NASA Ames Research Center is a key facility for many of NASA’s missions and projects. Come to the Exploration Center and learn what we’re doing at this amazing NASA facility.

Current Exhibits

Immersive Theater – The NASA Exploration Center features a high-resolution Immersive Theater with a 14-foot tall and 36-foot wide screen. High-definition videos show in detail Mars missions, simulated flights through the Milky Way Galaxy and beyond, science contributions of scientists at NASA Ames Research Center, and much more!

Mercury Redstone 1A (MR-1A) – This capsule, launched on December 19, 1960, attained an altitude of 130.7 statute miles. MR-1A was the last unmanned test flight before the Mercury 7 astronauts took flight. Five months after MR-1A flew, on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to fly in space aboard Friendship 7, a Mercury capsule nearly identical to MR-1A.

Moon Rock – On display in the Exploration Center is a REAL lunar sample retrieved by the crew of Apollo 15 from the Moon’s Hadley-Apennine region. This sample is part of the 169 pounds retrieved from the lunar surface during the crew’s 66.9-hour stay on the Moon.

SOFIA – NASA developed the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy – or SOFIA – as a world-class airborne observatory that will complement the Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel and James Webb space telescopes and major Earth-based telescopes. Come see the original wind-tunnel model of SOFIA now on display!

Kepler – The Kepler Mission is designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy and has discovered over a thousand potential new planets orbiting near-by stars. Learn about this innovative mission with our knowledgeable docents!

ISS Module – The United States has a scientific laboratory at the International Space Station called Destiny. Walk through a replica of the Destiny module and get an idea of the types of experiments and equipment that are at the space station! Remarkable and fun videos of experiments in the weightlessness of space are featured inside the module.

The information above can be found on the official website of Ames Exploration Center. For more details about the organization and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit their website: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/exploration.html