Celebrate 60 Years of NASA with Johnson Space Center Open House

News provided by

Oct 04, 2018, 17:02 ET

HOUSTON, Oct. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA's Johnson Space Center will open its gates to the public Saturday, Oct. 27, for the first time in years, celebrating NASA's 60^th anniversary and the International Space Station's 20^th anniversary.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 27, the public will be offered a free, behind-the-scenes look at some of the agency's historic accomplishments, as well as the exciting work currently going on, as NASA prepares to return to the Moon and travel to Mars.

"As we celebrate NASA's 60th anniversary, Johnson Space Center has played a key role in leading human space exploration and has been a part of the vibrant Houston community for nearly six decades," said Mark Geyer, director of Johnson Space Center. "While the past 60 years represent the best of our country and the height of American ingenuity, the talented, dedicated and diverse team here in 'space city' Houston is excited about the next chapter in spaceflight as we work to launch humans farther into the solar system."

NASA opened for business Oct. 1, 1958, following the signing of the agency's founding legislation on July 29, 1958. After four decades that saw dozens of short-duration missions to the moon and low-Earth orbit, NASA and its international partners launched the first element of the International Space Station on Nov. 20, 1998, setting the stage for continuous human presence in space, which began in 2000.

During the open house, visitors will have access to a variety of exhibits and hardware, ranging from moon rocks collected during the Apollo missions, to full-size mockups of the International Space Station, the Orion spacecraft and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner. Get a full listing of what will be open to the public and a map of the site that includes parking, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/johnson-space-center-open-house

While visitors will be allowed to remain on site until 2 p.m. on Oct. 27, no guests will be admitted after 1:30 p.m. No pets or firearms will be allowed on site, though service animals are welcomed.

Visitors are welcomed year-round through Johnson's official visitor center, Space Center Houston, which provides tram tours and visits inside a number of key facilities. However, this open house will allow visitors to have access to several locations not accessible during visitor center tours.

Connect with Johnson Space Center on social media at:

https://twitter.com/NASA_Johnson

and

https://www.facebook.com/NASAJSC

NASA Johnson Space Center news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to [email protected]. In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes). This will add the email address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list. The system will reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail.

SOURCE NASA