On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. Fifty years after the success of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, the planet Mars is being looked at as the new frontier.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the Charles W. Brown Planetarium will be premiering a new program, "Destination Mars: The New Frontier," this Saturday, to look at the future of human space flight while reflecting back on Apollo 11, an email from the planetarium states.
The program comes from the Museum of Science in Boston, the third program provided to the planetarium, said Dayna Thompson, assistant planetarium director.
“They do a wonderful job of not just explaining some science and astronomy but also really engaging the audience with their content,” Thompson said.
She said it provides an overview of Mars from information about the planet's surface and conditions learnt from rovers and satellites sent to the planet in past missions — information she said was important, considering sending human to Mars is the "the next giant leap."
“Celebrating the 50th anniversary of this event is really just celebrating the fact that we came together to really challenge ourselves and when we did that 50 years ago we were able to do amazing, seemingly impossible things," Thompson said. “Celebrating that kind of passion that we have for exploration and what we can achieve when we are very passionate and curious about the world is something that still holds true today.”
There will also be hands-on activities in the planetarium lobby to help visitors learn about space-related subjects. The programs are free, with no ticket reservations and the seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
There will be two program showings — one at 2:30 p.m. and the other at 4 p.m. The activities in the lobby will start at 2 p.m.
This is part of a series of events Brown Planetarium has scheduled all summer long in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 lunar mission.