January 17, 2004 is National Mars Day, and the Challenger Space Center will be actively participating in several Mars-related events.

Scheduled activities include speakers from the Mars Society and ASU, along with the StarLab Indoor Planetarium, which will feature a show highlighting the history and mystery of Mars. Activities scheduled throughout the day include Space Inventions, where kids of all ages will be provided with a variety of materials to enable them to creatively design spacecraft, habitats for other planets, etc.

At 9:00 am, the new Mars Passageway, built by CORE Construction, will be unveiled and the first public Voyage to Mars mission will be launched. During Voyage to Mars, participants collect and analyze planetary data and become part of the first colony of humans living on a permanent base on Mars, as well as the relief crew en route to the hauntingly barren Red Planet.

Please join us in celebrating the expected landing of the two NASA Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity!