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Media ReleasesDeborah H. Wakefield, APR Note: Unless otherwise indicated, rates are in U.S. dollars. Houston: It All Started Here
Houston Celebrates Moon Landing Anniversary Houston (July 14, 2009)
— Next week America will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, when astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered the first words spoken— “Houston. Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Outer space has fascinated mankind for centuries, and space is often synonymous with Houston, home to Johnson Space Center and Mission Control. Beginning with NASA’s own Space Center Houston, museums and organizations around the city are celebrating the anniversary, with special events and commemorations, exhibitions, and world premieres. Three attractions in Houston CityPass are celebrating the anniversary in different ways: Space Center Houston The official space museum in Houston is one of only a few places in the world where visitors can see a Saturn V rocket, an Apollo capsule that was actually flown (Apollo 17), see and touch rocks brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts and sit in the gallery of Mission Control where the famous words of the Apollo 11 touchdown were first heard. In addition, Space Center Houston offers Level 9 tours: behind-the-scenes tours that let visitors glimpse into the lives of astronauts. The Health Museum: Facing Mars Facing Mars is a U.S. premiere featuring interactive stations that encourage visitors to "walk on Mars," test and launch rockets, "fly over" the Martian landscape and consider the implications humans face in their quest to reach the Red Planet. This innovative exhibit focuses on the real challenges of sending human explorers to Mars.
With more than 28 experiences, Facing Mars combines a range of hands-on experiences with compelling artifacts, such as a rare Mars meteorite from West Africa and stunning imagery to engage participants in the physical, psychological and scientific challenges involved in journeying to Mars. Visitors can become a rocket scientist for the day and explore the challenges of aerodynamic stability. They’ll experience what it is like to "walk on Mars" at a station that subtracts 60 percent of their weight to simulate Martian gravity. Visitors may also explore some of the potential psychological and emotional stresses that astronauts may face on their journey, examining how contagious emotions can be and discovering where their own personal space threshold lies. An actual size model of the Mars Exploration Rover is on loan from NASA. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: The Moon: "Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has Landed." The Moon: "Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has landed." is an exhibition that pays tribute to the achievements of the Apollo space missions, placing the unforgettable pictures of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the context of age-old fascination with earth's closest neighbor. The exhibition provides an overview of 500 years of fascination with the ever-changing phases, yet ever-constant image of the moon. Approximately 30 works of art will be on view, from an exquisite 15th-century Madonna whose virginity was likened to the immaculate surface of the moon, to romantic moonlit landscapes by Caspar David Friedrich and groundbreaking treatises on the moon--including Galileo Galilei's Sidereus Nuncius of 1610—as well as 17th-century telescopes and other early scientific instruments, moon gloves and maps. Houston CityPass, www.citypass.com, helps visitors bypass ticket lines and offers a savings of 45% on the price of adult admissions ($39, a value of $70) and 43% on youth admissions ($29, a value of $50-). Houston CityPass also includes admission to the Downtown Aquarium, Houston Zoo, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The George Ranch Historical Park and Children’s Museum are option tickets. Houston CityPass is sold at each CityPass attraction, online at www.citypass.com or at the Houston Visitor Center at City Hall, 901 Bagby Street, downtown Houston or www.visithoustontexas.com. Other events noting the 40th anniversary of the moon landing include: Discovery Green: Spacefest Discovery Green downtown park has partnered with NASA and Rice University to celebrate this historic anniversary. A partial list of activities include: Houston Astros The Houston Astros will wear caps featuring the Apollo 11 mission patch, and give away replica caps with the same logo to the first 10,000 fans, courtesy of the United Space Alliance. The pre-game ceremony will feature Houstonians who played an important role in the Apollo program. Houston Symphony: The Planets-An HD Odyssey In January 2010, the Houston Symphony is joining forces with NASA and celebrated producer/director Duncan Copp to present a spectacular presentation of The Planets-An HD Odyssey. Merging NASA's latest exploration images with Gustav Holst's The Planets, the Houston Symphony-commissioned event will be a world premiere. On a giant screen over the stage, the latest images from the Mars Rovers, Hubble Space Telescope and past probe missions Magellan, Voyager and Galileo will provide a stunning visual canvas of images, as the Houston Symphony and music director Hans Graf perform Holst's musical score. Brief interviews with the greatest scientific experts on each of the planets will be integrated into the concert’s music and images. CityPass saves time and money in 11 North American destinations: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California and Toronto, Canada. For more information, to take an online page-by-page look inside a CityPass ticket booklet or to see attraction exhibits, public transportation information, CityPass price savings and how to purchase an e-ticket, click on www.citypass.com. Take CityPass along on the iPhone at http://wheretraveler.com/mobile/tools/. For more information, contact: |
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