March 8, 2007
(PLANETQUEST) -- An out-of-this-world exhibit has landed smack in the middle of downtown Los Angeles - in a library, of all places. An interactive "PlanetQuest 3D" multimedia kiosk, highlighting upcoming NASA missions to search for Earth-like planets that might harbor life, is on display through April 10 in the Los Angeles Central Library rotunda.
Developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, the high-tech 10-foot-by-20-foot exhibit includes murals and four computer terminals with interactive displays designed to be fun and educational for all ages:
- PlanetQuest 3D: View interactive, cutting-edge 3D visualizations -- no glasses needed!
- Other Worlds Atlas: Explore our corner of the galaxy, where more than 200 extrasolar planets have been discovered in the past decade around stars within a few hundred light-years of Earth.
- Science Fact or Science Fiction Quiz: Test your knowledge of what's real and what isn't in space exploration. The answers may surprise you.
- Interstellar Trip Planner: How long would it take to travel to Mars on a train? How about flying on a plane to the nearest star? Plan your trip and find out.
Most of the planets discovered orbiting other stars are gas giants like Jupiter - places considered inhospitable for life as we know it. NASA missions in the works will hunt for much smaller, Earth-like planets, which are considered more likely habitats for life. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.
The Los Angeles Central Library is located at 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles.
