Lompoc tourism officials hopeful that Mission to Mars will bring economic boost back on Earth

Thousands of visitors are expected to descend upon the region this week to witness the first leg of the NASA InSight lander’s six-month journey to Mars. The spacecraft will leave Earth aboard a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket that is scheduled to take off from Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Space Launch Complex-3E at 4:05 a.m. Saturday. If successful, the launch will kick off the first interplanetary mission to ever originate from the West Coast of the U.S.

Back on the ground, several people with stakes in Lompoc Valley tourism are hopeful that the launch — and all the attention and fanfare surrounding it — will lead to economic impacts that last long after the Atlas V rocket disappears into the early-morning sky.

“(This) is a great opportunity for people to come and watch the launch and experience everything that Lompoc has to offer,” said Gilda Cordova, a Lompoc hotelier and board member for Explore Lompoc, an organization that aims to increase tourism. "We are proud to have VAFB, and launches have always made a great impact on our hotels and those of the surrounding cities.”

Rolling out the carpet

Perhaps no agency, aside from those directly involved in the InSight mission, has spent more time preparing for Saturday’s launch than Explore Lompoc.

The organization, which has a board comprised primarily of Lompoc-area hotel managers and owners, launched a website this year that is mostly dedicated to the InSight mission. The site, which can be accessed at explorelompoc.com/vandenberg-air-force-base/, features a launch countdown and information about many of the mission-related public activities planned for this week.

Explore Lompoc also produced several marketing materials that will be given out to hotel guests and attendees at mission events throughout the week. These materials include two sets of Mission to Mars mouse pads, coffee mugs, buttons, stickers, postcards and information packets — both about the InSight mission and the Lompoc Valley.

Additionally, Explore Lompoc has promoted the mission through online advertisements, social media and with a feature in a regional magazine.

“It is hard to predict the kind of financial impact an event like this will have on tourism and the local economy, but we know that it is big,” Cordova said, noting that most hotels were likely already sold out for the launch. “Just by having over 2,000 visitors descending (on) our community for those dates gives the city of Lompoc an economic boost. These visitors will be eating in our restaurants, making purchases in our stores, staying overnight and also pumping gas.

“And the return on investment will continue when these visitors come back to the area to visit us again for future launches,” she added, “as well as for leisure tourist trips to La Purisima Mission, to sky dive, to golf, to wine taste or visit our murals or beaches.”

Explore Lompoc worked alongside officials from the city of Lompoc, VAFB, NASA and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to coordinate the free public watch parties that will be held on the morning of the launch.

The primary party will be at the Lompoc Airport, while another is scheduled for St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Mission Hills. Mission team members are expected to be at both locations, and a NASA TV stream is scheduled to be set up for viewing on the tarmac at the airport.

For both viewing parties, attendees are asked to arrive no earlier than 2:30 a.m. NASA TV coverage of the launch is scheduled to begin that morning at 3:30 a.m.

Teams of volunteers will be on duty at the parties to make sure that everything runs smoothly. The volunteers are being coordinated by Explore Lompoc and the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, another agency with an interest in using the mission as a springboard to entice visitors to check out Lompoc.

Touching base

The first-of-its-kind mission could also have an impact on Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Col. Michael Hough, the commander of the 30th Space Wing at VAFB, said last year that he was hopeful the U.S. government, perhaps after some nudging from the public, would provide increased funding to the base so that infrastructure and other improvements could be made to help the base fully embrace what some are predicting will be a future boom in the commercial space launch industry.

While Hough said Friday that the upcoming Mission to Mars was “business as usual” at the base, he added that “I do enjoy the attention this particular launch is generating.”

Hough noted that the entire 30th Space Wing is involved with the mission in some form or another, as it is with all launches. He said, though, that this particular launch has forced the base to accommodate a larger than usual guest list.

“From a facility standpoint, we have a standard process for all of our launches (and) this one has not strayed from that system,” Hough said. “Logistically speaking, due to the attention this launch has garnered, we have a lot of out-of-state personnel who will be traveling to Vandenberg (Air Force Base) to see the launch, and we have a plan in place to accommodate them all.”

Involving the community

The attractions aren’t just limited to the morning of the launch. NASA will bring its traveling InSight Road Show to Lompoc and Santa Maria this week, a public discussion about the mission is planned for the Lompoc Public Library on Thursday, and several launch industry insiders are scheduled to visit area schools to talk about the mission in the coming days.

Cordova said those ancillary activities were wholeheartedly welcomed by Explore Lompoc, though not necessarily for tourism.

“JPL/NASA have done an amazing job of treating us to their very best by sharing their scientists and engineers to help educate and create an awesome interactive experience so that the local community can take part,” she said. “This also creates an educational opportunity for our community children to learn more about the space industry and maybe inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers that will also do great things.”

While the impact that the launch has on the region won’t likely be known until well afterward, many in the area seem thrilled to be so close — physically and time-wise — to what could be a milestone achievement for human exploration and the understanding of our solar system.

“I’m excited about this historic launch and the way we have come together in Lompoc and beyond to celebrate it,” said Lompoc Interim City Manager Teresa Gallavan, who has been involved in the city’s planning efforts. “I look forward to enjoying the launch from the Lompoc Airport together with the community.”

Even Hough, a 25-year Air Force veteran who has spent untold hours dealing with all that comes with launching rockets, acknowledged that this one is more special than most.

“First, there's no such thing as a boring launch — but this particular mission has me especially excited,” he said. “When you're talking about a payload making a six-month transit through our solar system to place a lander on Mars for experimentation purposes, how can you not be thrilled to be a part of this mission?”