PEEC planetarium program explores NASA’s Artemis Moon missions
Only about 50 people can fit in PEEC’s planetarium, giving Los Alamos families a close-up look at NASA’s Artemis Moon missions.
Only about 50 people can fit inside the Los Alamos Nature Center planetarium, turning PEEC’s Artemis and the Moon program into a small, close view of NASA’s next chapter in lunar exploration. The 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 8, presentation is set for a 30-foot dome at 2600 Canyon Road, where PEEC says the doors will open at 6:45 p.m. and admission will be $8 for adults, $6 for children, or $20 for families.
The timing gives local families, students, and amateur astronomers a public way to see how a major national mission connects to the science culture Los Alamos already knows well. PEEC, which operates the Nature Center and offers exhibits, outdoor programs, planetarium shows, and seasonal programming, has built its public education work around the Pajarito Plateau. The planetarium program extends that mission into space science, placing the Artemis program in a setting that blends astronomy, engineering, and exploration history.
NASA says Artemis is designed to return humans to the Moon, prepare for Mars, and support long-term exploration. The agency says Artemis I sent the Orion spacecraft on a 1.4-million-mile journey beyond the Moon and back, while Artemis II is the first crewed Artemis flight. NASA also established the Artemis Accords in 2020 with the U.S. Department of State and seven other initial signatory nations, giving the program an international policy dimension that reaches far beyond the launchpad.
The Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium adds to that reach with a format built for small audiences. PEEC describes the space as a live star-talk and multimedia venue projected onto a 30-foot dome, with seating for about 50 people. The Nature Center itself is an award-winning building, built in 2015, and the planetarium event is one of the few ways residents can experience a global space mission in such an intimate local setting. PEEC says planetarium programs are generally not recommended for children under 5.
For Los Alamos, where science is part of the county’s identity, the program offers something practical as well as inspiring: a clear, accessible evening to see how the next Moon missions fit into the long arc of space exploration. It is a local room with a national view, and for one night the Moon will feel much closer to home.
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