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For Release: September 22, 2000
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Sally Harrington
Media Relations Office
(216) 433-2037
s.harrington@grc.nasa.gov
Join the Celebration of World Space Week!
World Space Week, October 4 through 10, will be recognized around
the world. NASA Glenn Research Center invites people to discover a
variety of space-related exhibits, displays, and activities at its
Visitor Center on October 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
What better place to start than an exhibit dedicated to former
astronaut John H. Glenn, the namesake of Glenn Research Center. It
includes replicas of the space suits he wore during his first space
flight as one of the original seven United States astronauts and on
his second journey into space in 1998.
A Moon rock brought back to Earth by astronauts during the
Apollo program and a full-size model of Sojourner, the rover that
explored the surface of Mars during the Mars Pathfinder mission
represent some of NASA's many journeys into space. The real
Sojourner gathered information about the rocks it encountered so
scientists at NASA could learn more about Mars. There is also a
large exhibit featuring the planets and the NASA missions involved
with them.
Some artifacts that have actually traveled in space are
scattered throughout the Visitor Center. One is the Apollo command
module that carried a three-man crew to Skylab, our first space
station, in 1973. Another is the space suit that James Lovell wore
during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. Visitors can pose in the
astronaut cutout for a souvenir picture of themselves as an
astronaut.
Models of the of the various capsules that have taken the
astronauts into space, the Space Shuttle and the International
Space Station, which is presently being constructed in space, tell
the story of the United States space program. Also on display is a
model of a solar array panel similar to the one developed at Glenn
that is scheduled to be installed on the International Space
Station later this year. Outside the Visitor Center is a full-scale
replica of the Centaur rocket configured with a Surveyor spacecraft
as the payload.
Visitors can participate in interactive displays involving the
reduced gravity environment experienced in space. They can discover
how much higher a person can jump on Mars than on Earth, perform
experiments that show how various elements react to weightlessness
and conduct a multimedia simulated launch of an Atlas rocket
model.
A walk through the other galleries, where exhibits feature other
Glenn accomplishments and programs, including the areas of
aeronautics and space communications, and a stop at the gift shop
will round out the visit.
The Visitor Center is open throughout the year except
Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and
New Year's Day, and Easter. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m.
on Sunday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on holidays. Admission is free and
it is wheelchair accessible.
For more information about the Glenn Research Center visit our
Web site at .
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