CRADLE TO COSMOS FROM BAKU

"People are idiots. They made a lot of stupid things: costumes for dogs, marketing managers and stuff like the iPhone, getting nothing but a sour aftertaste. If we'd worked to develop science, explore the Moon, Mars and Venus... who knows what the world would have been like? Humanity would be able to travel through space, but it chose consuming instead - drinking beer and watching soap operas." These words by the great Ray Bradbury, a "poet of space", became a catchphrase space scientists the world over love to repeat. 

These words are often pronounced with sadness. Unfortunately, modern people no longer dream about becoming astronauts, so it won't be harmful to occasionally remind them that it is not only gadgets or bread that sustains humanity. The Cradle to Cosmos exhibition under way at the Heydar Aliyev Centre is one such meaningful reminder. 

"Our aim is not only to showcase the achievements of the past but to also show the true way to the future," Roosevelt Lewis, co-founder of the exhibition and one of the leading experts of NASA, told us. "This is why we want to first of all get young people interested," he added. Remarkably, the opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by students of the National Aviation Academy of Azerbaijan. "I hope to hear in a few years that some of you became astronauts," Lewis told them. 

Space Museum 

The exhibition mainly showcased the space achievements of the USA and the former USSR, reflecting the period of the space race when space science was developing very rapidly. Viewers will have an opportunity to browse over 100 exhibits, including space stations, parts of various satellites and their models, spacesuits and accessories, meteorites and much more. 

CEO of the United States Space & Rocket Center, Deborah Barnhart, told participants in the ceremony that some of the exhibits are replicas. For example, the exhibition showcases a life-size replica of the Mir space station. Any viewer can feel like an astronaut. After getting inside the station many viewers began to feel eerie when they realized that astronauts had spent many months inside it. The exhibition also showcased replicas of the first Soviet and US satellites, a model of a modern satellite, replicas of spacesuits, including that of the first cosmonaut Yuriy Gagarin, as well as that of Neil Armstrong, the first person to have landed on the Moon. 

"Many of the exhibits are originals and very valuable at that," Bernhard said. "We are particularly proud of the moon soil fragment which was brought by members of the Apollo-15 expedition. In addition, Barnhart pointed out such exhibits as the spacesuit of Russian cosmonaut Yuriy Usachev, as well as one of the largest iron asteroids which the viewers can even touch. 

Unique work and instruments by the great German engineer, Wernher von Braun, known as the inventor of the rockets V and V-2, who also contributed to the creation of the US nuclear bomb, were also presented. The exhibition showcased replicas of his first rockets he created in the 1920s-1930s. An accompanying video narrates in detail about his work. There are also unique renovated colour videos of the testing of von Braun's military rockets in Peenem?nde. 

His colleague, the great rocket-builder, S. P. Korolev, is also represented prominently at the exhibition which showcases his first works, such as a replica of the Vostok spacecraft which flew Yuriy Gagarin into space, as well as Voskhod which launched the first orbital station in human history, Soyuz, into orbit. Despite the fact that the exhibition was organized by the US side, the role of their rivals [the USSR] is not diminished even to the slightest degree. For example, the scales and specifications of the best American shuttle, Atlantis and the Soviet shuttle Buran are presented rightfully. As is known, the latter was not only larger but was, unlike its American analogue, also capable of performing free movements using its side nozzles. 

Interactive and educational  

One of the most distinctive features of the exhibition is the abundance of interactive materials. All exhibits are accompanied by screens which feature specially prepared documentaries about them. In addition, the exhibition has a separate hall equipped with wonderful screens that show entertaining and educational films. 

The final and largest hall accommodates the most interesting exhibits, such as computer and mechanical simulators which enable viewers to imagine that they are true astronauts. There is a simulator of a controlling aircraft and shuttle, an enhanced gravity chamber, which are used to train astronauts, as well as a weightlessness simulator. The hall also features a model of the first Azerbaijani satellite launched in February 2013 from the Guiana Space Centre in France. 

It is important to note two peculiarities of the exhibition: first of all, many exhibits are being showcased for the first time. Second, it is organized in such a way as to ensure that it is informative. Therefore, even if one only browses through the exhibition halls it is hard not to learn something new. In addition, the Cradle to Cosmos exhibition can be a very emotional experience to viewers, rekindling their wish to become astronauts and connect to the great and the magnificent. 

It is pleasantly surprising that many people go to the exhibition together with their children who show even greater enthusiasm than the elders. This means that despite the massive popularity of gadgets, computer games and consumer society, children are still capable of dreaming about space.

"First of all, we are delighted to see young people who can observe a consistent history of the exploration of space. This is the only way of creating a new generation of great dreamers," NASA expert, Lewis, said. 

One of those who opened the event was USSR cosmonaut Musa Manarov. 

"At one point in the past, my compatriots who explored the earth crust, greatly contributed in the fight against fascism. Today, when the first national satellite has been launched, Azerbaijanis I hope will look up into space more frequently," he said. 

The Baku exhibition was organized by the United States Space and Rocket Center. This entertaining exhibition will next travel to Paris. Before it arrived in Baku, this unique exhibition was showcased in other cities and was seen by about one and half million people. In Azerbaijan it will be held until 23 February 2013 through the support from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan.