Las Cruces Space Festival is Back for Sixth Year

The sixth annual Las Cruces Space Festival returns Sept. 6-14, 2024.

The festival is an annual celebration of space-related activities and history that the area is renowned for. Established in 2018, the festival provides activities for all ages with the intention of, ‘Making Space for Everyone’. The festival is free and open to all with the cost of activities, presentations, displays and exhibits covered by sponsors.

This year’s festival will be anchored by former NASA astronaut Nicole Stott in conjunction with the Space for Art Foundation. Stott will be at various events the first weekend of the festival celebrating space art with the youth of our community. The public will get to hear astronaut Stott on Saturday, Sept. 7, and watch the latest Space for Art documentary at City Council Chambers. Joining her will be “Astronaut Wrangler,” Christina Korp, who will be talking about her vast experience in the space industry.

Starting on Friday, Sept. 6, there will be an opening reception for the festival in conjunction with the premiere of the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science astrophotography exhibit. There will be plenty of STEM and art-related activities for all ages along with a full schedule for the entire festival.

The fun continues throughout Saturday with art projects in the downtown area, space trivia and space talks. The opening weekend culminates with an open house at Spaceport America on Sunday, Sept. 8. Registration is now open. For more information about the open house, visit Spaceport America.

During the week, there will be Challenger Learning Center missions, moongazing, astronomy talks and activities at NMSU. The final day of the festival will be held at the Downtown Plaza de Las Cruces with Space Saturday during the Las Cruces Farmers and Craft Market. There will be space-related and STEM-focused organizations on display with plenty of fun for the whole astro-family!

The Las Cruces Space Festival, in partnership with Las Cruces Public Schools, held a poster contest. Youth K-12 students created posters inspired by the theme “Fashion in Space.”  Two posters were selected as winners for this year’s posters designs. The artists will receive a gift bag from Space Festival supporters. Congratulations to 8th grader Amelia Janer and 7th grader Gemma Crunk.

The volunteer-led festival team works with many partner organizations across the community — ranging from the public schools, local universities and colleges, space industry, arts, cultural groups and many others — to provide an event for people of all ages and interests. The events aim to raise awareness and celebrate space-related activity and achievements in the region — past, present and future. If you are interested in being part of the team or being a partner organization, send an email to [email protected]

Visit the Las Cruces Space Festival website or find us on Facebook and Instagram.