story and photos by Kayte Deioma
You’re traveling out of Cleveland or you have a long layover between flights and you find yourself with a couple hours to kill at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Sure, you could sit in an airport bar for a couple hours but you’ll be sitting plenty once you get on the plane. Why not head over to the NASA Glenn Research Center, just a five minute cab ride across the airport? Even if you’re a local and not flying anywhere, it’s a good way to pass the time on a rainy day.
The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field specializes in power, propulsion, communications and microgravity science for NASA’s various projects. The Lab has been conduction aero-space technology research since 1941 under various names. From 1958 to 1999 it was known as the Lewis Research Center, honoring the contribution of aeronautics engineer George W. Lewis. It was renamed in 1999 to honor Ohio’s own astronaut legislator John H. Glenn.
The Visitors Center at NASA Glenn is a gem of a space museum tucked away on the far side of the Cleveland Hopkins Airport where most visitors or locals wouldn’t think to look for it. The 6000 square foot museum inside the research compound encompasses six themed gallery spaces including one focusing on the accomplishments of its current namesake, John Glenn. The John Glenn Gallery includes models of space craft from his journeys into space as well as replicas of his silver Mercury space suit and his orange Shuttle launch and 
entry space suit. A multimedia kiosk provides historical and biographical information.
In addition to these replicas, you can get an up close look at artifacts from real space missions. One highlight of the collection is the actual Apollo Command Module used on Skylab 3, a two-month space mission in 1973. You can really see what close quarters the astronauts traveled in. The space suit that Jim Lovell wore on Apollo 8 is also on display, as well as a piece of moon rock.
The Space Exploration area contains models and photos of celestial objects with data from NASA’s planetary missions. Two different models of Mars Exploration Rovers are on display, the Sojourner, carried by the Mars Pathfinder and a model of the Spirit/Odyssey rovers that are still working away on Mars long past their expected expiration dates.
In the Aero Adventure Gallery, interactive exhibits allow you to sit in the pilot’s seat of a jet and choose which aircraft you want to fly on the flight simulator. In the Wonders of Flight and Seeking Solutions interactive multimedia displays, you can also explore the different types of aircraft and the new technologies NASA Glenn is developing to make them quieter, more energy efficient and more economical.
Other exhibits include the Combustion Module 2 Crew Trainer, dedicated to the crew of the Columbia STS-107 mission. The training module has been enhanced to allow visitors to perform some of the tasks astronauts perform, with film footage from actual experiments conducted in space. A nearby Space Module is used by the NASA Glenn Amateur Radio Club Station N8VC, whose members broadcast from here. The Microgravity Laboratory simulation shows how experiments are conducted in a weightless environment.
The Visitors Center includes an auditorium where you can see a 16 minute documentary film of the space shuttle STS 105 on a mission to deliver supplies and a new crew member to the International Space Station. In addition to great space footage, the humorous film illustrates the challenges of eating, sleeping exercising and going to the bathroom in zero gravity.
The first Saturday of each month, NASA Glenn Research Center offers tours of different parts of the research facility. Check the website or call for the schedule to see which facility is being toured. NASA Glenn Research Center is located at 21000 Brookpark Road, west of the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Due to security issues, only U.S. citizens may visit NASA Glenn at this time. Be prepared to have your car or cab searched when you come onto the Research Center campus. The Visitors Center is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and holidays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.grc.nasa.gov or call (216) 433-2000.