SCOTLAND’S links with space exploration are set to be highlighted in a new tourism map.
The Scotland is Out of this World trail is part of the new VisitScotland campaign of the same name, which sent BuzzBo – the world’s first Highland Coosmonaut – 36,000 metres into space wearing an Armstrong tartan spacesuit.
The new map’s launch coincides with the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, as well as the 50th anniversary year of tourism organisation VisitScotland.
The trail features Scotland’s connections to each planet in the solar system, as well as fun facts, details of science centres and the best places to stargaze.
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Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, said: “Scotland is Out of this World offered the opportunity to delve into the past and celebrate the country’s contribution to space exploration and astronomy and its ancestral links to one of the greatest moments in history.
“The new trail reveals some of the country’s stellar attractions and locations to visit to firmly cement Scotland’s place in astro-tourism. After all, our best views aren’t confined to our awe-inspiring landscapes but reach up high into the night sky above as well.”
Some of Scotland’s connections with space travel featured in the map include the Highlands village twinned with a geological feature on Mars, the Isle of Harris loch which starred as Jupiter in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the place astronaut Neil Armstrong declared his “home town”.
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