MISSION MOON
Space Center Houston features mix of education, inspiration
Our special anniversary coverage of the July 20, 1969, moon landing continues today as we take you inside Space Center Houston.
“There’s nothing more satisfying in life than when you figure something out, when you have that ‘aha’ moment.”
— William T. Harris, president and CEO at Space Center Houston
Peer inside a conical space capsule with a hull burnt orange from its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere from the moon in 1972.
Read a rudimentary to-do list from a 1970 moon walk that begins, “LOCATE CLUMP OF ROCKS.”
Watch an instructional video from an astronaut at the International Space Station explaining how to wash your hair or use the restroom in space.
Slip on a glove and try stacking blocks inside an airtight chamber that simulates the intense pressure of zero gravity.
These are among more than 400 exhibits and experiences on hand at Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the No. 1 destination for international visitors to Houston, according to Houston First.
The Smithsonian affiliate about 25 miles southeast of downtown has hosted more than 20 million visitors since it opened in 1992. It is run by a nonprofit foundation with the lofty goal of educating and inspiring people about the past, present and future of human space flight.
“We’re in the business of awe, wonder and epiphanies,” said William T. Harris, president and CEO at the museum since 2016. “There’s nothing more satisfying in life than when you figure something out, when you have that ‘aha’ moment.”
Visitors touring the somewhat daunting collection on an ordinary weekday in June had traveled there from New Zealand, Uruguay, India and China, but also from California, Illinois, Katy and nearby League City.
They contemplated Earth’s largest public collection of moon rocks and ambled through a full-scale shuttle replica. The jumbo jet below it had ferried space shuttles piggy-back on hundreds of trips from their landing site to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Most of the visitors took the tram tour to Johnson’s astronaut training center, which now will include a stop at the newly restored Apollo-era Mission Control.
Vishnu Abhinav, 28, a doctoral student, spent his afternoon in the main plaza, soaking up ideas for experiments he plans do with his engineering students in Mumbai.
“I love the experiments,” Abhinav said. “It’s all hands-on and it’s easy to understand.”
For other guests, the darkened gallery featuring a moonscape with retro space technology opened up room for the imagination.
Fathir Farsya, 9, donned a new orange spacesuit and his little brother Rakha, 6, a white spacesuit, as they explored the Starship Gallery with their parents. The family was visiting from Indonesia. With his father translating, a gleeful Fathir said he was excited about everything he’d seen because he plans to go to Mars. He will eventually return to Earth, he explained, because he’ll miss nasi padang, his favorite cuisine back home.
‘Must-visit Texas destination’
From 1974 to 1992, the Johnson Space Center allowed visitors onto its campus to see artifacts, but the crush of guests became a challenge on many fronts, said Harris. So the government allocated 100 acres to create a science center with the capacity to host a large attendance.
The museum endured a few lean years, in the director’s view, during which it veered off its course and attempted to serve as more of an attraction than a learning space. Under its current leadership, attendance has risen 18 percent and the nonprofit has rededicated itself to being a “dynamic learning destination for people of all ages.”
Curators now focus on creating opportunities for people to think like NASA engineers. Visitors can tackle questions like, “What will it take to send humans to Mars?” They can design a spacesuit or plan what crops they’d grow on Mars.
Valerie Neal, who chairs the space history program at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, raved about the facility’s reputation, calling it “a must-visit Texas destination.”
“It is chock full of exhibits and activities about past, present, and future spaceflight, and the tour is not to be missed if you want to see where astronauts do their training,” she said. “The Saturn V rocket and shuttle carrier aircraft displays are truly impressive, too.”
The museum is also the first place where astronauts debrief the public upon returning from the International Space Station.
And there’s great swag to take home, visitors said. The top-selling item in the museum’s gift shop are packets of freeze dried space food, including ice cream sandwiches, said store manager, Sharon Glenn. But folks often splurge on authentic NASA apparel.
Another perk for visitors? Guests occasionally rub shoulders with space celebrities touring in the halls, according to Tracy Lamm, chief operating officer for the museum.
“Some of the people from the Apollo era, legends, will show up out of the blue and nobody knows they’re here,” he said. “They bring their families and show them around.”