NASA Ames unveils new 3-D theater NASA Ames unveils new 3-D theater (March 12, 2004)

Attraction is located at Mars Center

By Grace Rauh

The latest reality show to hit the screen isn't about midgets or marriage or moguls. It's about Mars.

On Tuesday, NASA Ames Research Center unveiled its new Reality Center -- a three-dimensional theater that transports viewers to Mars and gives them a taste of what it would be like to walk on the red planet.

Similar to an IMAX film, the show starts with a picture of Earth's neighbor from a distance before swooping down for a closer look at its giant mountains, deep canyons and dry riverbeds.

"This center represents one of the directions I very much want Ames to go in," said Ames Center Director Scott Hubbard, as he stood proudly beside the curved screen of the theater. It is "part of the goal of having everyone know what we are doing."

Some may be tempted to hold onto their seats during a dramatic sequence that shows a rover careening toward Mars, protected by an inflatable heat shield. A parachute opens and slows the descent, but doesn't cushion the fall entirely. And once the rover touches down, the padded bundle bounces around, leaving marks on the ground before settling down on the barren landscape. Finally, the protective layer shielding the rover deflates and out it comes, slowly unfolding its arms like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

The new Mars Center opened in Mountain View days before the first rovers landed on the red planet's surface in January. NASA officials say more than 50,000 people have flocked to the center to learn more about Mars and space exploration during the past several weeks.

NASA Ames researchers helped develop the rover Spirit's thermal protection system and are analyzing data it collects. Although the Mars mission is being conducted from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, scientists at Ames have been involved in the project from the beginning.

NASA officials say they are hoping to collect more material from Mars to show at the theater. There is currently no specific viewing schedule, but visitors can expect to take in one of the interactive shows when they stop by the Mars Center, according to Jonas Dino, a NASA spokesperson.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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