JSC OPEN HOUSE TO PROVIDE BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT NASA



August 14, 1996



Steve Nesbitt

<h4>Release: 96-025</h4> <h3>JSC Open House to Provide Behind the 
Scenes Look at NASAh3> 

Johnson Space Center employees will open the doors of NASA's 
laboratories, training facilities and Mission Control Center and 
welcome the Houston community behind the scenes of the nation's space 
program during the second annual JSC Open House on Saturday, August 
24.



The JSC Open House is a once-a-year opportunity for the public to get 
a close-up look at the space program's activities and operations. 
This year, 18 on-site buildings plus JSC's aircraft operations at 
Ellington Field and the new Sonny Carter Training Facility on Space 
Center Blvd. will be open for inspection. Favorite activities from 
last year have returned and more interactive demonstrations have been 
added.



The Open House, which begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., is free to 
the public. Visitors may enter the center through three gates not 
normally open to the public &shy; on NASA Road One just east of 
Saturn Blvd., on Space Center Blvd near Bay Area Blvd. and on Space 
Center Blvd. near NASA Road One. Parking in JSC lots is available at 
no charge.



Open House guests will be able to see the simulators where astronauts 
train to fly the Space Shuttle and work aboard the International 
Space Station; tour the new Mission Control Center; inspect aircraft 
at Ellington Field; see the new Neutral Buoyancy Lab in the Sonny 
Carter Training Facility where astronauts will practice spacewalks 
for future missions; watch a demonstration of the suits used in 
spacewalks by both the U.S. and Russian space programs; and view a 
Martian meteorite.



Also during the day, JSC astronauts, engineers and scientists will 
give presentations highlighting JSC's achievements since the 1995 
Open House. All presentations will be in the Teague Auditorium. The 
schedule is as follows:



9:30 a.m. -- &sup3;Go for Orbit Ops: Shuttle Highlights from the Past 
Year&sup2; Astronaut crew members from six different Shuttle missions 
discuss their missions.



10:30 a.m. -- Close Encounters in Space: Shuttle/Mir Rendezvous 
Highlights Astronauts and flight directors discuss the most recent 
Shuttle missions to rendezvous with the Russian space station.



11:30 a.m. &shy; Living and Working on Mir: Space Station Phase I 
Program managers and crew members discuss the first step toward the 
International Space Station -- the flight of US Astronauts on the 
Russian Space Station Mir.



1 p.m. &shy; Life Out There: Findings from a Martian Meteorite The 
scientists who recently discovered evidence of primitive life in a 
Martian meteorite will discuss their work.



2 p.m. -- Space Technology in Your World: Real-Life Applications of 
NASA Technology Dr. Michael DeBakey from the Texas Medical Center 
joins other scientists and engineers in discussing the impact of 
space technology on the field of medicine and in other areas of daily 
life.



3 p.m. -- The Road Ahead: Exploration and Development of Space Veteran 
Astronaut John Young and others discuss returning to the moon and 
future space exploration. Other events include educational activities 
for children, autographing sessions by JSC's astronauts, the 
construction of a full-size model of a new generation moon lander and 
tours around the closed chambers where volunteers lived during a 
recently completed 30-day study to test methods of supporting human 
life on long space expeditions.



The astronaut band, Max Q, also will perform amidst the Shuttle 
mockups in Bldg. 9 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.



The JSC Open House coincides with the annual Ballunar Liftoff at 
nearby Space Center Houston. Ballunar Liftoff features dozens of hot 
air balloons, parachute demonstrations and other attractions near 
JSC's Rocket Park. It runs over three days beginning Friday, August 
23. Last year some 70,000 people attended both events.

	
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