Beat the August Heat
with an experience that's out of this world! Story and Photos by Donna Bush
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Space Center (SSC), but it is so much more. Most people assume because it is the official visitor center that it is owned and operated by NASA. Not true. It is a non-profit 501(c) 3, showcasing 72,000 square feet of space, Earth science, engineering and technology information. Also, highlighted are several of the other agencies hosted on the Stennis site.
The INFINITY Science Center serves as the official visitor center for NASA’s Stennis
What is Stennis Space Center? It is one of ten NASA field centers located throughout the United States. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, there was an old saying around the area, “If you want to go to the moon, you
re you looking for something to do this month that won’t have you sweating profusely, cursing Louisiana summertime and wishing you’d stayed in front of the air conditioner? I suggest the INFINITY Science Center, located just south of I-10 at Mississippi Exit 2. It is just a short drive from Slidell, next door to the Mississippi Welcome Center at the state border between Louisiana and Mississippi.
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first have to go through Hancock County, Mississippi.” This location, known today as Stennis Space Center, has a history dating back to the late 1600’s when Indians, settlers, pirates and soldiers grew this part of the state, which now hosts modern day space explorers. The site was developed as a result of President John F. Kennedy’s May 1961 declaration of safely sending a man to the moon. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space in April 1961. The pressure was on for the United States to catch up in the space race!