El Pomar Space Gallery
Explore the El Pomar Space Gallery, home to the Space Foundation Discovery Center collection of space artifacts. Our initial exhibit, Launch to the Moon, chronicles the 1959-1976 United States and Soviet Union space race, with focus on the goal to be the first to the Moon:
- See a real Soviet Lunokhod robotic moon buggy exactly like two that were secretly launched during the Cold War and recently re-discovered on the surface of the Moon!
- Learn about the U.S. Lunar Module (LM) - the first manned vehicle to land on the Moon!
- See scale models of rockets!
- Find out what astronauts eat in space!
- See Soviet and U.S. space suits - and learn how they protect astronauts from space hazards!
Summer of Discovery
Beginning Tuesday, June 4, the Space Foundation Discovery Center will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the Summer of Discovery! Each week will focus on a specific theme, culminating with a full day of special activities and events planned for each Saturday. Bring your family and friends and join in the fun - we've brought space down to Earth for all to enjoy!
For more details, including new summer rates and hours effective June 4, visit www.spacefoundation.org/summer-fun.
Come Visit
Here's what you'll see when you visit...
Most of the items on display in the El Pomar Space Gallery are part of our Launch to the Moon exhibit, which chronicles the 1959-1976 United States and Soviet Union space race, with focus on the goal to be the first to the Moon.
The U.S./Soviet "space race" took many twists and turns as each nation vied to be "first." See amazing lunar exploration hardware and learn how the Soviet Union, trumped by the U.S. in putting a human on the Moon, took a different path that few ever knew about.
The Lunar Module (LM) carried Apollo astronauts from the Command Service Module to the Moon and back - along with lunar samples -for the trip home. The one-quarter-scale model on display at the El Pomar Space Gallery was donated by Northrop Grumman Corp.
Although astronauts last walked on the Moon in 1972, the exploration of the Moon with robotic spacecraft has sporadically continued through the years since. Learn about recent and ongoing lunar missions.
Spaceflight is about more than launching rockets, flying spacecraft and performing scientific research. An astronaut has to eat, too! Learn how space food has advanced since the days of protein paste in a tube.
Space suits serve as self-contained spaceships that protect astronauts from the extreme temperatures, micrometeoroids and the vacuum of space. See both a Soviet pressure suit and a U.S. spacewalk suit.
The El Pomar Space Gallery features a collection of scale model rockets that demonstrate the variety found in vehicles used to launch objects into orbit -- and beyond.
