The city of Kent and the Kent Downtown Partnership hope to get a lot of mileage out of the aerospace display unveiled Tuesday inside the accesso ShoWare Center.<\/p>\n
The display kicks off a fundraising goal of $1 million as city and KDP leaders plan to build an interactive park like no other by late 2020 with a replica lunar rover, a replica astronaut and all kinds of fun features to celebrate and honor Kent’s past and future in the aerospace industry.<\/p>\n
“It’s aspirational,” said Michelle Wilmot, city economic program manager, about the $1 million goal she revealed during an interview. “But we want a park that is on par with the amazing human achievements we are celebrating, so it needs to be exciting with interactive amenities.”<\/p>\n
The design, features and new renderings of the proposed renovation and lunar rover display at Kherson Park, 317 W. Gowe St., in the heart of downtown, are expected to be out in the fall, Wilmot said.<\/p>\n
For the next six months or so, anyone who walks to the southwest corner of the ShoWare Center’s concourse will see a replica astronaut standing next to a large, informative wall display that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Boeing winning the NASA contract to create lunar rovers at its Kent space center. Three of the rovers remain on the moon after astronauts used them to explore during Apollo missions 15, 16 and 17 in 1971 and 1972.<\/p>\n
Mayor Dana Ralph wants the lunar rover to represent the past and the future of space innovation in Kent.<\/p>\n
“We want you to be channeling your inner astronaut to help bring the next lunar rover to Kent,” Ralph said at the kickoff event. “From the first lunar rover from about 50 years ago at Boeing Space Center to the creation of the next generation rockets, brilliant scientists and engineers have and are still developing the world’s most advanced vehicles right here in Kent Valley. That’s a pretty impressive thing when you think about it.”<\/p>\n