Buzz Aldrin, NASA officials to discuss future of space travel

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — NASA officials will join Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin on Friday (April 28) as part of Purdue’s Human Journey to Mars forum.

The event will run from 1-4 p.m. in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. Admission is free and it is open to the public.

In addition to Aldrin, the forum will feature Purdue alumnus Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, and John Connolly, leader of NASA’s Human Mars Study team.

Gerstenmaier will present NASA’s plan for human exploration of deep space via the seminar, “Orchestrating the Movement of Humans into Deep Space.” How corporate, academic and international partners can work together to expand future space exploration also will be discussed.

Aldrin will speak briefly as part of the forum’s events.

Representatives from major space companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, also will be present for the event.

The event will be streamed live at: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/ihn25.

The speakers will accept questions during a short session as part of the forum.

The event is sponsored by the College of Engineering’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

In addition, Purdue students will present conceptual designs of a “pioneering” base that could establish a foothold on Mars. The base must support around 50 people and have the potential for capabilities improvement with the intent of establishing a long-term colony on Mars.

Gerstenmaier and Connolly will evaluate the students’ design in-depth throughout the day.

“Human Journey to Mars is a wonderful opportunity for Purdue students to present their work on a pioneering Martian base architecture to several distinguished visitors from NASA and the space industry to get their feedback,” said Sarag Saikia, visiting assistant professor in aeronautics and astronautics.

Student presentations will run from 1-3 p.m. Friday with a question-and-answer session from the audience.

State Street Redevelopment Project construction is under way. This work will close a portion of State Street and significantly affect surrounding thoroughfares in West Lafayette.

Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu 

Source: Sarag Saikia, 765-337-8712, sarag@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Buzz Aldrin, Bill Gerstenmaier and John Connolly will be immediately available for short interviews for 30 minutes following the event.