HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — This Saturday at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton you can go inside the gates and see 16 different facilities, but we’re not just going to talk about it.

Let’s go.

Our first stop is the National Transonic Facility, one of only two places in the world that has this type of wind tunnel.

The one thing about this wind tunnel is that the pressure can drop really low or increase really high, so we can test these small-scale models accurately inside of the tunnel.

Another stop you should make is a visit to the Structures and Materials Lab.

Here in the Laboratory, they are working on structures that we can use on a future moon mission. One of them is the Tall Lunar Tower, if you need to generate electricity on the moon, especially at the South Pole on the moon where our astronauts are going. You need to build a very large tower so you can capture that sunlight when it’s nighttime on the moon. On the moon, nighttime can last 14 days. So the goal is to build a giant tower to capture that sunlight.

Then a few feet away, step inside the Inflatable Habitat.

This is what it would be like if you were living on the moon or on another planet. You would live inside one of these. It’s inflatable, so it can increase in size once this lands on the surface. It’s tight and compact when it’s launched, but once it lands, it can expand into a comfortable living quarter.

And finally, our tour ended at the Hanger to see NASA’s latest research aircraft.

Check out the size of this aircraft, the Boeing 777, and see how big these engines are. There are two on this aircraft, and the wheels are almost chest high. This is one of the many things you’ll be able to see at NASA’s Langley Research Center coming up this Saturday.

Want to go?

Here is more information about this Saturday’s NASA Langley’s open house, including information about parking and how to register, and a guide to the event. Admission to the open house is free, and it takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no entry after 3 p.m. Artemis II astronaut Victor J. Glover will be participating in the open house.