The California Science Center and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have formed a partnership to bring JPL spacecraft and interactive exhibits to the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, set to open on November 13.
The partnership will enhance the Kent Kresa Space Gallery, where visitors will learn about robotic missions that study Earth, the moon, and other celestial bodies. The gallery will showcase a range of artifacts and models that reflect six decades of JPL exploration, including a restored Ranger lunar probe, models of the Mariner IV spacecraft and Viking lander, as well as replicas of the Sojourner, Mars Exploration, and Perseverance rovers, in addition to the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.
Interactive exhibits will allow visitors to program a miniature Mars rover, construct a robotic spacecraft for a planetary mission, explore exoplanets, and experience gravity assists—techniques that spacecraft use to alter their trajectories within the solar system. Touchscreen displays will also provide interviews with JPL experts.
Jeffrey Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, expressed gratitude for the long-standing collaboration with JPL and Caltech, stating, “At the Science Center, our mission is to stimulate curiosity and inspire science learning in everyone. The discoveries and advances made by Caltech JPL do just that—expanding our knowledge of the universe and evoking a sense of wonder.”
The partnership between the Science Center and JPL, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, spans over 40 years. Caltech President Ray Jayawardhana highlighted the transformative journey of the organizations, saying, “For 90 years, Caltech and JPL have turned that imagination into voyages of discovery, revealing new worlds we once knew only as distant points of light, and transforming our understanding of the universe and our place within it.”
The Kent Kresa Space Gallery is part of a larger 200,000-square-foot expansion that will nearly double the museum’s exhibit space. This expansion will include 100 aerospace artifacts and 100 hands-on exhibits focused on science, technology, and engineering. One unique feature will be the display of the space shuttle Endeavour in a vertical launch configuration, complete with authentic solid rocket boosters and ET-94, the last remaining flight-qualified external fuel tank, making it a singular site for viewing a complete space shuttle system with flown hardware.
The expansion marks the final phase of a master plan developed over 30 years. General admission to the Science Center is free, although visitors are encouraged to make reservations for the new center at a service fee of $4 per person, which is waived for members. A media preview for the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center was scheduled for Wednesday.
