A new $450 billion global space industry is transforming the lives and livelihoods of Pittsburgh’s communities, particularly on the  North Side, where the Moonshot Museum, connected to partner and space exploration company Astrobotics, is providing a hands-on introduction to interstellar opportunities.  

Our mission was to make something as far-out as space travel feel electrifyingly immediate for Moonshot Museum visitors of all ages—and to create a platform to help the museum continuously evolve its content over time. 

We started by play testing with over sixty Pittsburgh-area middle schoolers, closely observing and iterating on their feedback, along with museum staff, teachers, experts, and the community. Every hesitation, laugh, and unexpected idea reshaped the experience, ensuring it resonated deeply with the audiences it was meant to serve. 

The result is an embodiment of this inspiring, citywide STEM revolution. The Moonshot Museum creates a powerful gravitational pull for future space scientists, particularly through its unobstructed view of a real lunar rover assembly room at Astrobotics.

Today, visitors are challenged to work out their own mission objectives, stirred to investigate futuristic habitats, and invited to explore careers in the astro-sciences—engaging every sense and encouraging a new perspective on future extraplanetary opportunities right in their own backyard.