GRC NEWS RELEASE 00-051 00-051 For Release: September 22, 2000 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 . # # # -end-