Ever imagine rocketing to the farthest reaches of the solar system? Ohioans will get a chance to understand what it’s like starting May 6, 2006 when NASA’s new interactive Vision for Space Exploration Experience begins a month-long tour of the state.
The Experience uses holographic and 3D imagery to show “explorers” what it might be like to visit the surfaces of 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, free of charge.
NASA is launching the Experience with its first public appearance in Ohio on May 6 at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland as part of Glenn’s Star Gazing & More event. During this event, the Experience will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Experience will also be open to the public on Sunday, May 7 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Glenn’s Visitor Center.
Other stops include:
- Lorain County Joint Vocational School in Oberlin from May 9 through 11
- Cleveland Museum of Natural History from May 13 through 16
- Gateway Plaza for Cleveland Indians games and an educational day on May 18 and 19
- Walleye Festival in Port Clinton from May 25 through 29
- Strawberry Festival in Troy on June 3 and 4
A special treat awaiting visitors is an exciting journey 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 travel virtually through space and fully experience environments in other parts of our solar system — giving them the illusion of stepping on the surfaces of Earth, the moon and Mars.
NASA experts will be on hand at the tour stops to answer questions and discuss some of the 30,000 technologies used on Earth as a result of NASA’s years of research and development.
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 learn how other advanced technologies will increase the safety and reliability of space transportation systems while also reducing costs.
Touring the exhibit, which is wheelchair accessible, takes approximately 15 minutes. It enables NASA to spread knowledge of the Vision for Space Exploration at up to 50 events annually, reaching hundreds of thousands of Americans nationwide.
For more information on NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration, visit:
For more information about the Vision Experience tour of Ohio, visit:
