* VERTICAL MOTION SIMULATOR
At the Ames Research Center in San Jose, Calif., NASA has built one of the largest three-dimensional motion simulators in the world. Consisting of a simulated airplane cockpit that sits on top of a platform supported by a number of hydraulic pistons, this machine is housed in a 120-foot-high, 73-foot-wide and 36-foot-deep building. Matt will live his childhood dream by sitting in the astronaut's seat and guided by a pilot, he will experience a real-life simulation of the space shuttle's re-entry.
* BLAST HOLE DRILL
Back at the Aitik Mine in Gallivare, Sweden, Matt gets down and dirty and hops on board the 70-foot-tall, 340,000-pound machine that can bore into the earth to depths of 500 feet and below. Matt supports the crew in mapping out the drill pattern, drilling the hole and filling the blast holes with liquid explosives. Blasts usually consist of 200 to 300 holes, each hole containing one ton of explosives. Matt will have the power to blast up to 300 holes at once.
* LBT TELESCOPE
Matt Rogers accompanies a team of astronomers to visit the world's highest concentration of observatories pointing at the universe in Safford, Ariz. He will introduce viewers to the world's largest binocular telescope. Housed in an 18-story-high building, the telescope has side-by-side twin mirrors, each measuring 28 feet. With the collaboration of the United States and European countries, the construction of this machine was no small feat. The $100 million facility will help astronomers to see objects far deeper into space, surpassing the visuals from the Hubble Space Telescope.