mir-640 — A 1:10 scale model of the first modular space station. The Soviet Mir project proved it was possible to build large, permanent experimental platforms in Earth’s orbit

An exhibition on mankind’s voyage into space, developed in collaboration with Nasa, is coming to South Africa this winter. After wowing crowds in Europe, Gateway to Space: The Exhibition will be hosted at the Sandton Convention Centre from 1 June to 31 July.

Gateway to Space was assembled by the US Space & Rocket Center.

“Gateway to Space introduces audiences to the people, technologies and circumstances that paid passage for human dreams to enter the realities of suborbital flight, Moon missions and sustained life in space,” the organisers said in a statement.

Among highlights are a real moon rock, a life-size Mir space station core module, a Sputnik-1 model and an Apollo capsule model. The exhibition is being brough to South Africa by Media24 titles Huisgenoot, You and Drum.

“This exhibition is shipped from Budapest (where it’s currently on show) in 20 shipping containers, making this the biggest exhibition yet to travel to South Africa,” said Media24 spokesman Minette Ferreira. “To date, almost a million people have flocked to see this exhibition.

space-shuttle-640 — This full-scale split flight deck set shows the typical flight control area of a space shuttle

The exhibition includes four original space suits, the original Multi-Axis Trainer based on a Mercury-era astronaut training scenario, a glimpse of a scale-model space toilet, the food astronauts eat in space and a model of the Orion capsule, which is designed for future missions to Mars.