4. October 2009

During the UN World Space Week the Austrian Space Forum was charged with the the organisation of a "Space Adventure" in the Planetarium of Vienna by the Office for Space Affairs of the United nations. About 300 visitors experienced on the 4th of October space travel in a wide mix of talks, hands on experiences and a real Astronaut.

Two days before the adventure started, the forum hosted an event together with the Vienna Internation Centers for school children and family members of UN employees. During this event, the journey to Mars was one of the main focal points, along with the different things Astronauts do in a zero-gravity environment.

The event in the Planetarium was supported by the FFG (Forschungs Förderungs Gesellschaft), the Ministry for Transportation, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) as well as the Office for Outer Space Affairs. DI Norbert Frischauf offered a five-hour long talk-marathon, involving questions and answers: In the planetarium dome he offered interactive tours through everyday life onboard the ISS, using a simulator. The first - and only - malaysian Astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor starred in this event as well. He gave autographs and talked about his own space flight experience from his visit on the ISS in October 2007.

The foyer and the outside areas of the Planetarium were the home of the Forum's Rover "Dignity". The younger ones among the audience could try to navigate the rover as well as try on two demonstration-space suits for children. Also, three first-ever activities could be experienced in Vienna: On scales the visitors could find out how much they weigh on other bodies of our solar system, or how it smells on these alien worlds: for example the heavy, sulfurous smell of Venus or the sharp, ammoniac odour of Jupiter were there to be tested. On another statin, different electromagnetic waves could be heard - with the help of "Sonification", a technique where em waves are transfered in equivalent sounds. Using this device, people could hear the rapid crackle of a pulsar, the solar wind or the landing radar of the Huygensprobe.

Highlight of the day was the presentation of the new Aouda.X simulation space suite, which was shown to a broad audience for the first time. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor tried the space suit on in front of the running cameras - not an everyday thing to witness. The full procedure of putting on a space suit was acknowledged with applause. Asked whether Aouda.X or the russian Sokol suit is more comfortable, the astronaut answered: "well... the Sokol might be a little bit more comfortable -- but you know -- Aouda is much more interesting. That's the future!"

Well, a small, nice and intense space afternoon in the Planetarium Vienna, which inspired following media to report:

• Radio Orange
• ORF Vienna (broadcasted in "Wien Heute" on same day)
• Okto TV -- Broadcast "Supernova"