Yuri's NightLife

Get straight up spacey this week as NightLife celebrates cosmo-pioneer Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.

Groove to an out-of-this-world live DJ set by Space Cowboys, a sonically-inspired SF collective and Burning Man favorite. Try a taste of space with Ninkasi Brewing Company’s Ground Control beer, made with brewer’s yeast that’s been to outer space (and back).

Learn about the future of space exploration as Wonderfest presents several pioneering scientists in the field. Yonatan Winetraub, cofounder of Space IL, will talk about his nonprofit organization’s goals to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the Moon and win the Google Lunar XPRIZE.

Still have dreams of going to Mars? Planetary scientists Dr. Pascal Lee from the SETI Institute and Dr. Christopher P. McKay from the NASA Ames Research Center will give an update about the possibilities of human exploration.

At the Project Lab, learn more about the NASA Kepler Mission, designed to survey the Milky Way and discover new habitable planets. The mission’s Jean-Pierre Harrison will also share stories about his wife, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, one of the astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, and bring some of her photos, medals, and flight gear. Plus, chat with astro-aficionados from Sonoma County’s Robert Ferguson Observatory.

In the planetarium, explore the history of human spaceflight with two special presentations at 6:30 and 7:30 pm, followed by a dive into our new era of lunar exploration with “Back to the Moon for Good,” narrated by Tim Allen.