Past Meets Future With NASA - Jamestown Partnership

Jan. 27, 2006, NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., has partnered with Jamestown 2007, planners of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, through an official Space Act Agreement.

Collaborative efforts from this partnership will link historical exploration leading to the 1607 founding of Jamestown with NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration taking us to the moon, Mars and beyond. Millions are expected to participate in educational, public outreach and cultural events planned from spring 2006 through fall 2007.

“Exploration is the essence of the human spirit,” said Langley’s director Lesa Roe. “As evidenced by Jamestown’s stature as the first permanent English settlement in America and NASA’s missions beyond this world, the drive to explore the unknown has been one of the constants in the history of the nation.”

NASA is collaborating with Jamestown 2007 to develop educational resources, exhibits and support materials focusing on themes of exploration past, present and future.

The premier event will be America’s Anniversary Weekend, a national observance of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. The weekend will feature historical interpretation, demonstrations, musical performances and educational displays.

Anniversary Weekend, May 11-13, 2007, will also include presentations by the three cultures that converged during the settlement’s early years – European, Virginia Indian and African. President and Mrs. George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family will be invited to participate.

“The spirit of exploration that brought European settlers to the Americas lives on today through the work being done by the men and women at NASA,” said Jeanne Zeidler, executive director, Jamestown 2007. “The Space Act Agreement links both groups of explorers by tying the founding of Jamestown nearly 400 years ago to new worlds yet to be explored.”

NASA will join Jamestown in a series of other signature events, including the “Godspeed Sail,” planned for May through August 2006. A newly-built replica of one of the three ships that landed at Jamestown in 1607, Godspeed, will visit six major east coast ports. It will be accompanied by “The Landing Party,” a 30,000 square-foot area featuring live music, family entertainment, historical displays and exhibits. The events are planned for Alexandria, Va., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Newport, R.I.

Contact Information

Sonja Alexander

Headquarters, Washington

NASA

Contact via E-mail