With an additional new building, the German Space Exhibition in Muldenhammer wants to get young generations excited about space and honor the legacy of past space travelers. A two-story hall with a gallery will provide 1,000 square meters of space to bring the achievements of space travel closer to children and young people in particular using multimedia. "A special tour is planned for this purpose, with which we want to fascinate our visitors," said Mayor Jürgen Mann (Freie Wähler). On Friday afternoon, the groundbreaking ceremony was to be held with Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU).
After years of trepidation and planning, Mann said, the small community in the Vogtland region with 3,000 inhabitants is happy to soon be able to offer an even larger center on the topics of space and space travel. "We couldn't contribute to the construction costs for the multi-million project because our financial situation wouldn't allow it," Mann explained. The estimated cost of 8.7 million euros, he said, is covered by a full grant from the federal and state governments. According to Mann, the opening could be in the summer of 2025.
The previous German Space Exhibition with its approximately 60,000 guests per year and more than a thousand exhibits on manned spaceflight - including a replica moon car in original size and everyday objects of the space travelers - is to continue to exist alongside the new building. The first German in space, Sigmund Jähn (1937-2019), will also continue to play an important role, emphasized museum director Romy Mothes.
Jähn spent childhood and youth in the village of Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz, now a district of Muldenhammer. On August 26, 1978, Jähn launched into space on the Russian spacecraft "Soyuz 31." "He is the origin and core of our exhibition and would have been pleased with our current plans," Mothes said. "Youth education was very close to his heart."
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