NASA - Johnson Space Center

Tuesday was a rainy day so we decided it was the perfect day to go to Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.  It was a really fun day and we didn't realize how much there was to do there.  We ended up staying all day long.  We learned a lot about space travel and the things they are doing in space.  While we were there, the final shuttle was still in space, scheduled to return on Thursday morning.  They really stressed that the space program is not over just because they are retiring the shuttles.  NASA was probably our favorite thing, besides the beach.  It was a really fun day!!!

This is a simulator we went in as a family.  It pretty much just moves you around and makes you feel like you're on a roller coaster of some sort.  In the back, you can see a model of the nose of a shuttle.  It was fun to go in and see all the switches and things you would find on a space shuttle.



This is the astronaut training facility.  There were two trams you could take from the visitors area to see parts of the Johnson Space Center.  This is really where astronauts train.  It was interesting but a little slow seeing as the astronauts were in space while we were there so no training was going on.  And, since that was the last shuttle mission, I don't think they'll be training on this particular equipment anymore.  If you're planning a visit, I would wait until they have the new equipment in place.  It was still fun to see. 

 This is a space rover/robot/spider thing.  No, that's not the NASA name for it.  They will use these to walk on surfaces astronauts can't get to. 

 Behind Juliana you will see the "arm".  This is the device the astronauts use to do their space walks and also move heavy objects.  They practice a lot here trying to get the feel of it down. 

Our little astronauts!!!

This was a tight squeeze!

They had mirrors and scales set up so you can see how much you would weigh and what you would look like on Mars, Jupiter, Neptune and Earth.  It was pretty funny.  I want to live on Mars.  I looked super skinny and tall there.  Juliana and Jackson thought it was really funny!

This is the same premise as before, except seeing how much things would weigh in those planets. 

Juliana docking the shuttle to the space station. 

The cockpit of a shuttle. 

Historic mission control.  They actually have a new mission control room in this same building now.  However, they put the old one back to it's former glory.  It looks exactly the way it did in the movie Apollo 13.  Although we learned that the movie could not be filmed here because of the low ceilings. 

Historic Mission Control.  This is where they heard the words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." and "Houston, we may have a problem here." 

This is one rocket booster on the rocket that helped get the Apollo capsules into space.  They are huge.  The entire rocket is housed in a building bigger than a football field. 

We had a great day at NASA.  The new vehicles they are going to use for space travel will look more like the Apollo capsules.  They will use the parachute when returning to earth again.  They say these are more condusive to deep space travel and going back to the moon.  There is also a big push to go to Mars.  They are develping robots to go where human astronauts cannot go but still have the same "senses" as humans.  Also, they are going to start "tourism" in space.  You may be able to visit the international space center and other places in the near future.