NASA - Houston Space Center

As per scheduled, today's program is half day visit to NASA continued by half day shopping in Katy Mall. I tell you about the Katy Mall later on.

About 20 of us took the organised transportation bus to go to NASA. A day before a ticket of $12 has been purchased through the conference management team. The original ticket price is around $ 20, so we got discount. There is also another option which is to become a member, this way you never have to pay again for your multiple visits in a year time.

The door was open promptly at 10 a.m. When we enter the building, we can see a giant playground & climb activity for children on the right side, and in front of us is the door leading to the Tram. Before boarding the tram, they took our pictures with a greenbackdrop - which turn out they digitally changed into some NASA backdrop.

Me and Gene Kranz -

the flight director who took Apollo 13 safely back to the earth

on a dinner held separately as part of my course program

First stop is the Mission Control Building, where they control and monitor the astronouts activities in the International Space Station (ISS). Through a glass window we can see the flight director and his team take in charge and schedule the activities in ISS. The flight director held the highest hierarchy in the mission, even President of USA can not overrule him when he is in a mission. The guide explained that the ISS that seems floating above earlth is in fact moving with speed of 17,000 mph that means the astronouts experiences 16 sunrise and 16 sunset every day !!

Next stop is the building where they put the mock up of Space Shuttle - to train astrounots on the living environment outside of earth. To feel the "no gravity" situation, astronouts are "drowned" with their full suites into a big tank. Looks like NASA is very busy in their mission to put "living quarters" on the moon which I heard will be sometime in 2020, and their first mission to Mars which is planned for 2030.

We then stopped at the "Rocket Park" - where inside a warehouse building they displayed the Saturn V Rocket - one of the rocket that launch the Apollo mission. It is huge..... as you can see below.

And finally, the tram went back and I went to the souvenir shop to pick up something for my family. The space center have a lot of other attractions such as the Gallery where you can see the moon rock, or "blast off" where you can experience the high thrust when you are in space shuttle, but unfortunately I do not have time as we are heading to Katy Mills Outlet Mall at 1 pm.