EAA’s AirVenture event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is happening this week, and the CSE will be there! Experts from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and Northrop Grumman will be participating on panels from Wednesday to Friday, July 22-24, covering topics ranging from surviving on Mars to women in aerospace. Program managers, executives and astronauts will be representing our next-generation vehicles and systems to the public, so if you’re headed to the event, make sure to stop by!
Participate in our “Journey to Mars” playlist fun on Facebook! We are asking participants to choose their favorite song for their “Journey to Mars.” Each day, one lucky winner will win their own Journey to Mars prize package! Click here to participate!
Events and activities:
Wednesday: 10:00 to 11:15 a.m., Andy Weir, author of New York Times bestseller The Martian, will be participating in a panel on the realities of surviving on Mars. For a trip to the red planet, mission planners will have to determine how humans will survive the long trip, and then how they will be able to live on the surface of Mars for months in a completely inhospitable environment.
On the panel with Weir will be Kent Rominger, five-time Shuttle astronaut and vice president of strategy and business development for Orbital ATK, Larry Price, Orion deputy program manager for Lockheed Martin, and Keith Reiley, ISS manager for exploration and utilization for Boeing.
Also on Wednesday, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Keith Reiley will join Kavya K. Manyapu with the Mars Desert Research Station to discuss optimal habitat design that will allow human explorers to live off-world for long durations. Keith will talk about what we have learned from operating the International Space Station for almost 20 years, while Kavya will bring her first-hand experience of simulating a Martian expedition in the Utah desert and her perspective of the unique challenges posed by long-duration habitation.
Thursday from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. don’t miss the panel on America’s next-generation launch vehicle and spacecraft – SLS and Orion. Susan Baggerman with NASA’s Orion Program Office, Keith Hefner with NASA’s SLS Program Office, and Jeff Angermeier with NASA’s Ground System Development and Operations Program will talk about the incredible goals and missions we will be able to carry out with such a powerful rocket and versatile spacecraft.
Thursday’s second forum, from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. will focus on the technology that will get us to Mars in development right now in workshops and laboratories across America. Orbital ATK’s Charlie Precourt and Jeremy Redden, Lockheed Martin’s Larry Price, Boeing’s Iylene Patino and NASA’s Kathryn Crowe will discuss top space trends and the exciting new tech that will enable deep space long-duration exploration.
Friday, from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m., NASA’s Susan Baggerman, Kathryn Crowe and Sandra Magnus, Orbital ATK’s Janica Cheney, Boeing’s Iylene Patino and Astronaut Abby will discuss the increasing opportunities, challenges and history of women in aerospace. From the Shuttle to SLS, these women are responsible for some of the most exciting programs in NASA’s history and the space exploration fleet of the future.
Friday’s second panel will discuss the search for life in space and how NASA’s next-generation space telescopes will be the tools enabling astrophysicists to make the next great scientific discovery. Panelists from NASA and the aerospace industry will talk about how the Kepler spacecraft and the James Webb Space Telescope are the keys to unlocking the universe.
Come out and show your support for NASA and the CSE while learning about our next steps in space exploration, or stay tuned for updates from the show!