Cunard World Space Week Focus Lauds Exploration, Curiosity

Cunard has embraced the sky more than any other cruise line. The only cruise ship with an onboard planetarium: Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. That singular feature brings good reason to celebrate Cunard World Space Week aboard the celebrated liner this coming October.

Throughout Cunard’s history the line has been synonymous with adventure and exploration, and we are excited to offer our guests the opportunity to learn about the vast wonders of space from some of the greatest explorers of our time- Josh Leibowitz, Cunard senior VP

In December 1999, The United Nations General Assembly declared World Space Week as an annual event celebration to be commemorated between October 4–10. We’ll go a step further and make that ‘Cunard World Space Week’ since Cunard line is the only cruise line celebrating it. The choice of dates was based on recognition of two important dates in space history: the launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957; and the signing of the Outer Space Treaty on October 10, 1967. In 2017, World Space Week was celebrated with over 3,700 events in 80 countries. Events included school activities, exhibitions, government events, and special activities at planetaria around the world.

Photo- Cunard Line

The 9-night transatlantic Cunard World Space Week journey will feature a variety of space-themed experiences including talks from distinguished space explorers including:

Dr. Jeffery Hoffman, a former NASA astronaut and Shuttle pilot. Hoffman made five space flights, becoming the first astronaut to log 1,000 hours of flight time aboard the Space Shuttle. He is now Professor of Aerospace Engineering in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Robin Scagell (The Complete Guide To Stargazing) of the Royal Astronomical Society is a lifelong astronomer and the author of numerous books including Complete Guide to Stargazing, 101 Things to Spot in the Night Sky, The Urban Astronomy Guide.

Dr Lawrence Kuznetz, (The Space Show) is a former flight controller during Apollo and a 40-year veteran of the space program. Kuznetz helped to build the space shuttles and is a former Life Science Experiment Manager for the International Space Station.

Cunard World Space Week
The Right Tool For The Job

Queen Mary 2 is the only ship to have a full-sized planetarium on board. Named ‘Illuminations’ the stadium seating venue offers a variety of constellation shows . They have been doing that since Queen Mary 2 was launched. Recent techology brought virtual reality rides throughout the day on each Transatlantic Crossing.

Cunard’s partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) enables the ship to offer specially-curated shows putting distant stars and galaxies into focus and explaining what passengers can see in the night sky at different times of the year.

Cunard World Space Week
Booking Information

The voyage departs New York on the 7th of October. 2,695-passenger ship arrives in Southampton October 16, 2018. Onboard for the event, a line-up of expert speakers for its second annual Transatlantic Space Week.

For more information about Cunard World Space Week, or to book a voyage, contact your Travel Consultant, call Cunard Line at 1-800-728-6273 or visit www.cunard.com.