Meet Astronaut: Public Invited To NASA Langley Open House

HAMPTON, Va., Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Meet an astronaut and watch a space capsule splash-tested. Check out more than a dozen NASA labs, and see where astronauts simulated landing on the moon.

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All that and more is on the agenda for NASA Langley Research Center's public open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. Visitors will see the latest Langley science and technology, talk with researchers and take part in hands-on activities.

The open house is in celebration of Langley's 95th anniversary as the nation's first civilian aeronautics lab, opened in 1917, and later the birthplace of the U.S. space program.

Today's Langley is helping develop spacecraft to send humans beyond Earth orbit; working on technologies to make aircraft safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly, and studying Earth's atmosphere to better understand and protect our planet.

Most recently, NASA Langley engineers were on the team that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars. For more on that mission, go to http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/researchernews/rn_MSLMEDLIIRVE3.html

Buses will be provided to take visitors to tour stops. For a list of facilities to visit, go to http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/events/95th-tour.html

The event is free. Visitors should enter through the main gate on Commander Shepard Boulevard in Hampton. For directions, go to http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/about/directions.html. The GPS coordinates for NASA Langley are 37 degrees 5' 9" N 76 degrees 22' 50" W

NOTE: If you plan to visit, please wear comfortable, closed-toe walking shoes. Vehicles and people entering are subject to search. Not allowed are weapons, shoulder bags except for women's purses and infant diaper bags, coolers, alcoholic beverages, or computers.

For general information about Langley go http://www.nasa.gov/langley

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SOURCE NASA Langley Research Center