HOUSTON – Visitors will be propelled into a 3-D journey across the solar system when they step inside the “NASA Exploration Experience” at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum in Santa Fe, N.M. Oct. 25-27. The exhibit demonstrates the countless rewards made possible back on Earth by NASA’s 50-plus years of space science, discovery and technology development.
The traveling exhibit uses 3-D imagery and the latest interactive video technology to immerse visitors in the experience. The NASA exhibit, located at 1050 Old Pecos Trail, will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. MDT Tuesday and Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. The exhibit is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.
“We hope visitors to the NASA Exploration Experience will be excited and astonished by the impact of space exploration on their everyday lives,” said Rocky Lind, acting outreach manager for NASA’s Explorations Systems at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “In the past five decades, NASA research and development has resulted in more than 2,000 breakthrough tools and technologies. These contributions are everywhere, in every walk of human life – from medicine and surgical procedures, to transportation systems and basic food safety and public safety solutions.”
Thursday, Oct. 27 at 4:30 p.m. Peggy Carruthers of NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the International Space Station Program will conduct a presentation about living and working in space aboard the station.
In addition to highlighting many of these innovations, the “NASA Exploration Experience” 3-D movie presentation demonstrates the physiological and technical challenges involved in sending human explorers on extended journeys to Earth orbit and beyond.
The exhibit will feature a moon rock that was retrieved by astronaut Jack Schmitt during the Apollo 17 mission. It is one of eight lunar samples made available for the public to touch.
Visitors also will see how NASA and its government, industry and academic partners around the world are developing robust science missions to new worlds and new destinations, and building next-generation launch vehicles to extend humanity’s reach across the solar system. This cinematic experience, narrated by Peter Cullen – the voice of “Optimus Prime” from the popular “Transformers” movies and cartoons – ponders the thirst for understanding that drives human voyages of discovery and offers breathtaking glimpses into a busy future in space.
NASA employees will be on hand to answer questions and discuss how America’s space exploration activities continue to refine existing technologies and contribute new breakthroughs in areas such as power generation, computer technology, communications, networking and robotics.
Visitors can take away unique souvenirs of their NASA experience. They can step into a Mark III spacesuit and take a photo of themselves in astronaut gear with their own camera.
For more information about the traveling exhibit and NASA’s exploration mission, visit:
http://exploration.nasa.gov
For more information about the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, visit:
http://www.santafechildrensmuseum.org/
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Linda Matthews-Schmidt
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
Betty M. Grisham
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-656-3980