May 9: NASA astronaut, Fargo native presents ‘From North Dakota to NASA’

NASA astronaut and Fargo native Col. James F. Buchli, USMC (Ret.) will present “From North Dakota to NASA” at 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, in 210 Clifford Hall, as part of the UND Space Studies Symposium.

Buchli will discuss how life in the upper Midwest can lead to success in the technical world of spaceflight.

The theme of this year’s Space Studies Symposium encompasses the science and technology that has enabled the
exploration of the Moon and Mars. In particular, we will be emphasizing the role that research in the greater North Dakota area plays in that exploration and how that exploration impacts life back on the ground. Public and private enterprises alike have set the goal to land humans on the Red Planet within the next few decades. Achieving this goal has built on a legacy of robotic and human exploration both in and beyond low-Earth orbit. From geologic research on the history and resource availability of these locations, to the medical and communication infrastructure developed from the International Space Station, to the engineering of the rockets and habitats that make it all possible, paths to the Moon and Mars come from many disciplines.

For more information, please visit S32018.space.edu.