Program Featuring Expert Panel, Demos Marks 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Susanna Finn of UMass Lowell
Susanna Finn, a UMass Lowell research scientist, will be among the experts on space science and technology who participate in the April 5 event.

04/02/2019

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

Media Advisory

When: Friday, April 5, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Where: University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell. Contact UMass Lowell media relations for directions and parking information.

What: 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 and its lasting impact on science and research.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature leading experts on space exploration and science discussing President Kennedy’s legacy of advancing space exploration and the “moonshots” in science and engineering occurring today. The JFK Moonshot Symposium at UMass Lowell is part of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s year-long commemoration of the Apollo 11 mission.

Demonstrations of space-related research will be presented beginning at 10:30 a.m. and include a one-third scale model of the lunar lander that Orbit Beyond will use to transport NASA technology to the moon and a satellite being designed and built by UMass Lowell undergraduates.

A panel of experts at 11:30 a.m. will be led by American Astronomical Society President Megan Donohue and 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 the Orbit Beyond team;
  • Robert Twiggs, “father” of CubeSat, short for “cube satellite,” technology.

Other speakers are scheduled to include Steven Rothstein, executive director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, who will discuss how President Kennedy drove the nation to overcome challenges and land on the moon. UMass Lowell Prof. Supriya Chakrabarti, director of the Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology, will also participate in the event.

The Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology brings together students and researchers who study interactions between the sun and Earth, as well as the properties of the solar system and beyond. 

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