Exploration of the last frontier - outer space - becomes a real life experience for movie-goers viewing Destiny In Space, the IMAX film that takes them on a never-before-possible voyage to the far reaches of the universe. Narrated by Leonard Nimoy, the film features unique exterior views of the Space Shuttle in flight around Earth, the heroic Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and thrilling flyovers of Mars and Venus in a 40-minute giant screen adventure.

The film, which focuses on the future of human and robotic space exploration, is the result of a unique public-private partnership involving the National Air and Sapce Museum, Lockheed Coorporation, NASA and IMAX Coorporation, the inventor and developer of IMAX and leader of the giant-screen industry.

"With this film," says Dr. Martin Harwitt, Director of the National Air and Sapce Museum, "the museum and the Lockheed Coorporation invite the public to envisage the future of space exploration and encourage children - the next generation of explorers - to join this great human venture."

Footage taken from nine shuttle flights moves easily from intimate close-ups of the astronauts going about their daily work to the awe-inspiring departure of the Galileo probe for Jupiter (a journey of 5 years and 390 million miles), a spectacular night shuttle launch, and the retrieval, servicing and redeployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. The most sophisticated of telescopes, newly fitted with its corrective lens, allows scientists to peer 14 billion years back in time and, for the first time, confirm the existence of black holes.

To give viewers a sense of exploring farther into space, computer imaging sequences soar over the rugged and colorful contours of Venus and Mars. These sequences are highly accurate visualizations of the data from space probes, made possible by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "IMAX enables space explorers to take the peoples of the Earth along with them on their voyages," says producer Graeme Ferguson. "Never before in the history of human discovery has it been possible to do this."