Press Release June 4, 2009 Contact: Josie Patterson MIT Museum Josiep@mit.edu 617-253-4422

Apollo 40th Anniversary Celebration at the MIT Museum

Cambridge, MA-June 10-14, 2009, the MIT Museum will host a five-day celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Included are two special displays, and hands-on demonstrations (for middle school age and up) by current students from the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro). The MIT Museum event is part of the public outreach associated with Giant Leaps, a major symposium at MIT that honors those who made the Apollo program a success and looks to the future of aeronautics and space research.

At the MIT Museum

Exhibition – MIT Goes to the Moon
See rare Apollo-era artifacts that tell the story of the major contributions made by MIT to the American space program. The display features an extremely rare simulator of the Apollo Guidance, Navigation and Control system lent by Draper Laboratory for its first ever public showing. Opens June 10–September 2009

Exhibition -Taking the Next Giant Leaps
Come see the opening display of a special traveling exhibition about the excitement of current research in air and space. A series of “Face Book” like panels introduce middle and high school-aged students to students and young faculty who are pursuing their dreams - from winning a national airplane design competition to sending humans to Mars.

This project was developed in collaboration with the Museum of Science and the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and sponsored by The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. It will be available free of charge to schools and libraries beginning in the fall. Temporary display June 10-14 only

Hands-on Demonstrations -Meet AeroAstro Students
Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14; 1:00 -4:00 p.m.
Explore the latest advancements in aeronautics and space research including:

• The TALARIS Project - a prototype robotic lunar lander which is helping MIT's efforts to win a $20 million race to the Moon (part of the Google Lunar X-Prize)
• SPHERES micro-satellites - vehicles the size of volleyballs used in automated docking and formation flight experiments on the International Space Station
• Quadrotor UAVs - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles programmed to fly surveillance missions and cooperate with each other in swarms
• A high-tech NASA crash test dummy which plays an important role in helping designers of the Space Shuttle's successor
• State-of-the-art computer simulations visualizing flow through heat exchangers.
  

Apollo Celebration Displays
MIT Goes to the Moon: Wednesday, June 10 - Sept. 13, 2009
Giant Leaps: Wednesday, June 10 - June 14, 2009

Demonstrations
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing
Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14, 1:00 -4:00 p.m.

Photos available: contact Josiep@mit.edu

Due to the special 40th Lunar Landing Anniversary events taking place at the MIT Museum the opening hours and admission on these days are as listed: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 The 2nd floor of the Museum will be closed from 11:30am to 2:30pm - Half-priced admission from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Friday, June 12, 2009 The Museum will not open until 11:00 a.m.

 

 

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Please visit the Museum at 265 Massachusetts Avenue, and on the web. Many of our programs are webcast or later viewable on MIT World. Please call ahead for group reservations and check the web site for up-to-date calendar information about programs, registrations, fees and webcasts. Exhibition and program photographs available upon request.