HAMPTON, Va. - Starting Friday, residents can visit the stars without ever leaving Earth.

NASA is launching the "Vision for Space Exploration Experience" - an interactive traveling exhibit allowing visitors to slip the confines of our planet. The exhibit will tour select cities across the nation and make three stops in Virginia.

The first stop on this tour - Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., beginning April 27 - will provide Hampton Roads visitors with the tools and information they'll need to prepare for a space journey. The exhibit will be held in conjunction with the "Air Power Over Hampton Roads" air show. The "Vision for Space Exploration Experience" will be open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. April 27 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 28 and 29.

Following its air show stop, the Experience will travel to the Virginia Air & Space Center in Hampton, Va., May 2 - 6 to show what the future may hold for human space travel. The exhibit will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The final stop is a visit to Washington, D.C., where the exhibit will stop on the National Mall May 10 - 12 as a part of Public Service Recognition Week. The exhibit will be located along Jefferson Drive and will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 10 - 11 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 12.

The Experience uses holographic and 3D imagery to show "explorers" what it might be like to visit surfaces on the moon, Mars and destinations beyond. Visitors can manipulate their environment and explore simulated lunar and Martian landscapes as well as travel to one of Saturn's moons.

NASA staffers will be on hand at each of the tour's stops to answer questions and discuss some of the tens of thousands of technologies used on Earth as a result of years of space-based research and development. Visitors can learn how tomorrow's lifestyles will change as NASA develops advancements in power, computer technologies, communications, networking and robots. Visitors will also see how other advanced technologies will increase safety and reliability of space transportation systems, while also reducing costs.

Admission to the "Vision for Space Exploration Experience" is free of charge. Touring the exhibit, which is wheelchair accessible, takes approximately 10 minutes. The exhibit can accommodate up to 144 visitors each hour.

For more information on NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, visit:

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