Is a trip to moon coming soon?

In 40 years, traveling to space could mimic the experience of a cross-country airplane trip today.

The bathrooms will still be cramped, the food will still taste like generic frozen dinners, and the legroom will continue to be minimal. Except that by the year 2040, according to the big dreams and possibly realistic projections of scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the trips could take people throughout the galaxy.

Although the common man, woman and family cannot take a holiday vacation to the moon yet, they can get an idea of how they might travel to the moon at NASA's Starship 2040 traveling exhibit, which is at the Clark Planetarium through today. Inside the exhibit is a mock-up of one level of a commercial space airliner that will "present an idea of what it will be like to travel in space," said Marvin Jensen, public affairs officer for Marshall Space Flight Center.

While it may sound outlandish to some people to suggest that trips to outer space will be a reality in four decades, Jensen said that it only takes a quick glance back in time to realize how quickly things can evolve.

"If you look back 40 years ago, we didn't have jumbo jets, while now you can fly to the other side of the world without stopping," he said.

Like many of the planetarium exhibits, the Starship 2040 is education without being too advanced for children to grasp, something Jensen said is a primary goal of NASA. It may also show children what can practically, and amazingly, be accomplished by scientists and engineers. The exhibit has also been at Utah State University and Hill Air Force Base and will travel to Idaho next week.

"If we can get a few children excited about math and science, that's great," Jensen said. "It shows them that math and science is more than just x's and o's."

If the dozens of children at the exhibit on Friday are any indication, generating excitement is not a problem. From being disgusted by the elevated bathroom with various suction tubes to wanting to lounge at the video phone, the children were generally impressed with the travel options they may have for their children.

Emily Davis, 8, who had come to the planetarium with her family from American Fork, said that if she "was brave enough to get on," she would really like to try sleeping without gravity. The beds and chairs impressed her most, but she said the food "looked disgusting" and the bathroom would be tough to use.

"If there was no gravity, you would get upside down," she said. "It would feel like you were flying, and I've always wanted to fly."

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com