COSI - Space

Explore the Great Beyond

Enter COSI’s Space exhibit through a dizzying black hole, then ride in a space capsule, test your skills as an “armchair” astronaut, or maneuver a rover through a Martian landscape. Explore the effects of gravity on different planets. Learn about life in orbit inside a mockup of the International Space Station or watch NASA TV live in the Galaxy Lounge.

Our Universe... Explored

Are we alone? How did we get here? Will there be an end? In Space, learn how scientists and engineers are applying high-tech tools, materials, and vehicles in a search for knowledge that extends to the farthest reaches of the universe.

Land the Space Shuttle

Or a lunar module. Or capture the Hubble Space Telescope. Many of America’s finest astronauts have also been our most skillful pilots. Find how why at one of three interactive simulator stations, where you’ll bring Space Shuttle Discovery in for a smooth landing, guide a lunar module down to the moon’s cratered surface, or walk in space to retrieve an ailing Hubble Space Telescope—while the Earth spins far below.

Drive a Mars Rover

On a simulated Martian surface, your inputs guide a radio-controlled wheeled rover as it scoops samples. Transport your finds to within a robotic arm’s reach, then grasp your samples for further study. This simulation is realistic, to a point: COSI’s rovers will carry out your command sequences instantly. When NASA engineers send signals to rovers on Mars, their radioed instructions can take between 10 and 20 minutes to reach the distant Red Planet.