Red Tails and the Red Planet A Black History Month Celebration at the Virginia Air & Space Center At the Virginia Air and Space Center, on Saturday, February 9, 2013, underserved and underrepresented students and their families, ~600 total, learned about the Red Planet, Mars, from NASA and its Curiosity mission, and about African-American achievements in Aviation, including the brave exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed “Red Tails.” NASA activities included: Understanding the challenges of landing on Mars, with Langley’s Entry, Descent and Landing engineers. Having fun with Mars Funky Physics Adventures, a fast paced interactive show highlighting the science of the Curiosity mission. Enjoying a Mars Curiosity Rover activity, the “Drag Race to Mars Engineering Design Challenge” Launching a balloon rocket to Mars February 21, 2013