El Paso sits near the birthplace of the U.S. space program (White Sands Missile Range) and within the a growing commercial space industry in the U.S. Southwest corridor. For example, to the east is Blue Origin Launch site in Van Horn and the Midland Spaceport; to the west Virgin Galactic at Spaceport America in Truth or Consequences, NM, as well as one of the newest analog astronaut simulation habitats SAMS in Tucson, AZ; to the southeast in Boca Chica, TX is SpaceX Starbase/ launchsite, home of Starship

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This year’s Festival celebrates the historical local, regional, and global efforts that give rise to the exciting possibilities of tomorrow.  Featuring a variety of hands-on, highly interactive and simulation experiences throughout the week, the festival will have both traditional STEM aspects along with ways "space" has been explored through the arts and literature.

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While the focus will be on exploration of outer space and the universe, we also look to how "space on Earth" has been explored as a result of outer space innovations such as communication and image satellites. One way is connecting to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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Among the many facets of the theme, this year's festival sheds light in the increasing opportunities for anyone who want to be active "space" explorers.  Join us in a discussion of what that can be for our local community.