Free Event for Public, Campus Features NASA and Other Experts, Exhibits
Image by Poirier Collection, UMass Lowell Center for Lowell History
03/25/2019
Contacts for media: Christine Gillette, UMass Lowell, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Matt Porter, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, 617-514-1574, matt.porter@jfklfoundation.org
LOWELL, Mass. – The term ‘moonshot’ symbolizes the drive to reach the highest points of success.
The Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation are presenting a program celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the event that gave birth to the term.
The program will focus on the lasting impact on science and research of the Apollo 11 mission, President Kennedy’s legacy of advancing space exploration and the “moonshots” in science and engineering occurring today.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature leading experts on space exploration and science discussing the influence President Kennedy’s legacy continues to have on the field and where it is headed.
Demonstrations of space-related research will also be presented, including a one-third scale model of the lunar lander that Orbit Beyond will use to transport NASA technology to the moon in an upcoming mission and a satellite being designed and built entirely by UMass Lowell undergraduates.
The program is set Friday, April 5 at University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell. The demonstrations begin at 10 a.m. and are followed by the expert panel at 11:30 a.m.
“The Apollo 11 mission resulted from President Kennedy’s commitment to land a person on the moon and was a significant advancement in space exploration, science and engineering that still has an impact on the important research and work we are doing at UMass Lowell today,” said Prof. Supriya Chakrabarti, director of the Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology. “I see how the technology and science that made the moon landing possible 50 years ago still benefits the world, which is part of President Kennedy’s legacy.”
“President Kennedy’s bold leadership and vision mobilized the public, private and academic sectors to work together and accomplish what seemed impossible at the time: landing on the moon and returning to Earth safely 50 years ago this July,” said Steven Rothstein, executive director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. “Today, the ‘moonshots’ that continue to be imagined, researched and engineered at universities like UMass Lowell are an important part of President Kennedy’s legacy. I look forward to exploring some of today’s moonshots in the JFK Moonshot Symposium.”
The JFK Moonshot Symposium at UMass Lowell is part of the John F. Kennedy Library’s year-long commemoration of the Apollo 11 mission and the vision and leadership of President Kennedy that made it possible.
The panel of experts discussing that vision and its lasting impact on space exploration will be led by American Astronomical Society President Megan Donohue. The panel will feature:
- James Green, chief scientist, NASA;
- Susanna Finn, research scientist, Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology;
- Rahul Narayan, founder, TeamIndus and member of Orbit Beyond team;
- Robert Twiggs, professor of Astronautics and Space Science, Morehead State University and “father” of CubeSat, short for “cube satellite,” technology.
In addition, Rothstein will discuss how President Kennedy drove the nation to overcome challenges and land on the moon.
The Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology brings together students, researchers and leaders in space science who study interactions between the sun and Earth, as well as the properties of the solar system and beyond. Among the center’s current projects are two slated to fly this year: Space HAUC, a CubeSat model satellite being constructed by UMass Lowell undergraduates in the Kennedy College of Sciences and Francis College of Engineering, and PICTURE-C, developed by faculty and graduate students to mature technology needed to image planets around nearby stars. The center is also among the partners, along with BoldlyGo and the SETI Institute, in Project Blue, which seeks to use a telescope to hunt for Earth-like planets and alien life in the Alpha Centauri system.
To register and for more information about the JFK Moonshot Symposium, go to www.uml.edu/moonshot-registration.
About the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization founded in 1984 to provide financial support, staffing, and creative resources for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Kennedy Presidential Library and the Kennedy Library Foundation seek to promote, through educational and community programs, a greater appreciation and understanding of American politics, history, and culture, the process of governing and the importance of public service. Visit www.jfklibrary.org for the latest announcements and calendar of events.
About UMass Lowell
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu