08/17/2026
Museum Celebrates 50th Anniversary and Inductee Class of 2026 on October 3
Golden Jubilee Event Tickets Now on Sale
Tickets are now on sale for the New Mexico Museum of Space History’s Golden Jubilee and Induction Ceremony to be held on Saturday, October 3, at the Tays Special Event Center in Alamogordo. The theme for the celebration is “Honoring Yesterday and Inspiring Tomorrow.” Tickets are $90 per person, with museum members receiving a ten percent discount. The gala will include a cocktail hour, dinner, key note speaker, Induction Ceremony, and silent auction.
The Class of 2026 Inductees, chosen from a group of 45 worldwide nominees, include the women knowns as the Mercury 13, NASA Astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly, Swiss astrophysicist Michel Mayor, NASA mathematician Creola Katherine Johnson, and the first aerospace nurse Dolores “Dee” O’Hara. Confirmed attendees to the Induction include: Ms. O’Hara, who recently turned 91; Michael Moore, the grandson of Creola Katherine Johnson; and space author Loretta Hall, accepting on behalf of the Mercury 13.
“It is an honor and a privilege to welcome the Selectees to Alamogordo for the Induction Ceremony,” noted Museum Executive Director Karen Kincaid Brady. “Ms. O’Hara continues to be an inspiration for nursing professionals and we are excited to have her in attendance. Mr. Moore continues his grandmother’s legacy of excellence through his own career and the Katherine Johnson Foundation. It is also quite fitting that New Mexico author and space historian Loretta Hall will accept the award on behalf of the Mercury 13.”
“To participate in the selection of these truly inspirational people has been a deeply humbling experience. The dedication and commitment each has had to their chosen career field is exemplary and worthy of this honor,” said International Space Hall of Fame Foundation Chairman Cliff Hudson. “I am extremely proud to have the opportunity to continue the Foundation’s more than five decades of partnership with the Museum, promoting its mission, supporting its activities, and enhancing its STEM education opportunities. This October’s Golden Jubilee highlights the importance of the vision the museum’s founders had and the promise of its future.”
Tickets for the event can be purchased through the museum’s website at nmspacemuseum.org or through the International Space Hall of Fame Foundation’s website at spacehalloffame.org.
Event sponsors include the International Space Hall of Fame Foundation, the Sacramento Mountains Foundation, the Buller Family, Future Real Estate, Christus Health, and SkyView2U. Sponsorships for the event are available on both websites. For more information, email: [email protected].
The museum opened in 1976 as The International Space Hall of Fame – dedicated to recognizing the imagination, efforts, and achievements of those who have endeavored to advance humankind’s knowledge of the universe, and our ability to explore space. Today, the New Mexico Museum of Space History, hailed as the “Jewel of Alamogordo,” continues its 50-year legacy of inspiring and educating visitors from around the world about space history and New Mexico’s integral role in the U.S. space program.
