Air Zoo announces opening of Michigan Space Science Center

On Saturday, June 9, visitors can blast off on the vacation of a lifetime at Michigan Space Science Center (MSSC) at the Air Zoo. When opened, the MSSC will rank fourth in the nation for the number of Smithsonian Institution/National Air and Space Museum artifacts on display.

"With a focus on space, the Michigan Space Science Center will provide new opportunities for the Air Zoo to partner with schools throughout the State of Michigan," says Bob Ellis, executive director of the Air Zoo.

"As a destination attraction, it will attract even broader and more diverse audiences to southwest Michigan than ever before."

The 17,000-square-foot Michigan Space Science Center, included in the regular Air Zoo admission, will contain a large number of original space artifacts. These artifacts will include a Moon Rock, F1 Rocket engine, J-2 rocket engine, (both from a Saturn 5 moon rocket) full-size replica of a Gemini space capsule, a Gemini crew-training simulator, Russian Cosmonaut suit (from Alexandr Kaleri, the last commander of the MIR space station) and Ann Arbor astronaut Jack Lousma's space suit.

The MSSC will also include interactive exhibits. A 5,000-square-foot International Space Station exhibit developed by Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC, in conjunction with NASA and U.S. Space Enterprises will be a permanent feature in the MSSC.

Through the use of hands-on demonstrations, simulations, models, audiovisuals, theatres and experiences, the International Space Station exhibit within Michigan Space Science Center will create an environment much like a NASA astronaut training facility.

The International Space Station exhibit

The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest international peacetime project in the history of the world -- involving 16 nations.

The station is being assembled piece-by-piece -- like a puzzle in the Earth's orbit -- until all 100 components are in place. The total cost of the ISS project is estimated at between $35 and $37 billion.

When it is completed (estimate: 2010), it will be the second brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon.

At Michigan Space Science Center, visitors will be able to experience some of what future astronauts go through during training. Displays indicate how the ISS has been and is being assembled and what career opportunities the space program provides. Then it is on to microgravity training where Air Zoo visitors can practice working in "weightlessness" and learn about the challenges it presents.

After the basics are complete, it is time to learn how to dock a space shuttle at the ISS. A simulator allows visitors to put Newton's Laws of Motion into action as they use joysticks and visual cues to dock the space shuttle into place.

With all the training out of the way, it is time to head into space via the Space Shuttle Theatre, a scale mock-up of a space shuttle flight deck docked at a module of the ISS. Inside the theatre, rumble speakers and special effects transport guests from the Earth to the ISS -- just like the astronauts onboard.

High above the Space Shuttle Theatre, a hard-working astronaut goes for a spacewalk, undoubtedly to make a crucial repair. A canopy of solar panels covers the visitors as they exit the Space Shuttle Theatre.

Once safely on-board the ISS, visitors learn how astronauts adapt at living in space for extended periods of time. The Crew Systems displays detail the processes of eating, sleeping, showering, going to the bathroom and keeping fit in space.

Once accustomed to the rigors of everyday space life, it is time for visitors to learn how to get some work done in the Space Station Module. Racks that contain equipment, experiments, stowage, crew systems and maintenance or operational systems expose visitors to the experiments that keep the astronauts busy during the day.

Graphics and hands-on activities teach visitors about flames in space, biotechnology, microgravity and hydroponics. A scale replica of the cupola contains a robotic arm with which visitors can experiment and an opportunity to virtually walk through the U.S.-built Destiny unit of the ISS.

A trip to Mars

While visiting the MSSC, visitors will be able experience a simulated mission to the planet Mars in a futuristic Mars Lander. The five-minute flight simulates what future astronauts might experience in NASA's next generation of manned space vehicles.

The three-axis, full-motion simulator was created by Doron Precision Systems of Binghamton, New York. The high-energy, computer-generated Mission to Mars movie was produced by Red Star Studio Ltd. headquartered in the United Kingdom.

When stepping out of the Mars simulation, guests will be greeted with the sight of a mural that depicts the surface of Mars around the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in the Meridiani Planum Basin. The mural, created by world-renowned artist Rick Herter, recreates the region around Eagle Crater.

Herter's mural is based on photos from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that Opportunity took during its first months on Mars in 2004. The mural also serves as the backdrop for the MSSC's Mars Pathfinder exhibit, where visitors can drive a full-scale model of the Sojourner rover which landed on Mars in 1997.

Other exhibits

Other interactive exhibits at the MSSC will include:

Lunar Leap -- Guests will be able to get the feel of lunar gravity -- 1/6 of the Earth's.

Space Sick -- Visitors will get the feeling that many astronauts feel during their first few days in weightlessness.

Space Walk -- Visitors walk treads around the cylinder to change orientation, just like astronauts learning to do complex tasks upside-down and sideways.

Gyro -- Visitors will experiment with large locked and un-locked gyroscopes to see how they work and are used to guide rockets.

Action vs. Reaction -- Guests will be able to learn about action/reaction by loading tennis balls into the chamber of an air cannon, which will be mounted on a cart on a track.

Why an Airplane Can't Fly in Space -- Visitors will learn why an airplane can't fly in space by working with a solar powered motor that has a propeller that "flies" in a circle inside a vacuum chamber.

Pump Rocket -- Pumping up and shooting a compressed air rocket to the ceiling teaches visitors about Newton's Laws of Motion.

Mars Pathfinder -- Visitors can drive a full-sized replica of the Sojourner robotic rover on a Martian landscape, just like NASA scientists did during the 1997 mission to the red planet.

"While the history of flight can teach us many of life's lessons about following our dreams, space will continue to provide new challenges to be solved," says Ellis. "With the new MSSC, the Air Zoo can be the catalyst that helps turn dreams into reality for many of today's youth."