‘Planet Pioneers’ lands at Orlando Science Center

Feeling otherworldly? Then the timing of “Planet Pioneers” at Orlando Science Center is good.

The traveling exhibit explores what it would take — from preparation to protection — to live on a planet that isn’t Earth. This is going to be tougher than a tribal council on TV’s “Survivor.”

The displays and information aren’t specific to Mars, but with Perseverance, a car-sized rover there, it’s one small mental step to apply the presented facts to the red planet (plus, the whole place has a soft orange glow to it.)

Here are five walkaways — encumbered by our usual gravity, alas — from my browsing through “Planet Pioneers.”

Drive

On the far side of the exhibit space is a Surface Exploration Vehicle that, via very wide screen technology, allows visitors to take a virtual drive. It’s also a demonstration of infrared imaging used for exploration. A cool factor: The environment you can see while driving is shared with the exhibit’s drone demonstration nearby.

Drone

The “Fix the Problem” station allows folks to check out areas that are too dangerous for humans. It’s not exactly the same as the unmanned rovers of Earth. Fluctuating factors include gravity (more or less) and atmosphere (thinner? thicker?). Instructions warn us not to stray too far, which is good advice on this planet, too. “Planet Pioneers,” created by Australia-based SciTech, aims to inspire youngsters, but from where I stand, they’ve got a handle on drones.

Tend to taters

And I’ll take a side of space potatoes. Yep, spuds can grow out there. Viewers of “The Martian,” a 2015 movie starring Matt Damon and based on a novel written by Andy Weir, knew that already. One of the exhibit’s hands-on stations lets folks toy with factors such as light and water to grow a crop.

Landing

It’s almost a carnival game, this whole landing the rocket things. But as we learned, again, in “The Martian,” timing is everything … and complicated. This display boils it down to dropping a marble onto a moving target.

Getting balanced

There’s work to do on this planet before heading up there, and that includes picking a crew. One station asks what’s important to you and mixes that with the needs of a longterm mission. Visitors pick team members, which is a little HR but still fun. I rushed this and ended up with the conclusion: “Your team was not well-balanced.” Sorry, crew.

Among the other tasks and elements tackled by the exhibit are building a habitat, the resourcefulness of rocks, projectile launching, picking equipment (an interplanetary what-to-wear exercise), generating power and dealing with oxygen matters.

“Planet Pioneers” remains at Orlando Science Center through May 9. It’s included in regular admission. For more information, go to osc.org.

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