UC Connect public lecture: Getting to Mars

UC Connect public lecture: Getting to Mars: Building the World’s Most Powerful Rocket

NASA has begun a new era of human space exploration, with the ultimate goal of landing humans on Mars. To fulfil this mission, NASA is building the Space Launch System (SLS), the world’s most powerful rocket, which will produce more thrust at lift-off than any other vehicle in history. Because of its unrivalled power, SLS can launch missions that no other rocket can. SLS is currently under construction, with substantial amounts of flight hardware already created, and testing well underway.

Coming to the University of Canterbury on 8 February to give a public talk about the mission, NASA engineer Tim Atkins manages requirements, verification, and analyses for avionics timing across SLS, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama, in the United States. In the first UC Connect public lecture of 2018, his multi-media lecture will present an overview of NASA’s vision; SLS capabilities, components, and current development status; and the array of disciplines and careers needed to support this mission.

Tim Atkins holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Central Florida, with decades of experience in software development, electronics integration, and rocket science. He and his wife have six children and four grandchildren (one coming in March). He enjoys hiking, home-construction projects, helping low-income communities, and time with relatives all over the world.

UC Connect public lecture: Getting to Mars: Building the World’s Most Powerful Rocket, by Tim Atkins, NASA Engineer, 7pm – 8pm, Thursday 8 February, 2018, at the Engineering Core, Creyke Road, Ilam campus, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.

Register to attend free at: www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect

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