22.02.12

With space enthusiasts celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight this year, the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan is turning its attention to the future. Can we colonize Mars? Are lunar base camps possible? Is there life on Jupiter's moon?

Those and other questions are the basis for a new exhibit, running Nov. 19 through Aug. 12, dubbed " Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration ."

Rather than just displaying space artifacts, the exhibit ponders what we might encounter on future spaceflights, and how we might survive on distant planets. Visitors walk through rooms that explore lunar colonies, near-Earth asteroids, visits to Mars, and Jupiter's moon, Europa. In addition to some of the exhibit's standalone interactive components, meanwhile, the museum has put together an iOS app that lets visitors collect virtual symbols as they explore.

"If money weren't a factor, many of the things in the exhibit could be done in our lifetime," Mike Shara, exhibit curator, said during a Tuesday press preview. Ideally, humans will be able to expand "beyond the 'womb' of Earth," in the years to come.

Source: PC Magazine