Purdue Boilermakers in Space
Historic feats and today’s innovations are found at Purdue, the Cradle of Astronauts®
Few universities can match the impact that Purdue has had upon the U.S. space program. Progress in space exploration has been forged by early legends like Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Neil Armstrong to modern-day alumni working on the International Space Station and as commercial astronauts.
Learn more about this incredible legacy, plus the preparation of a new generation of Boilermakers planning to travel to Mars and beyond.
Purdue’s 27 astronaut alumni include Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the first and most recent humans to walk on the moon, as well as:
- Gus Grissom: Second American in space and participant in first U.S. two-person spaceflight
- Janice Voss: Set record for female astronauts with five spaceflights
- Jerry Ross: Participant in seven NASA missions and nine spacewalks
- Beth Moses: First female commercial astronaut
- Loren Shriver: Commanded space shuttle to record altitude (383 miles) to deploy Hubble Space Telescope
- Drew Feustel: Third-most hours spent spacewalking (61 hours, 48 minutes)
