Research flight ‘a giant leap’ for Missouri S&T moon researchers
Posted by Kimber Crull
Joshua Eiter, Marissa Verduin and Trey Brown hold the box containing their technology, while Justin Viers floats upside down behind them. Photo courtesy of Zero Gravity Corp.
On a Friday afternoon in May, four Missouri S&T seniors donned flight suits and experienced the moon’s gravity as part of a flight-testing project supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. The next day, they traded their suits for caps and gowns and crossed the stage at S&T’s commencement ceremony, each earning a bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering.
The students were part of a research team led by Dr. Frank D. Han, an associate professor of aerospace engineering and geological engineering at S&T. They were testing a system designed to collect and sort the regolith, or loose surface material covering the moon, with a magnetic separator and an electrostatic sieve developed for previous NASA research.
Read more about S&T researchers’ experience advancing lunar research.
Posted by Kimber Crull
