Free Republic

For more than 40 years, the "Apollo to the Moon" gallery at the National Air and Space Museum has provided millions of visitors a close-up look at some of the key artifacts from humanity's first visit to another world. On Monday (Dec. 3), the gallery will close forever. "This was one of the original galleries built for the museum in 1976," explained curator Michael Neufeld, during a tour of "Apollo to the Moon" streamed live on Facebook from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. on Friday (Nov. 30). "It has many key artifacts that are great...

Max Ary, former Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center president was sentenced this morning to 36 months in federal prison for his role in stealing and selling space artifacts from the museum, The Hutchinson News reports. U.S. District Court Judge J. Thomas Marten also ordered an additional supervised release period of 36 months that will follow the prison sentence. "I think a prison sentence is important in your case," said Judge Marten while delivering his decision, "for people to get the message," The Wichita Eagle reports. Ary will also pay restitution for the stolen space artifacts, which includes property that belonged...