Author: Nicole Elizabeth Gilles

Can we turn Martian soil into rocket propellant?

We've sent many probes, landers, and rovers to Mars, but we've never been able to send anything back from the Red Planet. That may change, thanks to some Purdue researchers who have successfully demonstrated a solid rocket propellant using the...

Purdue Space Program launches liquid methane rocket twice in one weekend

Very few organizations have ever launched a liquid methane rocket. Launching the same methane rocket, twice in one weekend? Well, that singular honor belongs to Purdue Space Program. Growing up in the Seattle area, electrical engineering senior Brynne Hunt pursued her passion...

Black, gold, and blue: Purdue alums make their mark at Blue Origin

New Glenn, of course, is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth — a name as resonant as Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon and a Purdue graduate. Some 25 Purdue alums are writing...

AAE alumna Powers ‘overwhelmed’ to be included in Purdue University’s Cradle of Astronauts

Audrey Powers needs a moment. It’s more than two months since realizing a dream she thought had been dashed — flying to space and becoming an astronaut — but when Powers is asked about the result of that accomplishment, being...

Perseverance’s first year on Mars: Purdue professor, mission team member looks at what is ahead

Almost one year into the Mars rover mission, accomplishing its goal is on the horizon for Purdue University’s Briony Horgan and the Perseverance team. Feb. 18 will mark one year since the rover landed on the red planet following a...

How would you survive on Mars?

The Resilient ExtraTerrestrial Habitats Institute is working to ensure that the first long-term settlement on other planetary bodies are safe from hazards such as a meteoroid colliding with the moon or violent sandstorms on Mars. “Shirley Dyke, head of Purdue...

John Vellinger: From Chix in Space to a Company in Space

What do you say about someone who has had the same job since the 8th grade? As a student in the 1980s, John Vellinger (BSME '89) won a contest that sent chickens into space. He then utilized that experience to...

AAE alum Bolinger eager to take next step at NASA, as flight director

Allison Bolinger was happy. Ridiculously so. As deputy chief for NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, Bolinger (BSAAE ’04) enjoyed directing the day-to-day operations of its 6.2-million-gallon pool utilized to train astronauts for spacewalks by imitating zero gravity of space. So when...

Spacesuit Designer Puts Astronauts in Good Hands

Many people go into the family business. For Amy Ross (BSME ’94, MSME ’96), that family business just happens to include human spaceflight! As head of Advanced Spacesuit Pressure Garment Development at NASA, Amy designed the gloves used by every...