Gateway to Space: The Exhibition to come to SA

Gateway to Space introduces audiences to the people, technologies and circumstances that paid passage for human dreams to enter the realities of sub-orbital flight, Moon missions and sustained life in space. The exhibition offers an impressive collection of hardware to enlighten and engage visitors, while instilling a sense of awe. Among highlights are a real moon rock, a life-size Mir space station core module, a Sputnik-1 model and an Apollo capsule model.

Gateway to Space: The Exhibition, brings the great adventure of space exploration to South Africa for the first time. Exhibition displays, including International Space Station elements and future, extended-duration missions for deep space, engage and excite space dreamers and enthusiasts.

“This exhibition is shipped from Budapest (where it’s currently on show) in 20 shipping containers, making this the biggest exhibition yet to travel to South Africa,” said Minette Ferreira, a spokesman for Media24. “To date, almost a million people have flocked to see this exhibition.

“One of the many highlights of the exhibition is a replica of the Mir space station core module, built at an angle to give some effect of vertigo,” she added. “You can walk inside and also view a model of such a craft’s pilot station.”

Original space suits

Other exciting parts of the exhibition include four original space suits, the original Multi-Axis Trainer (MAT) based on a Mercury-era astronaut training scenario, a glimpse of a scale model space toilet, the food astronauts eat in space and a model of the Orion capsule, which is designed for future missions to Mars.

From youngsters seeing these items for the first time to the older generation who followed the space race, Gateway to Space invites visitors to set imaginations free, cross thresholds and glimpse entirely new portals to mankind’s adventure in space.

Specific time slots will be allocated for visitors to walk around the exhibition and experience a journey to space, as well as enjoy additional interactive sessions. Tickets are limited.

Ticket prices:

• Single ticket (adult): R180
• Single ticket (children between 18 months and 18 years): R120
• Family package: R520 for a family of four.

School packages, which include a free ticket for one adult for every booking of 20 pupils, are also available. Email az.oc.vartagem@ecaps for more information or to book.

All tickets (excluding school packages) are available at Computicket.
For more information, go to www.gatewaytospace.co.za