related to those involved in the discovery of DNA and provides historical context for the discoveries of RNA, various viruses, and important bioproteins. The items include photographs, business correspondence, manuscripts, and scientific instruments.

A free archive of firsthand historical documents from explorers of America

Maintained by the Wisconsin Historical Society, the American Journeys collection contains more than 18,000 pages of primary source documents—journals, letters, maps, and accounts written between roughly 1000 CE and the early 1800s. These include eyewitness records of the Norse arrival in North America, Spanish conquistador expeditions, and the Lewis and Clark journey. Browse this list of highlights where pages from the original texts are specified (clicking a link opens a PDF).

Viking mission planning director Gentry Lee (1942–) on getting to Mars

"We didn't know then what we know now, which is how tough it really is to land on Mars."

Explore an interactive visualization of the solar system

This tool allows you to view the orbits of planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, and other significant objects in the solar system. Clicking on an object reveals key facts and historical data.

View the surface of Mars from NASA's Perseverance

Simulate a visit to the red planet with the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. This 3D interactive experience lets you explore various locations on the martian surface. See closeup images the rover has taken and view key points of interest. It's the next best thing to being there and certainly far safer!

Explore the Museum of the World

This collaboration between the British Museum and Google presents an interactive timeline showing artifacts from five world regions. Go back in time and learn about each item from the museum.

Flip through centuries-old artifacts in this 3D library

Archaeology is hands-on work, giving researchers the ability to analyze artifacts from as many sides as possible to find marks left by those that came before us. While looking at pictures of artifacts gives you some insight, you're limited to...

An illustrated guide to constructing a Viking ship

Using saga descriptions, museum consultations, and physical evidence, this guide tries to imagine what kind of ship Harald Hardrada would have sailed into Constantinople in 1034. The contemporary illustrations suggest technically precise craftsmanship.

An interactive look at Earth's history

This interactive module allows students to explore the science of Earth’s deep history, from its formation 4.5 billion years ago to modern times.

Explore a gallery of space-based images and animations of Earth

This collection compiles shots of well-known locations, such as US national parks, and natural features, including aurora borealis and fall foliage, to provide a high-level view of Earth's surface.

A private repository of millions of FOIA-requested documents

The Black Vault is one of the largest privately run archives of declassified documents in the world. Explore UFO sightings, doorways on Mars, and more.

Hear the untold colonial backstories of the British Museum’s most famous artifacts

This podcast from VICE’s Unfiltered History Tour visits the British Museum’s prized objects through accounts from experts and communities from which they were taken.

A rich archive of the visual imagination of the Cold War era

The blog aggregates art, design, fashion, and technology from the atomic and space age, spanning mid-century American futurism and its Soviet counterpart. The content has a broad range: escape pods from a B-58 bomber sit alongside Tour de France caravan vehicles and unidentified industrial designs.

Explore a map of global native lands

This interactive map visualizes Indigenous territories across the world. Users can search by location, language, or tribe to explore the histories, cultures, and present-day communities connected to specific lands.

Journey through Norway’s frozen frontier

This 44-minute video takes viewers through the Arctic landscapes of Norway, as they learn about the area’s life and challenges. Viewers can observe the wildlife that thrives in this harsh setting—from reindeer and polar bears to red foxes. They...

Tour this virtual museum of important events and letters from the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War lasted about 20 years, killed millions, and ended with half of a divided country engulfing the other. What else do you know about it? Learn more in this virtual exhibit, which includes videos, text blurbs, and audio clips; covers important events from the war; and features handwritten letters from those involved.

View a directory of more than 300 dinosaurs

This resource details each dinosaur's taxonomy, type, diet, and habitat, from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops. More well-researched dinosaurs include information on when they were discovered alongside their size, behaviors, and other noteworthy findings.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

A short history of space exploration

Let us to take you back through the timeline of space exploration and its rich, fascinating history, starting in 1946, with a rudimentary German military rocket.

Modern Marvels examines the Manhattan Project

This episode of the television program 'Modern Marvels' focuses on the Manhattan Project, combining archival footage and interviews with historians and scientists to shed light on one of the most ambitious military and scientific endeavors in human history.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Explore Pompeii with an interactive map packed with 60+ key sites

This tool provides detailed information on major landmarks—from the Villa of Mysteries to the House of the Tragic Poet—and suggests themed walking routes based on visit length. A companion app adds virtual reconstructions and a full audioguide.

Experience games that explore Nobel Prize-winning work

Inspired by the educators who set laureates on their path, the Nobel Foundation has created a library of interactive activities for the general public. These allow users to make groundbreaking discoveries, showing that such work is accessible to all.

View live conflict data, military flights, ship tracking, and market feeds in one dashboard

The free tool pulls from conflict databases, military flight transponders, and maritime vessel trackers, layered over 45 map overlays and 435 news feeds in 21 languages. It is reportedly used by over two million people across 190 countries.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

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.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.