Mag. Jörg Ehtreiber
MISSION POSSIBLE!
An exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in the CoSA – Centre of Science Activities
Opening: 17.12.2021
Duration: 18.12.2021 –11.09.2022
DEVELOPMENT, CURATORIAL CONCEPT AND PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
FRida & freD – The Graz Children’s Museum
The Graz Space Research Institute (IWF) which, with around 100 employees from twenty countries, is one of the largest institutes of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The IWF which is housed in the Victor Franz Hess Research Centre of the ÖAW in the south of Graz took the initiative to develop an exceptional special exhibition in the CoSA – Centre of Science Activities by FRida & freD – the Graz Children’s Museum.
The result is a “MISSION POSSIBLE!” that provides insights into the complex and exciting work of the Space Research Institute which is currently participating in 20 international space missions. The visitors discover what happens on a space mission whilst they participate themselves in a fictitious mission in the CoSA: the destination is Enceladus, one of the largest moons of Saturn. The common thread through the exhibition is a comic – not as endlessly long as space but disproportionately large all the same. It is the work of the comic artist Chris Scheuer. In his unmistakeable style and with a lot of attention to detail, he has drawn a comic in 21 images. The activities of the Graz space researchers are depicted in a vivid manner on a length of just under 30 metres: initial ideas for a space mission, request for proposals, financing, international partnerships, experiments in the laboratory, construction of prototypes and flight instruments, installation in satellites, rocket launch, a lengthy wait until measurement results finally reach the Earth – and answer some of the many open questions regarding space research. Original space measuring equipment is integrated into the comic. Interaction also helps to convey the scientific content to the visitors in more detail.
