Sep 21, 2014 - 1 min read

Space Expo 2014 at Makuhari Messe

Dream-come-true collaboration of NASA & JAXA

By Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

A Curiosity!  A life-size model of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory rover, which was exhibited for the first time outside the U.S.A.

The Saturn V, an American human-rated expendable rocket used in the NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs

Entrance of the Space Expo 2014. As you can imagine, many children were here with a twinkle in their eyes!

Copies of Life magazine from during the 'Space Age' on display

Liquid-propellant rocket engine of The Saturn V rocket

This is THE GENUINE parachute used by Apollo 17 when it landed in the sea. Check out the wear and tear on it!

Dinosaur computers and machines which contributed to the development of space technology. Can you guess what these rulers at the front can do? They are called, 'slide rulers' and were used to calculate mathematical formulas...I don't know how!

Japanese pencil rockets...they are not toys, but serious rockets! Japan's space technology development started with these pencil-size rockets

These small pencil rockets evolved into 'Baby Rockets'!

Life-size replica of Japan's unmanned spacecraft 'Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon)'. The Hayabusa landed on the asteroid 'Itokawa', collected samples, and returned to Earth successfully in 2010!

Life-size replica of the Japanese science module 'Kibo (Hope)' for the International Space Station

Looking up at the replica of 'Kibo (Hope)' from below...it's HUGE!

Japanese astronauts' autographs on the surface of 'Kibo (Hope)' replica; you can read the names of renowned astronauts like Koichi Wakata and Soichi Noguchi

As a child, you might have dreamed of becoming an astronaut one day. I didn't, but 'outer space' is one of many destinations I'd like to visit IF/WHEN it's affordable and not so strenuous. To me, going even as far as the Space Center Houston in the U.S.A. seems exhausting. To someone like me, seeing something related to 'outer space' in Japan is pure bliss. Now, at Makurari Messe, you have your chance to see with your own eyes something that actually 'touched' the air of outer space. Space Expo 2014 is being held from July 19 to September 23 at Makuhari Messe, Chiba. In this expo, for the first time in their long history, NASA and JAXA have collaborated together and are holding this joint-exhibition. I'm sure some of the exhibition will excite and satisfy your 'spacy' dreams!