NASA astronaut to unveil ambitious plans for humanity’s return to the moon to Leicester audience

Space Park Leicester, in collaboration with the Open University and the National Space Centre, is thrilled to announce an exclusive Space Park Conversations event featuring NASA astronaut Dr Stanley G Love.

Dr Love will present ground-breaking plans for returning astronauts to the moon as part of the international Artemis Program led by NASA, ESA, and other space agencies.

In addition to lunar landings with men and women, the international Artemis Program will build an outpost in orbit around the moon, send a host of robotic missions to explore it, deploy rovers for human exploration beyond walking distance from landers, and eventually construct a habitat for extended human stays on the surface. All of these efforts are focused on the eventual human exploration of Mars.

Following the presentation, Dr Love will welcome questions from the audience on any topic related to space exploration and space science.

Professor John Bridges from Space Park Leicester and the University of Leicester said: “Stan Love has had a remarkable career which includes planetary science research, being an astronaut on the Space Shuttle Atlantis and working as Capsule Communication, an astronaut on Earth who communicates with the crew members in their spacecraft (CAPCOM), for other Space Shuttle flights.

“More recently he is part of the Artemis programme developing rapid prototype technology for future astronauts on the moon and beyond. Stan’s visit to Space Park and the National Space Centre is a fantastic opportunity to hear about both his wide experience in key NASA programmes and the technological development for human and robotic exploration of the Moon.”

 During his visit, Dr Love, a planetary scientist and NASA astronaut, will unveil the comprehensive plans of NASA, ESA, and other space agencies to return human beings to the surface of the Moon for the first time since the 1970s.

This exclusive public event will take place at the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium, National Space Centre, on Friday, March 1, 2024, starting at 3.30pm. Admission is free for anyone with a Space Park Leicester Eventbrite ticket (no access to the galleries) or anyone with an on-the-day or annual National Space Centre pass.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, allowing the audience to engage with Dr Love on any topic related to space exploration and space science. Book your free place at the event via Eventbrite.

Earlier in the day Dr Love will deliver an engaging session exploring mishaps in the history of space exploration and crucial engineering choices during a private morning session entitled ‘Bad Days in Space and Good Ways to Prevent Them’ with students from the University of Leicester.

The focus will be on increasing system robustness. The session will be less formal to promote a discussion-based atmosphere with undergraduate engineering students from the University of Leicester and A Level space engineering students from the National Space Centre and National Space Academy.

Professor Richard Ambrosi, Executive director of Space Park Leicester, will also lead Dr Love on a tour of Space Park Leicester.