ERIE, Pa. — Almost every young person wonders what it would be like to live in space.
For Mike Fincke, those childhood dreams became a reality. Until 2015, the NASA astronaut and Pittsburgh native was the American record-holder for the most time spent in space (381.6 days).
Fincke will discuss his experience with NASA at an Open House Night in Astronomy at Penn State Behrend on Thursday, Nov. 1. His presentation, “Space Exploration: the International Space Station, the Moon and Beyond,” will begin at 7 p.m. in room 180 of the Jack Burke Research and Economic Development Center, 5101 Jordan Road. The program is free and open to the public, and free parking will be available in the deck located behind Burke Center, off Technology Drive.
During his career with NASA, Fincke has served two long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer and commander. He also flew on Space Shuttle mission, STS-134, as a mission specialist.
During his talk, Fincke will discuss NASA’s commercial crew program and the future of space exploration. He will also detail several upcoming missions that will see NASA astronauts return to the moon and the International Space Station.
The lecture will be followed by a 15-minute Q&A session.
Open House Nights in Astronomy are an outreach program of the School of Science at Penn State Behrend. These scientific presentations are intended for ages 8 and up; for additional information, contact the school at 814-898-6105.