Cernan Earth and Space Center Unveils New Laser Projector

The Cernan Earth and Space Center in River Grove has upgraded its projection technology, installing a new JVC laser phosphor projector that enhances the viewing experience for visitors. This installation replaces the original projector, which had been in service since 2015 and faced significant hardware issues in recent years.

Kris Kovach McCall, the center’s director, explained that the previous projector began to show signs of wear approximately three years ago. “There is a certain estimated lifespan of a projector like that based on the number of hours it’s run because the hardware itself also takes a beating,” McCall noted. The situation worsened as replacement parts became scarce and the availability of necessary lamps diminished.

McCall emphasized the importance of upgrading, stating, “Instead of high-energy arc lamps, they are now using laser phosphor. It was time to upgrade the technology. This was also an opportunity to improve what we were doing.”

To facilitate this transition, McCall enlisted the expertise of Philip Groce, president of Helping Planetariums Succeed LLC. Groce specializes in smaller projects like the one at Cernan, allowing him to provide tailored support during the installation process. “I was the design consultant for the project,” Groce explained. He was responsible for selecting the replacement projector and ensuring a seamless transfer from the old system.

The previous arc lamps, which cost between $4,000 and $5,000 each, had a lifespan of around 800 hours, with image quality deteriorating significantly thereafter. Groce highlighted the inefficiencies of the old system, explaining that the lamps needed replacement approximately every 24 weeks. The discontinued status of the old projector complicated repairs, making a replacement necessary.

The newly installed JVC projector is designed to deliver significantly brighter images, enhancing the overall experience for visitors. “We have a very special lens that was manufactured by Konica Minolta specifically for this kind of purpose — to project the image across the entire surface of the dome,” said McCall. This lens, along with a modified mount, contributed to significant cost savings.

The total investment for the new projector and installation was $109,250, which included a $6,000 consulting fee. Groce noted that this was a bargain, given that without the savings from trading in the old system and reusing the existing lens and mount, the new system would have cost close to $400,000.

Installation of the projector took less than four days, but the planning phase was more extensive. Groce first visited the Cernan Center in July 2024, with the projector ordered in late January 2025. It arrived in the United States in June 2025 after undergoing checks and testing in Salt Lake City.

The upgraded projector has since transformed the viewing experience at the Cernan Earth and Space Center. McCall remarked, “It is considerably brighter than the projector that we had. And the color reproduction is better. The resolution is the same but the image is brighter and more colorful.”

With this new technology in place, the Cernan Earth and Space Center is poised to offer an enhanced educational experience, showcasing vivid imagery that can captivate audiences and inspire interest in earth and space sciences.