Adam Pender, a Propulsion Engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Littleton, Colorado spoke on ‘Why Go To Space?’. Adam earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University, and is currently working on an Engineering PhD through the University of Denver. Over his career, he has worked on numerous NASA spacecraft propulsion systems, including Mars Science Laboratory, Phoenix, Juno, MAVEN, InSight, and OSIRIS-REx, in addition to several other government and non-government spacecraft.
Adam talks on “Why go to space?”. This discussion includes a short summary of the various benefits that our space program has yielded thus far, including the various technological advancements enabled by the space program, and put to use in our everyday lives. Additionally, various science discoveries that our space exploration efforts have yielded. Following the talk is Q&A session where participants ask questions as diverse as is anyone working on warp drive, to is NASA studying climate change.