Ad Astra Galaxy Forum
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — What are spacesuits made of? How can astronauts see anything with those bulky helmets?
Delve into those questions and other facets of “Humans in Space” at the free 2024 Ad Astra Kansas Galaxy Forum Saturday, August 24 at the Cosmosphere from 1-3 p.m. Then receive a free pass to the Hall of Space museum.
Filling attendees in will be NASA spacesuit and spacewalk expert Mallory Jennings. At her presentation, “HOUSTON: We are GO for Exploration!” attendees will be able to view a spacesuit and learn about the requirements, challenges and solutions for human safety in space.
Jennings is NASA EVA Operation Lead Engineer for ISS EVA working with Extravehicular Activity (EVA). This means the WSU ‘10 alum in mechanical engineering is the primary engineer overseeing all hardware used on a spacewalk (suits, tools, batteries, jetpack, etc). Prior to this role, she was the first female EMU system manager. She has overseen over 70 spacewalks.
As to helmets, the WSU CosmoShox were finalists in the 2024 NASA SUITS (Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students) Design Competition.They will talk about and demo the innovative interfaces with an augmented reality (A/R) head gear they developed for possible use by an astronaut in space.
Other speakers are Solar System Ambassador Jeanette Bosch about STEM resources—and Ad Astra board member Steve Durst—about a Kansas interstellar university project.
The Galaxy Forum is a free event, open to the public, sponsored by the Ad Astra Kansas Foundation Attendees will also receive a free pass to the Hall of Space Museum following the Forum. The Cosmosphere is located at 1100 N. Plum in Hutchinson, Kansas.
More information can be found at http://www.adastra-ks.org.