Emily A. Margolis, PhD, is Curator of Contemporary Spaceflight at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. She is also responsible for the Museum’s Mercury and Gemini collections. Margolis’s current book project, “Let Me Play Among the Stars”: A Long History of Space Tourism, 1958-2001, explores how spaceflight has shaped—and been shaped by—Americans' travel preferences and practices. She is co-curating two forthcoming exhibitions. 

Article

• Margolis, Emily A. 2020. "'See your spaceport': Project Apollo and the origins of Kennedy Space Center tourism, 1963–67." European Journal of American Culture, 39, (3) 249–274. https://doi.org/10.1386/ejac_00030_1. 2020

Blog Posting

• Margolis, Emily A. 2024. "A New Look for a New Military Service: General Raymond’s U.S. Space Force Uniform." National Air and Space Museum Blog Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Dec 20, 2024. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/new-look-new-military-service-general-raymond. 2024
• Margolis, Emily A. 2024. "Introducing RSS First Step." National Air and Space Museum Blog Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Oct 16, 2024. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/introducing-rss-first-step#:~:text=Reusable%20Space%20Ship%20(RSS)%20First,by%20one%20BE%2D3PM%20engine. 2024
• Margolis, Emily A. 2023. "Kalpana Chawla: The First South Asian American Woman in Space." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Feb 1, 2023. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/kalpana-chawla. 2023
• Margolis, Emily A. and Montiel, Anya. 2022. "Mary Golda Ross: Aerospace Engineer, Educator, and Advocate." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Feb 11, 2022. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/mary-g-ross-aerospace-engineer. 2022
• Margolis, Emily A. 2021. "A Seat in the Flight Deck: Recognizing and Replacing Biases with Gender Inclusive Language." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Mar 31, 2021. https://doi.org/U11. 2021
• Margolis, Emily A. and Thompson, Samantha M. 2021. "Remembering Astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Dec 12, 2021. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/remembering-astronomer-henrietta-swan-leavitt. 2021
• Margolis, Emily A. 2021. "Space Tourism: Then and Now." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Oct 25, 2021. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/space-tourism-then-and-now. 2021
• Margolis, Emily A. 2021. "The People Behind Astronomical Plates and Notebooks: Project PHaEDRA and the Harvard College Observatory Computers." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. May 16, 2021. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/project-phaedra-and-harvard. 2021
• Margolis, Emily A. 2020. "Bee Falk's 100th Birthday." Air and Space Stories Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Dec 15, 2020. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/bee-falks-100th-birthday. 2020

Book

• Hubbard, Ben, Margolis, Emily A., and Shindell, Matthew. 2024. Our Future in Space: Imagining Moon Bases, Missions to Mars, and More. North Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press. 2024

Chapter

• Margolis, Emily A. 2024. "Put Us on Display: The Making of the Alabama Space and Rocket Center, 1958-1970." In NASA and the American South. Odom, Brian C. and Waring, Stephen P., editors. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. 2024
• Margolis, Emily A. 2024. "The Artemis Missions." In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps, and Matter. 240–241. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. 2024

Review

• Margolis, Emily A. 2022. [Book review] "A hidden figure tells her story." Physics Today, 75, (2), 49–50. https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.4942. 2022
• Margolis, Emily A. 2022. [Book review] "Managing innovation in telescope making: Making the Invisible Visible: A History of the Spitzer Infrared Telescope Facility (1971-2003), by Renee M. Rottner." Journal for the History of Astronomy, 53, (4), 497–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286221111100. 2022