I still say that Epcot could host science fairs, bring in guest speakers, host TED talks, be a place where new products are announced, and otherwise be a dynamic place where truly newsworthy events take place. Why aren't the latest Nobel Laureates brought to Epcot in the same way that Super Bowl MVPs are brought over? Why aren't the latest cell phones unveiled at Epcot? Why aren't Josh Gates, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Jim Cantore, and the Outrageous Acts of Science people brought in? Set aside a buck a day from each guest to the park, and you'll have over $11,000,000 for a yearly budget to do something real. That's over $30,000 per day. By comparison, amortize the cost of building and add on the daily cost of manning, cleaning, maintaining and powering an attraction like Mission Space. Such a program would be a bargain by comparison.
Let them hawk their latest books, DVDs and other merch, and real amazing people could be brought in. Substance would be nice, and it would be a lot cheaper than building, manning and maintaining another multi-multi million dollar attraction that may or may not appeal to the public.
Also, a whole new audience of engineers, scientists and other gear & propeller heads would show up and/or buy Annual Passes. Plus, if it doesn't work, drop it. Dumping the guest speaker/visitor/unveiler program is a heck of a lot cheaper than closing down a huge attraction.