IT is unlikely that visitors from outer space will be coming to Scotland anytime soon. But in the absence of the arrival of little green men, VisitScotland are hoping that tourists will come for outer space instead.
Scotland's links to the cosmos are being highlighted with a new tourist trail celebrating everything from a glen twinned with a rocky outcrop on Mars to the unrivalled chance to see the stars in all their glory at the country's Dark Skies parks.
The 'Scotland is Out of this World' trail features Scottish connections to each of the planets in the solar system, as well as facts and details of science centres and the best places to stargaze.
It is being launched to celebrate both the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landings this Saturday, and the 50th anniversary of the founding of VisitScotland itself.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “For 50 years VisitScotland has helped position Scotland as a must-visit destination to audiences across the world.
"It is therefore fitting that in our anniversary year we set our sights even further and travelled into space in what can only be described as a truly ‘out of this world’ campaign."
While Scotland did not participate in the Space race which saw Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and module pilot Michael Collins reach the moon in 1969, Caledonia's connection to space runs surprisingly deep.
Braemar, Aberdeenshire, features on the trial as the birthplace of the astronomer Johann Lamont, the first person to calculate the mass of Uranus.
READ MORE: World prepares to celebrate 50 years since man walked on moon
Across the country in Jedburgh, in the Borders, 19th century science writer Mary Somerville was also inspired by the heavens, correctly predicting that difficulties in calculating the position of Uranus pointed to an undiscovered planet - an observation which led the discovery of Neptune.
Scotland has also provided name to some of the features found on our nearest celestial neighbours - a future visitor to Venus would be able to walk on Maxwell Montes, the planet’s only feature named after a man.
It was christened in honour of the great Scottish –physicist James Clerk Maxwell, and the trail visits his resting place at Parton, Dumfries & Galloway.
Meanwhile on Mars, one of NASA's remote rovers has already trundled through Glenelg, a geological feature twinned with the Highlands village twinned.
The Out of this World map also encourages tourists to see Loch Airigh on the Isle of Harris, which stands in for the planet Jupiter in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Mr Roughead added: “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.”
READ MORE: The global sense of wonder that greeted a giant leap for mankind, 50 years ago
Dark skies - areas where light pollution is purposefully kept to an absolute minimum - have been identified by the travel guide publisher,Lonely Planet as a key tourism trend for 2019 and VisitScotland’s Insight team has created a research paper examining the opportunities for tourism businesses.
Visitors north of the border can find two International Dark Sky Parks - Galloway Forest Park in Dumfries and Galloway and Tomintoul and Glenlivet in Cairngorms National Park - a Dark Sky Island (Isle of Coll) and a Dark Sky Town (Moffat).
As part of the Scotland is Out of this World campaign, VisitScotland teamed up with Sent Into Space to launch the world's 'Highland Coosmonaut' 36,000 metres into near space wearing an Armstrong tartan spacesuit, in honour of the first man on the moon.
Footage of the cuddly toy - dubbed ''BuzzBò - lifting off by weather balloon from Gilnockie Tower, the ancestral home of Clan Armstrong, and landing safely near Cranshaws in the Scottish Borders, has been released today.
BuzzBò was named by 7-year-old Peter Lunan, of Dunblane, whose entry was picked by the national tourism organisation in its national Name the Highland Coosmonaut competition.
READ MORE: China will land humans on Mars ‘within a decade’
The name derives from Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, and the Gaelic word for cow; Bò. The Highland Coosmonaut will be on display over the summer at the Edinburgh iCentre on the Royal Mile.
Alex Keen, Head of Communications and Launch Specialist from Sent into Space, said: “Launching at Gilnockie Tower was a real treat, given its connections to Clan Armstrong. It was fantastic to work with the team from VisitScotland and we were blown away by the beautiful and dramatic landscape we crossed as we pursued the Coosmonaut.
"Once the Coosmonaut was back in our hands, we were genuinely sad to have to leave and head back to England.”
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