{"id":393298,"date":"2026-07-31T10:47:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/393298\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:47:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:47:40","slug":"astronaut-days-land-at-space-center-houston-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/393298\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronaut Days land at Space Center Houston this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2013 Space Center Houston<\/a> is turning the weekend into a spaceflight-focused celebration with Astronaut Days<\/a>, running July 31 through Aug. 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event brings together astronaut presentations, pop-up labs, behind-the-scenes experiences and interactive activities aimed at giving guests a closer look at how humans train, live and work in space.<\/p>\n

Retired NASA astronauts Brian Duffy, Mike Baker and Megan McArthur are scheduled to take part in the weekend programming, including \u201cMission Memories\u201d talks where visitors can hear firsthand stories from their careers. Guests can also add a ticketed Breakfast with an Astronaut in the morning, featuring a catered meal by Wolfgang Puck and a live Q&A with that day\u2019s featured astronaut.<\/p>\n

New this year is the Science Deck, a hands-on learning area built around the scientific method\u2014encouraging visitors to observe, test ideas and discover concepts tied to Earth observation, microgravity, cognition and temperature effects. Additional activities include a puzzle mural, spacecraft-building opportunities and rotating pop-up labs exploring topics like radiation exposure and pressure changes, plus a sensory component that lets guests experience what space environments are believed to smell like.<\/p>\n

One of the weekend\u2019s highlights is the Astronaut Training Facility tram tour at NASA Johnson Space Center. Often described as the \u201castronaut\u2019s toybox,\u201d the facility includes an elevated training path used for current missions and for developing future exploration vehicles. The tour is included with general admission but is subject to availability.<\/p>\n

Visitors can also stop for photo opportunities with a floating astronaut and catch appearances by Commander Quest in the main plaza before checking out the Haven-1 display. The Haven-1 experience offers a preview of a commercial space station concept, including features such as individual sleeping quarters, a large window, a communal dining space and connectivity designed for life in orbit.<\/p>\n

Schedule<\/p>\n

Friday, July 31<\/p>\n

8:30\u20139:30 a.m. \u2014 Breakfast with an Astronaut (ticketed add-on): Brian Duffy<\/p>\n

11 a.m.\u20132 p.m. \u2014 Astronaut Days (activities throughout the center)<\/p>\n

Saturday, Aug. 1<\/p>\n

8:30\u20139:30 a.m. \u2014 Breakfast with an Astronaut (ticketed add-on): Mike Baker<\/p>\n

11 a.m.\u20132 p.m. \u2014 Astronaut Days (activities throughout the center)<\/p>\n

Start Here, Houston<\/p>\n

More Stories Like This In Our Email Newsletter<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Space Center Houston is turning the weekend into a spaceflight-focused celebration with Astronaut Days, running July…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[138373,138374,163,56,58,57,138376,138375,1911,3951,3952],"class_list":["post-393298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-astronaut-days","tag-brian-duffy","tag-education","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-megan-mcarthur","tag-mike-baker","tag-nasa","tag-space","tag-space-center-houston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}