College of Engineering hosts NASA’s ‘Driven to Explore’ exhibit

Lincolnites had the rare opportunity to touch a moon rock Tuesday at NASA's "Driven to Explore" mobile exhibit at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Those who missed out still have an opportunity to see the exhibit, which will be presented from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today outside the Nebraska Union. In the event of inclement weather, the exhibit will take place in the gymnasium of the Pershing Military and Naval Science Building.

The exhibit, which is hosted by UNL College of Engineering, is free and open to the public. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and is wheelchair accessible.

The rock is one of the eight lunar samples that are available for the public to see and touch. The 3.75 billion-year-old lunar rock sample was collected and brought back to Earth by astronaut Jack Schmitt on the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the last time humans set foot on the moon.

The exhibit also features a multimedia experience showcasing the accomplishments of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the International Space Station.

Another attraction is a look at the Constellation Program, NASA's next effort to reach the moon. In conjunction with NASA's celebration for the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, "Driven to Explore" allows visitors to look at this newest space exploration program.

Constellation is designed to first send humans back to the moon and then to Mars. Visitors will be able to see models of the program's rockets and spacecraft being developed and also learn why and how NASA is returning to the moon.

Jim Pendergast, a safety engineer from Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, said the main objective of this exhibit is to generate an understanding in the community about the everyday technologies NASA offers to the general public, which are often taken for granted. He will be there to assist students and visitors with extra information.

"People don't have a concept of what NASA does. In this economic crisis especially, people often question why we are funding for people to go to the moon or outer space," he said. "But they are not aware about the histories of contributions that NASA have, such as microwave ovens, helmets, GPS, components in cell phones, etc."

Carole Wilbeck, a communications specialist at the College of Engineering, said the event would be great exposure for UNL students, as well as the community, to see the amazing things NASA accomplished and explore the possibilities of working with NASA to become engineers.

"We are very excited to be able to host this exhibition because we are also celebrating the 100th anniversary of College of Engineering that was established in 1909. We are really proud to be 100 years old and looking forward to the next," Wilbeck said.

"I hope everybody comes down and takes just 10 minutes of their time. And touch a moon rock!"  Wilbeck said. "I mean that's very cool. I'm very excited for that."

ruthangelina@dailynebraskan.com