WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — An astronaut reunion will take place during October’s Homecoming festivities to celebrate the end of Purdue’s sesquicentennial, “150 years of Giant Leaps.”
The 150th anniversary highlights Purdue’s history of giant leaps – including the giant one made by Purdue alumnus Neil Armstrong on the moon – while focusing on what giant leaps Purdue can take to address the world’s problems.
Purdue upholds the Cradle of Astronauts tradition, graduating 25 astronauts, including the first and most recent people to walk on the moon. Thirteen astronauts who have flown with NASA and one commercial astronaut are expected at the reunion on Oct. 10-12 where they will speak to Purdue classes, visit local schools and tour campus.
The public is welcome to attend a meet and greet with the astronauts 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 at Homecoming Tent Row, located near the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. Pre-signed headshots of the astronauts will be distributed, as well as commemorative posters and buttons, while supplies last.
The astronauts also will be recognized on the field during halftime of the Boilermakers’ game against the University of Maryland.
Space fans can also visit NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow Traveling Exhibit on Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Oct. 12 from 9 a.m. to noon on the south side of Lambert Fieldhouse. The Journey to Tomorrow exhibit trailer is a 53-foot exhibition offering an interactive learning environment that highlights NASA’s air and space research and technology. Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with touchscreen monitors and to learn about how NASA improves aviation, lands rovers on Mars and keeps astronauts healthy. The Journey to Tomorrow also includes hands-on displays featuring a glovebox and dynamic planet simulator; models of NASA X-Planes, the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle, and NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System; and features an authentic moon rock brought to Earth by crew from the Apollo 17 lunar landing mission.
Astronauts attending are Roy D. Bridges Jr., Mark N. Brown, Andrew J. Feustel, Gregory J. Harbaugh, Michael J. McCulley, Beth S. Moses, Loral O’Hara, Gary E. Payton, Mark L. Polansky, Jerry Ross, Loren J. Shriver, Scott D. Tingle, Charles Walker, and Mary Ellen Weber.
