Mission Control Centers as Theme Park Attractions

NASA Flight Control Room during Apollo 14. Image courtesy of NASA.

For a few thousand dollars, amateur radio operators set up private stations which receive and decode weather satellite images and such using conventional television dishes and antennae. We could use a similar plan for the Artemis Project ground stations, but often we hear criticisms tha at $600,000 for each ground station, we haven't budgeted nearly enough.

We list such a small budget for the ground stations because we really expect them to pay for themselves.

Sharing the fun means paying for the flight

If you've read the "Landing Day" vignette in section 1.2. of the Artemis Data Book, you've seen a hint at what we are thinking. Our plan for the ground stations includes a much more grandiose scheme than just a mission control center and a few data relay stations. We plan to have several mission control centers sited in theme parks around the world, with big public viewing rooms and mission control performed as theater in the round. Some of the parks will be big, some smaller.

We can at least have a closed-circuit television link all over the world, and of course, webcast the events of the reference mission for members of Artemis Society International who are unable to travel to one of the mission support sites.

This ain't NASA; we'll charge admission to the theme parks. Television news feeds go to the highest bidders. Press passes are available at a small fee. Trailer space for news teams is available for rent. Interviews with the principals are available at standard SAG rates, plus a small fee paid to the program.

In the round and around the globe

Instead of having three shifts operating in just one mission support center, we'll have each mission control team and its backup team operating in different control rooms spaced around the globe.

In between rides at the theme park, you'll be able to sit it on mission control, and see and hear it all happening live in comfortable quarters. VIP areas and skyboxes will be available, for a princely sum. Annual passes and package discounts are available. Reserved seating is provided for members of Artemis Society International, issued by preference of date of continuous membership.

Tell us what you want

Think about it: If you could spend a vacation in a space-themed theme park, what do you want it to be like?

It's your space flight. Besides sending you on the spacecraft, what can the program do to maximize your enjoyment of it?