Press Conference with Lunar Habitat Crew Wednesday, November 6th
UND Space Studies student team to exit Inflatable Lunar/Mars Habitat (ILMH) after 10 day mission – Crew went to the ‘moon’ without leaving campus
The student crew of ILMH Mission I, consisting of graduate students Tim Buli, Erica Dolinar, and Travis Nelson, will exit UND’s ILMH after their 10 day Mission I; they will be transported by Lunar Rover to Clifford Hall. The ILMH crew will be greeted in Clifford Hall 210 by UND Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas DiLorenzo.
The daily blog of their ten day mission is here http://www.spacesuitlab.blogspot.com/.
What: Press Conference and Public Forum
When: Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 11:00 a.m. CST
Where: Clifford Hall Rm 210
Online Access to live press conference: http://www.spacesuitlab.blogspot.com/
Details
The all-volunteer student crew and their soon-to-be-completed simulated lunar mission are part of the UND Space Studies North Dakota Planetary Exploration Initiative.
The student crew spent 10 days in the specially constructed Inflatable Lunar/Mars Habitat (ILMH) on a simulated mission, living inside the pressurized inflatable habitat as part of a trial funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
During the mission, the crew donned the NDX-2 planetary exploration suit—designed and built on campus by a crew that included UND faculty, students, and staff from several departments–and driving an electrically powered moon rover.
The trial included tests of the habitat’s life support and other engineering systems.
Researchers also designed the trial to see how well the system, including the habitat, rover, spacesuits and airlocks work together. This trial was a prelude to a much longer trial scheduled for spring 2014.
Pablo De León, a UND Space Studies faculty member and lead investigator on the ND Planetary Exploration Initiative, foresees that UND will be testing and working a lot more with NASA as well as with the space industry and international partners to make lunar and Mars missions a reality.
De León, a native of Argentina, is an aerospace engineer and director of UND’s Human Spaceflight Laboratory. He says UND is uniquely qualified for the work ahead.
Left to right: UND graduate students Travis Nelson, Tim Buli and Erica Dolinar during their 10 day mission in the UND NDX Habitat.
Juan Miguel Pedraza, writer/editor
National Media Relations Coordinator
Public Relations Group
UND Division of University & Public Affairs
Office 701.777.6571| Cell 701.740.1321