For most, the dream of floating among the stars or gazing down at Earth from the heavens is just that—a dream. But this spring, Atlantans and sky-watchers in Cincinnati are getting a rare opportunity to experience the wonders of the International Space Station (ISS), whether through cutting-edge virtual reality or simply by looking up on a clear night.
Beginning March 27, 2026, Pullman Yards in Atlanta is hosting Space Explorers: THE INFINITE, an exhibition that bills itself as the world’s largest immersive space experience. Visitors don a headset and step into a life-size replica of the ISS, brought to vivid life through virtual reality. According to The Atlanta Voice, this limited engagement is the latest stop for an exhibition that’s already drawn more than half a million visitors worldwide, with previous runs in Montreal, Houston, Singapore, and a dozen other cities.
The project is the result of a unique collaboration between Montreal-based PHI Studio, Felix & Paul Studios, and NASA. Starting in 2021, the team sent specially designed cameras—some with as many as nine or ten lenses for full 360-degree capture—on six missions to the ISS over two years. The footage they returned with forms the backbone of the exhibition, which is divided into four chapters and features more than 60 unique videos. Building the immersive environment at Pullman Yards took 21 days, a testament to the scale and ambition of the project.
"You put on a headset, and you’re going to explore a life-size replica of the International Space Station in virtual reality," said Rory Seydel, Director of Marketing at PHI for the exhibition, in an interview with The Atlanta Voice. "You get to see footage that was filmed in space, interviews with astronauts. It’s very intimate and awe-inspiring."
The hour-long journey transports guests nearly 250 miles above Earth, letting them move in and out of the ISS and experience daily life aboard the station. Along the way, visitors are treated to sweeping views of our planet from orbit, candid astronaut interviews, and even the chance to watch NASA’s Artemis I rocket launch on massive screens. As a special highlight, the exhibition features “The Universe within the Universe,” an audiovisual installation by renowned artist Ryoji Ikeda, blending art and science in a mesmerizing display.
Space Explorers: THE INFINITE is based on the Primetime Emmy Award-winning series Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, created by Felix & Paul Studios in partnership with NASA and TIME Studios. The ISS itself has been a fixture of human spaceflight for decades, but with its retirement slated for around 2030, this exhibition serves as both a celebration and a document of a remarkable era in space exploration.
Atlanta was a natural choice for the exhibition’s U.S. tour, thanks in part to its deep ties to the space community. Seydel emphasized the city’s connection: "Atlanta has a really strong space community. There’s Georgia Tech, which has a number of astronauts who have come from it." One of those astronauts is Shane Kimbrough, a Georgia Tech graduate who served as ISS commander during the filming of the experience. For Seydel and the exhibition’s creators, bringing the ISS to Atlanta is about more than just spectacle—it’s about inspiring the next generation. "Not everyone in their lifetime is probably going to end up going to space," Seydel explained. "This immersive experience really gives you the feeling and that access to space, and who knows, it might inspire the next astronauts of the future."
While Atlanta residents explore space virtually, Cincinnatians are invited to witness the real ISS as it streaks across their night sky—no VR headset required. According to Astronomer Dean Regas, the ISS will make two visible passes over Cincinnati during the weekend of March 27 and March 28, 2026. On Friday, March 27, the station will be visible from 9:20 to 9:24 p.m., rising from the northwestern horizon. The following night, Saturday, March 28, it will appear from 8:33 to 8:39 p.m., moving northwest to northeast.
Regas, a well-known figure in the Cincinnati astronomical community, describes the ISS as looking like "a very bright, non-twinkling star that slowly moves across the sky," and adds that during each pass, it will shine several times brighter than the brightest star. For those eager to catch a glimpse, Regas is hosting two free public viewing events: Friday night at Village of Glendale Park on Summit Avenue from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m., and Saturday at Telescope Fest in Ault Park, running from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. If the skies are clear, he promises, "you can’t miss it."
These dual experiences—one rooted in the latest virtual reality technology and the other in the simple act of looking up—highlight the enduring fascination with the ISS and human spaceflight. For the fewer than 300 people who have actually traveled to the ISS in the past two decades, the station represents the pinnacle of exploration and international cooperation. But for the millions who will never make the journey, exhibitions like THE INFINITE and public viewing events offer a powerful way to connect with the adventure and wonder of space.
The timing is especially poignant. With the ISS approaching its twilight years, opportunities to engage with its story—whether through immersive exhibitions or skywatching events—are more valuable than ever. As the world looks to the future of space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions and the possibility of new stations or lunar bases, remembering the legacy of the ISS becomes an act of both nostalgia and inspiration.
For Atlanta, hosting THE INFINITE is also a celebration of its own contributions to space science. Georgia Tech’s influence on the astronaut corps, and the city’s broader enthusiasm for STEM education, make it an ideal setting for an exhibition designed to spark curiosity and ambition in young minds. In Cincinnati, meanwhile, the communal experience of tracking the ISS as it glides overhead offers a reminder that space, for all its vastness, is something we share—an adventure that connects people across cities, countries, and continents.
Whether you’re stepping into a virtual ISS in Atlanta or scanning the night sky in Cincinnati, the message is clear: space exploration is not just for astronauts. With a little imagination—and maybe a pair of VR goggles or a backyard telescope—anyone can become a part of humanity’s journey beyond Earth. As the ISS continues its orbit, both in the heavens and in our collective imagination, it invites us all to look up, wonder, and dream a little bigger.