OVERVIEW

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And to know the place for the first time.

T. S. Eliot

Due to the fascination that the public has in Mars from recent Mars missions, the Space Science Institute has launched an enhanced MarsQuest exhibition in 2004. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to bring the latest discoveries from Mars to your visitors. In MarsQuest, visitors can

  • Examine a Martian Meteorite under a microscope and learn about its incredible 2 million year journey to Earth;
  • Make your own sand dunes and dust devils;
  • Drive a real rover in the exhibit’s rover test bed area
  • See a full-size model of NASA”s Mars Exploration Rover and learn what these rovers (there are 2) will do on the surface of Mars
  • Experience the mysteries of the red planet on a 42 inch plasma screen

We are living in an extraordinary era of Mars exploration. Several missions have already profoundly changed our perceptions of the Red Planet. In this decade, NASA, Japan, and the European Space Agency will continue to send spacecraft armed with a variety of instruments to explore Mars. The MarsQuest exhibit brings this new age of exploration to the public by taking visitors to several important destinations on Mars. Like sightseers in a national park on Earth, they see some of the wonders of Mars, such as the solar system’s largest volcano and a canyon as long as the continental United States. Along the way, interactive exhibit components introduce visitors to the methods that scientists use to explore Mars and provide an engaging context for the many discoveries that are being made.

The MarsQuest exhibition includes:

  • a 5,000 square foot touring exhibition
  • a comprehensive education program
  • a 40-minute planetarium show (narrated by Patrick Stewart)
MarsQuest was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Company provided additional support.
   
(C) 2005 Space Science Instittute. Support provided by the National Science Foundation and NASA.