Purdue In Space STORIes

Get the latest news about the innovative work being done by Purdue researchers and alumni to push space exploration forward, plus learn more about the Boilermakers who were instrumental in the space program’s evolution.

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Purdue News

Scientists get first-ever sound recording of dust devils (tiny tornadoes of dust, grit) on Mars

When the rover Perseverance landed on Mars, it was equipped with the first working microphone on the planet’s surface. Scientists have used it to make the first-ever audio recording of an extraterrestrial whirlwind. The study was published in Nature Communications by planetary scientist Naomi…
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Purdue News

This solar system rocks

Michelle Thompson is a geologist. But while “geo” means earth, she studies things that are decidedly unearthly, or at least extraterrestrial: the moon and asteroids. “I study space weathering: how space environments affect tiny mineral particles on planetary surfaces,” said Thompson,…
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Purdue College of Engineering News

Artemis adventure: Mark Baldwin keeps NASA’s Orion occupants safe

Before NASA takes the “giant leap” of sending humans back to the moon, they are first taking the “small step” of launching an uncrewed Orion capsule as part of the Artemis 1 mission. And just like the Apollo missions, the…
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Purdue News

Vestigo Aerospace raises $375K in seed funding to spur deorbit systems

Vestigo Aerospace, a space technology company focused on deorbit systems, has closed a seed funding round with an investment of $375,000 from Manhattan West, a Los Angeles-based strategic investment firm. NASA will provide a 1:1 match of Manhattan West’s investment through a…
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Purdue News

Lasers, landscape and lost magnetic fields

The first letter ever etched on the Martian surface is the letter L. Far from being an act of interplanetary graffiti, though, it’s there for scientific purposes. And it won’t be there forever – scientists plan to bring the marked…
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Purdue College of Engineering News

“Gas stations” in zero gravity: Purdue experiment establishes foundational science for cryogenic fuel depots in space

To journey and return from other planets, future spacecraft may have to do something they’ve never done before: refueling in space. Thanks to a Purdue University experiment, scientists are now beginning to understand how cryogenic liquids behave in zero-gravity, and…
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Purdue Stories

This is Purdue Podcast: Alum Ronak Dave’s Next Giant Leap: NASA Flight Director

In this episode of “This Is Purdue,” we’re talking to Ronak Dave, a Purdue aeronautics and astronautics alum recently selected as a NASA flight director. Ronak will lead missions to the International Space Station and prepare for lunar missions for…
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Purdue College of Engineering News

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…
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Purdue College of Engineering News

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…
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Purdue Engineering

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…
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Audrey Powers

Purdue College of Engineering News

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…
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Briony Horgan

Purdue News

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…
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