NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is having an “open house” on the streets of downtown Huntsville, Alabama, on Saturday, June 21, complete with rockets, satellites, science, engineering, music, food and fun. Visitors can talk with former astronauts, kids can make their own rocket while learning about space, and Marshall engineers and scientists will explain their missions to help study the Earth, sun and other worlds.
“NASA on the Square” will launch at 11 a.m. and fill the streets and sidewalks around the Madison County Courthouse until 4 p.m.
Exhibits and activities for all ages will showcase everything from the center’s work with the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft — the most powerful rocket ever built and the vehicle that will take astronauts on deep-space missions to asteroids and Mars — to 3D printing and other advanced technologies that are revolutionizing space exploration and discovery.
The Marshall Center is partnering with Downtown Huntsville, Inc., for the free event. Visitors will find demonstrations, displays and activities reflecting the work of Marshall and NASA grouped into three broad categories around the Square and adjacent areas:
— “Traveling To and Through Space” will feature an actual RS-25 rocket engine like those that will launch the Space Launch System; a display of a rocket propellant tank made of light-but-strong composite materials instead of much-heavier metals, that keeps gases so cold they become liquids; and the “Mighty Eagle” robotic prototype lander, which is testing technology to allow spacecraft to autonomously land and explore moons and other worlds; and much more.
— “Living and Working in Space” allows visitors a glimpse into the Marshall-developed Environmental Control and Life Support System that provides astronauts aboard the International Space Station with water and oxygen and controls their environment. Displays will explain the work of people at the Payload Operations and Integration Center at Marshall, who manage the increasing number of science activities aboard the space station. You’ll get the facts about the racks and sealed Microgravity Science Glovebox that allows station astronauts to safely handle materials for experiments. And you’ll learn about work to design Deep Space Habitats for long-term missions.
— “Understanding Our World and Beyond” will showcase Marshall’s role in the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a robotic mission that set out to map the moon’s surface and, after a year of exploration, was extended with a unique set of science objectives; the ISERV Earth observation camera system aboard the space station; solar science experiments and many other programs. There will even be a “Sunspotter” special telescope for viewing the sun.
Throughout the day, Marshall Center researchers, scientists and other team members will present short talks about their work. Bands featuring Marshall Center musicians will perform; the Marshall Exchange shop will have science-related kids’ games for sale, as well as caps, T-shirts, tote bags, space shuttle mission coins and other NASA-logo merchandise; and visitors can have their picture taken in a spacesuit. There will be many educational activities for children, including being tethered to a simulated spacecraft to learn how astronauts make repairs or launch satellites during spacewalks, and “Peeps in Space,” which uses marshmallow treats and a vacuum jar to show why astronauts need special spacesuits.
“Huntsville has been home to the Marshall Center for more than 50 years,” said Marshall Center Director Patrick Scheuermann. “From America’s first satellite, to the moon landings, the shuttle program and the International Space Station, we’ve made history, together. NASA on the Square is a celebration of that history, and a great opportunity for your family to come and meet our family and see where we are going next.”
NASA partners, including ATK, Boeing, Jacobs and Teledyne Brown will also have exhibits on the Square. Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood is providing the stage and sound system. Aerojet Rocketdyne is sponsoring the music entertainment. Other participants include the University of Alabama in Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, U.S. Space & Rocket Center and the Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Kimberly Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov