— Of the eight new and renovated galleries debuting with the reopening of the National Air and Space Museum, none may be more anticipated than "Destination Moon."

A replacement for the highly popular "Apollo to the Moon," an exhibition that launched with the museum just four years after the last astronauts stepped off the lunar surface, "Destination Moon" goes above and beyond what its predecessor displayed by building upon the Smithsonian's unrivaled collection of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo artifacts.

The new gallery shows how a "combination of motivations, resources and technologies made it possible for humans to walk on the moon — and how and why we are going back today," as the museum describes on its website.

Thousands of people with free, timed-entry passes are set to experience "Destination Moon" for the first time as the doors to the National Air and Space Museum open on Friday (Oct. 14). For those unable to be in Washington, D.C., collectSPACE has worked with the museum's staff to assemble this multimedia walkthrough, highlighting many of new gallery's artifacts and installations.

Destination 'Destination Moon'

The "Destination Moon" exhibition is on the second floor of the Air and Space Museum, located between the "Keith C. Griffin Exploring the Planets" and "One World Connected" galleries. For those who remember "Apollo to the Moon," its successor is now on the opposite, west side of the building.

Upon entering the gallery, just below the title plaque, visitors find a description of what the exhibition seeks to address.

"For centuries, humans dreamed of flying to the moon. In 1969, American astronauts finally set foot on its surface. What are the origins of this achievement? How was it done in less than a decade? What has happened since the moon race ended? Discover the inspiring story of how we are exploring our nearest neighbor in space," the plaque reads.

Turning to the left, the gallery's exhibits begins with "Fly Me to the Moon," a series of wall-mounted displays tracing the history of flights to the moon beginning well before anyone or anything left Earth. "Fictional lunar voyages go back 2,000 years. But not until the mid-20th century could we actually send spacecraft there."

Above reproductions of Galileo Galilei's sketches of the moon and the cover art for Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon," the 40-foot-long (12-meter) original oil painting "Lunar Landscape" by space artist Chesley Bonestell.

"On March 28, 1957, six months before the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the Boston Museum of Science unveiled this huge mural in the lobby of its Charles Hayden Planetarium. Bonestell portrayed the moon as everyone expected it to be: with sharp peaks, jagged canyons, and steep crater walls. In 1970, the museum took the mural down after pictures from the moon showed that the constant rain of meteorites and space dust rounded off lunar hills and mountains. The Smithsonian acquired the mural in 1976 and restored it for this exhibition."

Racing to the moon

Still facing the same wall, the displays advance from imaginary voyages to the real races to reach the moon. "In September 1959, [the Soviet Union's] Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to succeed in crashing into the moon. A month later, a television camera on Luna 3 returned the first images of the moon's far side."

Suspended above visitors' heads here is a reconstruction of a Pioneer probe. Made from test parts, the artifact represents the United States' first failed attempt at launching to the moon.

Next to Pioneer is a one-third scale model of Vostok, the Soviet spacecraft that carried the world's first man (Yuri Gagarin) and woman (Valentina Tereshkova) into space. Also on exhibit here (at ground level) is a bronze bust of Gagarin and the capsule that NASA used to send chimpanzees prior to humans into space.

Turning to face the windows at the far end of the hall, visitors come face to face with both the silvery pressure suit worn by Alan Shepard, America's first astronaut to fly into space, and his Mercury spacecraft, "Freedom 7." The two artifacts are reunited in "Destination Moon," having previously been displayed in separate museums. The suit was restored for this exhibition as part of the Smithsonian's first crowd-funding campaign.

Also on display: the Capsule Flight Operations Manual that Shepard used to prepare for his Mercury-Redstone 3 suborbital flight.

Taking a few steps back and turning to the right, visitors enter "A Huge Challenge," the next area in "Destination Moon" gallery. "How could America land humans on the moon in less than 10 years? President Kennedy's decision presented enormous challenges."

On the right is a wall of displays examining the impacts that the space program had on the nation, including the contributions of contractors from across the country and around the world. Here you can see the jacket belonging to McDonnell Aircraft's chief engineer for Project Mercury and Project Gemini, an Apollo survival knife made W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery and the Omega Speedmaster chronograph worn by Gordon Cooper on Gemini V, among other example artifacts.

Along the same wall is a look at how women and civil rights played into and were affected by the expansion of NASA facilities, especially in the Deep South.

Opposite the wall is a display case with the Gemini VII spacecraft that Frank Borman and Jim Lovell lived in while orbiting Earth for two weeks, The Gemini missions honed the skills needed to safely send astronauts safely to the moon.

In the same case are artifacts from the first American spacewalk, including astronaut Edward White's helmet, his hand-held maneuvering unit and life support umbilical, as well as the harmonica and jingle bells flown on Gemini VI-A, which demonstrated rendezvous with the Gemini VII capsule.

Below and above

Returning to the opposite wall, past a display of 1:48 scale models of NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launch vehicles, is the largest and heaviest artifact in "Destination Moon." To see it, visitors only need to look up.

But wait, do you see five Saturn V F-1 rocket engines? Mirrors create the illusion of standing under the Saturn V inside the flame trench, but in reality there is only one complete F-1 — an early test engine that was fired four times — and a quarter section from an example of a center-mounted engine.

In the former "Apollo to the Moon," the F-1 engine and section piece were also mounted with mirrors but in the horizontal. Raising the display into the vertical was the largest challenge the museum faced during the renovations.

Just beyond the suspended F-1 display is a glass case with the parts from another F-1, one of the five that launched the Apollo 11 mission. The turbopump, LOX (liquid oxygen) dome, injector plate and thrust chamber were recovered off the ocean floor in 2013.

Turning around to look back towards the Gemini display case, visitors ascend the stairway to the gallery's mezzanine (an elevator is also available). The red hue of the staircase is intended to evoke the Apollo-era mobile launcher gantry that stood beside and supported the Saturn V.

Ascending the stairs, visitors encounter "Outfitting and Guiding the Astronauts," the next set of displays. "To send astronauts to the moon, NASA had to develop new ways to train, equip and guide them. The Apollo crews needed lunar spacesuits, along with supplies and equipment for one to two weeks in space."

Here are examples of how the spacesuits astronauts would come to wear on the moon were developed and evolved, from the Apollo I-C pressure suit that Frank Borman used for his early Apollo training to prototypes that led up to the spacesuit used on the lunar surface.

A portable life support system (or PLSS) backup is displayed without its cover, revealing its inner workings, next to a sewing machine that seamstresses used to sew the fabric portions of the Apollo spacesuit.

Continuing along the mezzanine, beyond exhibits dedicated to space food, astronaut personal hygiene equipment and survival tools, visitors re-encounter the F-1 engine now at eye level. The 18-foot-tall (5.6-m), 18,000-pound (8,200 kg) engine is complimented by plaques helping describe what is now visible and up close.

Past the F-1, visitors come across "Simulation and Mission Control," featuring the instructor control console and "star ball" from the Apollo command module simulator that was in use at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as well as displays describing the Mercury and Apollo mission controls.

Before leaving the mezzanine, visitors encounter one more exhibit devoted to what may be the most famous role for mission control. "Houston, We've Had a Problem" presents flight director Gene Kranz' Apollo 13 vest and how the astronauts were able to fit "a square peg" (a command module lithium hydroxide canister, or carbon dioxide scrubber) in "a round hole" (the receptacle for lunar module lithium hydroxide filter).

Humans reach the moon

Descending the stairway opposite the one they ascended, visitors now cross the room, past that first staircase, where the Apollo program begins in "Destination Moon."

Here, the Apollo 4 command module inner and heat shield hatches are on exhibit next to the Apollo 11 command module hatch showing the changes that were made after a fire on the launch pad claimed the lives of the Apollo 1 crew. Additional wall-mounted displays detail the missions that came before a lunar landing, from Apollo 7 through Apollo 10.

Overhead, a Ranger probe (at right) assembled from spare parts and an engineering model configured like the Surveyor 3 lander represent the robotic precursor missions that helped made a crewed moon landing possible.

Returning to the base of the stairs where visitors descended from the mezzanine, they come to Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit.

"Neil Armstrong wore this spacesuit when he made his historic 'one small step' onto the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969. Before and after his two-and-a-half-hour lunar walk, he wore it inside the lunar module, but without the special gold visor helmet and with different gloves," the display reads.

Behind the spacesuit located in its own display case is the centerpiece of "Destination Moon," the Apollo 11 command module "Columbia." Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins flew to the moon and back aboard this spacecraft.

Previously exhibited wrapped in a plexiglass shell in the museum's Milestones of Flight gallery, Columbia can now be viewed from almost 360 degrees (including from the mezzanine, as these photos show).

Sharing Columbia's display case are several artifacts related to the command module's pilot. Michael Collins' inflight coveralls, his Omega Speedmaster chronograph and checklists can be seen here.

To the rear and left of Columbia is a representation of the other Apollo spacecraft needed to land on the moon. Technicians completed this lunar module cockpit mockup by installing simulator control panels and equipment. The view out the right window displays archival film of the Apollo 11 landing as from the vantage point of Buzz Aldrin. The left window displays a modern recreation of what Neil Armstrong saw.

Stepping forward to the next display case, visitors see a replica of the U.S. flag that Armstrong and Aldrin left on the lunar surface, a flight-qualified backup of the solar wind composition experiment deployed on Apollo 11, a training version fo the contingency lunar soil sampler and qualification models for the passive seismic experiment and laser ranging retro-reflector left at Tranquility Base.

In the same case, are one of the two lunar sample return containers that held the first moon rocks brought back to Earth, Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 Omega Speedmaster chronograph and parts removed the "Eagle" lunar module as discovered in Armstrong's closet after his death in 2012, including the data acquisition camera that recorded the first landing on the moon.

"These are among the very few Apollo 11 artifacts brought back from Tranquility Base. Thanks to the Armstrong family, they are now available for preservation, research, and public display," a plaque in the case reads.

Exploring the moon

After Apollo 11, five more missions and 10 more astronauts explored the lunar surface. Visitors walk past the stairs they ascended to the mezzanine and turn left to find displays for the Apollo 12 though Apollo 14 moon landings.

Beyond a training (non-radioactive) version of SNAP 27 nuclear generator and cask first used on Apollo 12 and training versions of many of the tools used on Apollo 14, visitors enter the final hall of "Destination Moon."

Facing the exit, lining the left wall are exhibits for Apollo 15 through Apollo 17, including a mapping camera as used on all three missions and the lunar overshoes worn by Gene Cernan, "the last man on the moon" during the Apollo 17 moonwalks.

Also here, set against the windows looking out of the museum, is a qualification test unit of the lunar roving vehicle driven by the three final Apollo crews. The museum's description reads: "A battery-powered 'dune buggy' like this one was stored folded up in the descent stage of the lunar modules on Apollo 15, 16, and 17."

The same case holds a spare wheel and fender built for the rover, a lunar surface drill and a reconstructed engineering model of the Apollo 16 Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph, the first astronomical telescope used on another world.

In front of the lunar rover is a display of lunar samples and the tools used to collect them. Here, visitors can see a sample scale used to weigh moon rocks and a "rock box" used to store lunar samples on Apollo 14 and Apollo 16 before viewing an Apollo 16 anorthosite rock, an Apollo 17 breccia sample and a volcanic basalt collected on Apollo 15. Also on display is regolith, or soil, retrieved from the Apollo 17 lunar rover.

Destination: Still the Moon

The "Destination Moon" gallery concludes with a look ahead as missions have begun to return to the moon. "Several nations and international agencies have announced ambitious lunar programs including the United States, China, and the European Space Agency. People will visit the Moon again soon. Human fascination with the Moon continues. Where will it lead next?"

Suspended from the ceiling as visitors leave the gallery is the structural verification unit of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which since 2009 has been imaging the moon, including the Apollo landing sites.

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