Historic space capsule coming to Children’s Museum

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The capsule that took the second American astronaut into space is landing at the Children’s Museum this summer.

The Liberty Bell 7 space capsule will be part of an exhibition at the museum called Beyond Spaceship Earth, which opens June 25.

Visitors will be able to go inside the Liberty Bell 7 and see what it was like for astronauts during the early days of the U.S. space program. In addition, visitors cab see what it is like inside the International Space Station and learn what it takes to survive in space.

The exhibition will be designed with an eye toward Indiana’s history with America’s space program.

“Many of the astronauts came from here, like Gus Grissom,” said Chris Carron, Director of Collections for the Children’s Museum. “And so there’s a real relationship between Hoosiers and the exploration of space.”

Liberty Bell 7 was launched into space in 1961. Shortly after landing in the Atlantic Ocean and astronaut Gus Grissom exiting, the capsule sank to the ocean floor and was not recovered until 1999.