Category: Space

Audrey Powers at Purdue’s Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering

article | Education

Audrey Powers ‘overwhelmed’ to join Purdue’s Cradle of Astronauts

By performing vital engineering work during Blue Origin’s New Shepard flight, Audrey Powers qualified as Purdue’s third commercial astronaut and 27th member of the Cradle of Astronauts.

podcast | Education

Podcast Ep. 48: NASA Space Suit Engineer Amy Ross Discusses Purdue’s Impact on Her Career

On this episode of “This Is Purdue,” we’re talking to Amy Ross, NASA Space Suit Engineer and Purdue alumna. Listen in as Amy discusses her first big design project at NASA, working with her father (NASA astronaut and fellow Purdue...

article | Research

Expert on space junk: When spacecraft explode, answers may be in the debris left behind

Much of the space junk orbiting Earth won’t clean up itself – or tell you how it got there. Purdue University’s Carolin Frueh and her team are investigating what causes spacecraft to become space junk. Their findings are revealing ways to prevent...

article | Research

Spacecraft deorbiting device developed at Purdue ready for upcoming test launch

UPDATE: The unmanned rocket carrying this drag sail exploded shortly after launch on Sept. 2. A drag sail that a team at Purdue University developed to pull launch vehicles in space back to Earth is scheduled to undergo a test launch on...

article | Education

Still taking giant leaps from lunar small steps: Purdue scientists analyze moon dust collected by Apollo 17 astronauts

Humans have not set foot on the moon for nearly 50 years, but the Apollo moon missions aren’t over. The echoes from Neil Armstrong’s first steps are still helping scientists make giant leaps in understanding the moon’s geology. When Apollo...

article | Education

Purdue scientist reflects on her passion for studying Mars’ geology, landscape

Briony Horgan grew up in Portland, Oregon, where, enjoying the mountains and volcanoes that surrounded the region, she developed a love of geology. A long-standing interest in space made Horgan realize she wasn’t confined to study rocks simply on Earth.