4/12: Purdue's astronauts come home (Indiana)

Purdue University will host a group of its NASA astronaut alumni for a reunion that will culminate with a public forum April 12.

Purdue has had 23 graduates become astronauts, including the late Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, and Eugene Cernan, the most recent man to walk on the moon.

Eight of the astronauts are expected to attend the forum, "A Conversation with Our Astronauts," at 7 p.m. in Elliott Hall of Music.

The forum is free, but those attending will need tickets. Tickets are available at the box offices in Elliott Hall of Music and Stewart Center or by calling 765-494-3933.

The reunion coincides with the university's annual Spring Fest on April 12-13. The astronauts will be introduced at halftime of the spring football scrimmage at 1 p.m. April 12 in Ross-Ade Stadium. That event also is free.

The astronauts who are expected to be at the forum are:

Cernan, who earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1956. He flew on a Gemini flight and two Apollo flights, including Apollo 17, the last flight to the moon.
Mark Brown, bachelor's in aeronautics and astronautics, 1973. He flew on two space shuttle flights including a five-day defense-related mission in 1989 and logged more than 249 hours in space.
Andrew Feustel, bachelor's in solid earth sciences, 1989; master's in geophysics, 1991. He flew on two space shuttle missions in 2009 and 2011, conducting several spacewalks to service the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station, respectively.
Guy Gardner, master's in aeronautics and astronautics, 1970. He piloted two shuttle missions and helped create the Shuttle-Mir program, and he served as director of super project development for Discovery Park's E-enterprise Center at Purdue.
Jerry Ross, bachelor's in 1970, master's in 1972, both in mechanical engineering. He was the first person to launch into space seven times, spending nearly 1,400 hours in space and conducting nine spacewalks to rank third on the list of most extravehicular activity time in space.
Loren Shriver, master's in aeronautics and astronautics, 1968. He is a veteran of three space flights and has more than 386 hours in space.
Scott Tingle, master's in mechanical engineering, 1988. He is a decorated Navy pilot who became an astronaut in 2012. He is the most recent Purdue alumnus selected by NASA.
Charles Walker, bachelor's in aeronautics and astronautics, 1971. He is the first Purdue alumnus to fly aboard a space shuttle, serving on three missions as the first industry-sponsored engineer and researcher and becoming the first private astronaut in space.

On April 10 and 11, the astronauts will be on campus, meeting with students and faculty.

Also expected for those days are:

Gregory Harbaugh, bachelor's in aeronautics and astronautics, 1978. He is a veteran of four spaceflights, flew on the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in 1997 and has logged more than 18 hours in spacewalks.

David Wolf, bachelor's in electrical engineering, 1978. A medical doctor and inventor, he flew on four space shuttle missions and has logged more than 168 days in space, conducting seven spacewalks totaling 47 hours of extravehicular activity.[/LIST] More information about the astronauts and Purdue in space is available here.