HUTCHINSON, Kan. – On Monday morning, the Cosmosphere welcomed U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, along with current NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and Gerry Griffin. The visit began with a private tour of the Cosmosphere’s campus and ended with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Hall of Space Museum.
President and CEO of the Cosmosphere, Jim Remar, began by pointing out the Apollo 13 spacecraft that sits in the Hall of Space Museum, appreciating the correlation between that module and the positioning of the current Integrity Spacecraft, which is preparing to travel around the dark side of the moon.
Remar thanked Senator Moran for his efforts in advocating for Kansas and the Cosmosphere at our nation’s capital and in his roles as Chairman of both the CGS subcommittee and the Aviation, Space, and Innovation subcommittee.
Moran shared his love of the Cosmosphere in his remarks: “Hutchinson, this community, the leadership of this community, the leadership of the Cosmosphere, deserve great applause and appreciation for taking something that was always special and building on it, and creating opportunities for our state and nation to excel.” He also shared a phone call that he had over a year ago with the Artemis II Mission’s crew: “The commander that’s in space right now said, ‘Senator, you do know that you have the best space museum in the world—in Kansas.’” Moran emphasized what an honor it was to be endorsed by four astronauts who are now orbiting the moon.
Administrator Isaacman emphasized the role of the Cosmosphere in space history: “The Cosmosphere tells the story of the last time NASA took on the challenge of competing against a great rival—the Space Race. It reminds us of what we can achieve when America commits itself with confidence, ownership, and urgency towards accomplishing world-changing endeavors.”
The visit came as the Artemis II crew prepared for the lunar flyby, when they will break the record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human at 252,760 miles from Earth. The crew, composed of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are setting the stage for a series of manned Artemis missions, with Isaacman stating, “This is the opening act in a series of Artemis missions as America returns to the lunar surface; this time, to stay.”
To close out his remarks, Isaacman stated, “Places like the Cosmosphere play a critical role in that effort. They show the next generation of dreamers where we can go, that we can go higher, that we can go faster, and farther, and take on the near-impossible missions that change the world. Places like the Cosmosphere help the next generation start to believe again.”
