NASA Missions: Engineering Exploration (APPEL-MSN)

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the history, engineering successes, and biographical anecdotes of major NASA human spaceflight missions (including Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, Space Shuttle, Shuttle-Mir, and International Space Station).
• Explain the purpose and accomplishments of major NASA robotic missions, (including early near-Earth, Earth-observation, lunar, inner and outer solar system, and space-based astronomy missions).
• Examine future NASA missions, technical challenges, and associated timelines for human spaceflight programs (ISS, Constellation, commercial partnerships); robotic missions (James Webb Telescope, Terrestrial Planet Finder, Mars Science Laboratory, Mars Sample Return, Europa ocean exploration) and the challenges involved with sending humans to the moon, Mars, and asteroids.
• Defend—internally and in public forums—the rationale and importance of the NASA space program, including its significant role in technology research and development, education, exploration, national security, the US economy, and humankind’s long-term survivability.
• Formulate the “annual cost of NASA” in terms that the public can relate to, and then communicate the message.
• Employ a myriad of recommended resources for learning more about NASA’s history, present missions, and future endeavors.