It is the year 2099 and the Swiss transport museum in Lucerne is now offering visitors the opportunity to boldly go where no man has gone before, on an interactive virtual journey into space.

The "Crystal Moon Express" takes up to 30 passengers at a time on a virtual voyage towards a mysterious asteroid at the end of this century. Accompanying them are the human shuttle commander, Tex the robot and an onboard computer called Krishna.

Their destination is the Crystal Moon Hotel, from which they can observe a newly discovered moon made of crystal.

The journey takes them past the Moon and Mars, and among the hazards on the way are debris left by previous space missions. This is where the interactive part of the experience comes into play.

Passengers see the approaching hazards and have to take decisions on how they can be avoided.

Inaugurated by Swiss astronaut, Claude Nicollier, the "Crystal Moon Express" is part of the Cosmorama space navigation exhibition at the museum and offers a "space voyage" which is both thrilling and realistic.

And anyone nervous about going on board need have no worries. The system has been inspected by security experts, who concluded that it was "non-dangerous".

by Richard Dawson

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