Experience a journey to the Moon, Mars and beyond when NASA brings its new interactive exhibit -- the Vision for Space Exploration trailer -- to Fort A.P. Hill near Bowling Green, Va.

The exhibit will be featured at the Boy Scout Jamboree, a national gathering of scouts and troop leaders from Boy Scout councils throughout the United States. The annual scouting event draws thousands to Fort A.P. Hill, a U.S. Army training facility. The exhibit experience is intended to carry visitors' imaginations rocketing to the farthest reaches of our solar system, and inspire space enthusiasts as they embark on a simulated journey into space.

Housed in a 53-foot-long tractor and trailer rig, the Vision for Space Exploration exhibit is designed to share with visitors NASA's exploration goal, which is to return to the moon and then travel to Mars and beyond.

The Vision for Space Exploration Trailer is free and open to the public during jamboree hours, July 25 through Aug. 4, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit is handicapped accessible.

While taking the exhibit "journey" and talking with experts, visitors will learn about technologies now being investigated and developed by NASA and its partners in industry, academia and other government agencies. Attendees also will learn how tomorrow's lifestyles will change as NASA develops advancements in power, computer and medical technologies, communications, networking and robotics. In addition, visitors will see how other advanced technologies will increase the safety and reliability of space transportation systems while reducing costs.

Visitors who enter the Vision for Space Exploration Trailer will begin their journey surrounded by stars and planets. Surfaces of the moon and Mars will encircle the "space voyagers." Holographic video screens create floating images, allowing visitors' hand motions to "control" and create bases for human life on the planets.

Visitors then prepare for the exciting journey ahead in the Experience Dome -- a 136-square-foot hexagon-shaped, three-dimensional theater featuring a five-screen presentation on the Vision for Space Exploration. The dome's interior becomes a seamless floor-to-wall-to-ceiling window for a journey to other worldly destinations. "Explorers" see themselves in space to fully experience environments in other parts of our Solar System -- giving travelers the illusion of stepping on the surfaces of Earth, the Moon and Mars.

For more information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

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