Introduction

On July 20, 1969, Purdue alumnus Neil Armstrong took his famous "small step" into history as the first human to set foot on the moon.

The Apollo 11 mission met the challenge issued in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy: to land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth.

Five more successful missions to the moon followed. The commander for the last of those, Apollo 17 in 1972, was Eugene Cernan, another Purdue alumnus. He also walked on the moon.

In all, Purdue has produced 22 astronauts who have been chosen for space flight . In May, Andrew Feustel was involved in space-walking repair work on the Hubble telescope. This month, Mark Polansky and David Wolf are scheduled for a space shuttle flight to the International Space Station.

And in addition to the 22, Purdue alumnus Scott Tingle was recently chosen as one of nine astronaut candidates who will undergo training.

But the astronauts aren't the only Purdue link to outer space. As NASA has continued to explore the heavens and dream of a lunar return, lunar outpost and Mars travel, many professors at Purdue are delving into the challenges those efforts and dreams present.

"It is amazing how far we've come since the first landing," says Kathleen Howell, interim head of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the College of Engineering. "It's amazing to think of all that we can do, but we're at the threshold of doing a lot more."