NASA Parkway, Clear Lakeĭetails: $39.95 per day 28 When: June 9-12 June 9 is the business-to-business conference “That’s our goal for this festival, is hopefully to get people excited, enthused, to see the possibilities,” Harris says. Companies such as Ad Astra, which is exploring the fuel potential of electric plasma and Intuitive Machines, makers of a robotic lander set to look for ice under the moon’s south pole, are doing incredible things but not getting much attention for it, he believes. On June 9, a business-to-business conference will serve as a sort of prelude to the festival, highlighting what Harris calls the “burgeoning” space-related sector of the Houston-area economy. Friday and Saturday nights will conclude, respectively, with concerts featuring roots-pop singer Katie Toupin (“Astronaut”) and Texas country star Wade Bowen, and “Trampoline” alt-pop trio Shaed opening for “Best Day of My Life” rockers American Authors. “Our goal is to create a really exciting learning experience that’s a lot of fun for people of all ages and present something that the public typically doesn’t get to experience in this region.”Īmong the array of space-centered attractions will be a special exhibition based on the Artemis program, a robot challenge course, computer-aided challenges similar to gaming, and - for a limited number of guests - a drivable prototype rover. “We’re not doing this because we’re looking to make money,” says Harris, who credits presenting sponsor Wellby (formerly the JSC credit union) with helping keep the festival affordable. Adult tickets are $39.95 per day, a $10 increase over regular admission. The center will be open extended hours June 10-12 all its regular attractions will also be available. To that end, Space Center Houston, the public-facing arm of Johnson Space Center - and one of the Houston area’s top tourist attractions - has created the Moon 2 Mars Festival as a way to combine the latest in space tech with old-fashioned festival fun: live music, food and drink, an ice-cream truck, the works. “Our goal, really, is to raise public awareness about these plans to return to the moon,” he adds, “but also for people to be aware of all the innovation that’s happening in the Houston region and across the state of Texas.” Such activity might come as a surprise to a large portion of the general public, however, because “our surveys have shown that people think that individuals have been going to the moon since the end of the Apollo program, which we know is not true,” says William T. The Artemis I mission, a test flight for NASA’s new Orion multipurpose spacecraft, could happen by Labor Day if things go according to schedule. Within the next few years, humans will resume regular flights to the moon, with an eye toward both long-term residency on the lunar surface and using the moon as a launching pad for manned missions to Mars. UPDATE: Blue Origin is no longer part of the Moon 2 Mars exhibit. Astrolab Rover at Space Center Houston's Moon 2 Mars exhibit Photo: Space Center Houston
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