Touring NASA exhibition opens in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

The NASA Space Adventure Exhibition, which has been visited by more than 4 million people in 12 countries in four years, is now open to visitors in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district.

Established by HUPALUPA Expo on an area of 2,300 square meters in Metropol Istanbul Mall, the exhibition hosts more than 200 works, including life-size works that have witnessed NASA space missions.

The exhibition features special pieces from space and dozens of high-tech space instruments that allow visitors to experience life in space.

Replicas of space rockets and full-size models of spacecraft are presented in narrative form with special guidance. In the exhibition, where one can learn how space studies have developed historically both in Turkey and across the world, “pioneering” works have been accentuated and all the milestones up to the SpaceX-NASA cooperation have been mentioned.

There are six simulations in the exhibition. Visitors will have the chance to experience what it feels like to walk on Mars and the Moon, to comprehend how pilots trained for Space Programs are trained in F18s, and to view the unique space scenery from the International Space Station (ISS) while Space Walking.

The exhibition also includes the prototype model of Starship, developed by Space X, owned by Elon Musk. Space X made its first civilian passenger space flight with the Dragon capsule in September. The exhibition allows visitors to be involved in space adventures interactively with guided tours, VR and simulation technologies and also offers workshops for all age groups.

The narrative of the exhibition was developed in collaboration with Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and designed to appeal to all ages.

Speaking in the opening of the exhibition, Merve Timurlenk Şengül, the company official who organized the exhibition, said, “The National Aeronautics and Space Agency [NASA], which carries out studies that shed light on the unknown face of space, takes us on an exciting journey in space with this magnificent exhibition. Every detail we will encounter in the exhibition will introduce our children and us to the aspects of this mysterious world discovered so far. We will enjoy both visual and experiential spaces by getting a little closer to the depths of space in every square meter of the exhibition.”

“In the exhibition area, which is the first part of the exhibition, we will witness all the milestones of the process, starting from the dream of space to the first step on the Moon. We will have the opportunity to see and even touch more than 200 important NASA artifacts, special pieces from space and a real Moon Stone. In the second part of our exhibition, which is the experience area, we will be able to experience different simulators used by astronauts and cosmonauts before space travel and virtual realities that will give the pleasure of looking at the world from space,” Şengül added.