2 Purdue alumnae complete the crew of the Virgin Galactic all-Boilermaker spaceflight

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University is set to send five Boilermakers on a research journey into space with the announcement of the final two crew members to take part in a Virgin Galactic suborbital flight mission.

Veteran commercial astronaut Beth Moses, a Purdue aeronautics and astronautics alumna, and Florence Stahura, a 1992 graduate of the James Tarpo Jr. and Margaret Tarpo Department of Chemistry, join the five-person crew expected to launch in 2027 for the groundbreaking suborbital flight, dubbed Purdue 1, that will include real-time research on board. The flight advances Purdue’s global leadership in space for education, research and alumni engagement.

Moses and Stahura were announced Wednesday (April 15) in the Herman and Heddy Kurz Atrium at Purdue’s Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering.

“This pioneering all-Boilermaker team will demonstrate that the essential functions of a land-grant university — learning, discovery and engagement — can, in fact, be carried out in outer space,” said Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. “With this flight, the crew is laying the groundwork for the next giant leap to space, on the moon and perhaps beyond.”

Known as the Cradle of Astronauts, Purdue has 30 alumni — 29 from Purdue Engineering — who have already flown in space or been selected as NASA astronaut candidates. The five-person Purdue 1 crew also will include Steven Collicott, a professor of aerospace engineering, and current Purdue graduate student Abigail Mizzi, both in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as well as Jason Williamson, a Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering alumnus.

Moses is a member of the Cradle of Astronauts as a veteran of six suborbital space flights since 2019.

“It feels somewhat surreal and incredibly humbling to be flying again,” said Moses, who graduated from Purdue with a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. “I am very proud to be a flown professional astronaut, but I’m even more proud to be a Purdue astronaut.”

During the flight, Moses will participate as a researcher in an experiment proposed by Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. As civilian spaceflight becomes more routine, professional astronauts are no longer the only humans exposed to extreme gravitational transitions, isolation and autonomic stress. The next frontier in space medicine will not be survival, but improved real-time and personalized physiological resilience.

The experiment calls for Moses to wear multiple personal health sensors to continuously monitor heart rhythm, digestive function, body temperature and other physiological characteristics to determine changes in nervous system physiology. The sensor data streams will provide data during the flight and be used to establish baseline information preflight and additional recovery details postflight. Matthew Ward, assistant professor of bioelectronic medicine, is leading the experiment, which also will help identify the viability of different sensor types and provide health guidance on future space missions.

Stahura graduated with a master’s degree in chemistry in 1992. She was drawn to Purdue 1 after listening to the initial announcement last year and felt like it is a groundbreaking opportunity.

“I knew I wanted to be part of it,” said Stahura, a retired senior research scientist who worked in advancing virtual screening methods for large chemical databases to identify potential therapeutic compounds. “Being selected for this mission is incredibly exciting. I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to participate as a passenger on this spaceflight expedition and even more honored to be part of such an amazing crew. To contribute to Purdue’s first research mission of this kind is truly special — and I hope it’s just the beginning of many more to come.”

Stahura is part of a Boilermaker family. She met her husband while they both attended Purdue and they have three children who are also Purdue alumni.

“I strongly believe that space exploration holds the potential to unlock discoveries that could ultimately transform life here on Earth,” she said.

Lucy Flesch, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science, said, “This mission is the result of people working together across disciplines, roles and generations of Boilermakers. It brings together alumni, students and faculty who are contributing their expertise, and that collaborative approach is what enables Purdue to take on complex research in new environments.”

Plans were announced in September for the all-Boilermaker flight. Designed to seat up to six passengers, Virgin Galactic’s next-generation spaceship is customizable and will have one seat removed for this mission to fly the five crew members and create space for the research lockers on a payload rack.

Collicott and Mizzi will conduct real-time experiments on how fluids behave in zero gravity — a research area that is critical to advancing spaceflight design, fuel management and future long-duration space missions.

Mizzi’s experiment focuses on the zero-gravity oscillations of liquids set in motion by rotation, such as the motion of rocket propellants sloshing in their tanks after a spacecraft rotates to dock at a space station. Collicott, who has been an expert in fluid physics for almost 40 years, plans to use novel testing to gather data on the nonlinear effects of liquid spreading over a surface.

Two autonomous research experiments in quantum technology and in-space chip manufacturing also will go up on the flight. The experiments will be housed in research lockers on Purdue 1. These experiments are being developed by research teams led by Shengwang Du, the Scifres Family Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a physics and astronomy professor, and Ajay Malshe, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, respectively.

Additionally, to fulfill a key component of Purdue’s land-grant mission, Williamson and Stahura will be collaborating with Roberto Gallardo, vice president for engagement, to explore ways to engage the community as part of the Purdue 1 flight.

Mizzi’s seat on the flight will be funded by donations being accepted by Purdue. If you are interested in philanthropically supporting this historic mission, Purdue is raising $1 million to support Mizzi in her graduate studies, her research and her seat on Purdue 1, and has raised 50% of that total to date.

Collicott’s seat is funded by an award received in 2021 from NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. The three remaining seats will be purchased by the alumni passengers Moses, Williamson and Stahura.

The journey aboard Purdue 1 begins a return trip to campus for Moses, who will join Purdue later this year as an associate professor of engineering practice in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Dean’s Faculty Fellow for Human Space Exploration appointee. The appointment reflects a commitment to cross-disciplinary innovation and the preparation of future leaders in space exploration.

Her mandate includes developing curricular content in the College of Engineering related to space and that motivates students to consider careers in space regardless of major, helping strategize for future Purdue missions, and representing Purdue in forums related to space exploration.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is an aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human-first spaceflight for private individuals, researchers and governments with its advanced SpaceShips and launch vehicle. Scale and profitability are driven by next-generation vehicles capable of taking humans to space at an unprecedented frequency with an industry-leading cost structure. You can find more information at https://www.virgingalactic.com.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.