NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland transforms aviation, revolutionizes space exploration, and inspires new discoveries for the benefit of all. One of 10 NASA centers, and the only one in the Midwest, Glenn is a vital contributor to the region’s economy and culture. The center partners with local and national businesses, collaborates with colleges, universities, and schools, and offers internships, mentorships, and fellowships.

For nearly 85 years, Glenn’s engineers and scientists have worked behind the scenes in unique test facilities to put astronauts in space, send rovers and probes to explore the universe, and make your flights safer, faster, quieter, and more sustainable.

The road to the Moon goes through Ohio, and Glenn’s unrivaled expertise in power, propulsion, and communications is crucial to Artemis and NASA’s Moon to Mars efforts. NASA Glenn’s Simulated Lunar Operations team will take visitors on a journey operating a remote-controlled rover into an 8-foot crater to accomplish a special Moon mission before running out of power during the Lunar Crater Challenge. This activity highlights how our experts design, develop, and test tires and materials that will enable humans to live and work on the Moon. Attendees can also see a tabletop 3D model of a rover, a moonscape backdrop with fun selfie props, and NASA informational items like stickers, posters, and collectible pins.

NASA experts will also demonstrate the various ways shape memory alloys — metals that can return to their original shape after being bent, stretched, heated, and cooled — can be transformed to enable new advancements such as flexible rover tires for traversing the uneven, rocky terrain of the Moon and Mars.