The future of human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit will be discussed Tuesday, May 1, at NASA’s Langley Research Center and again at the Virginia Air and Space Center, both in Hampton, Virginia.

NASA Langley researcher and space architect Patrick Troutman will give a lecture, “Cislunar Space, the Gateway to Future Exploration,” at 2 p.m. in Langley’s Pearl Young Theater as part of the center’s Colloquium Series lecture. He will also give the talk at 7:30 p.m. at the Virginia Air and Space Center as part of the Sigma Series of lectures.

The Sigma Series talk is free, while the lecture at Langley is for employees and the news media. Media wishing to attend the Langley lecture should contact Eric Gillard at 757-864-7423 or eric.s.gillard@nasa.gov by noon EST Monday, April 30 for credentials and entry to Langley.

The presentations will present NASA’s near term plans for exploration as enabled by a lunar-orbiting platform commonly referred to as “the gateway.” An overview of the infrastructure and a description of the systems that will enable transportation of systems and humans to cislunar space, which is the region between Earth and the Moon, and beyond will be given. Potential missions supporting science and human exploration of the Moon and Mars will also be discussed.

Troutman graduated in 1984 from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace and oceanographic engineering along with a minor in computer science.

In the past 30-plus years, Troutman has worked for NASA designing and assessing the International Space Station, leading systems analysis related to future space scenarios including managing the NASA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts program, helping to define the vision for space exploration, leading the integration for the Constellation Program lunar surface architecture, and leading human space exploration mission design for the NASA Human Spaceflight Architecture Team and the Evolvable Mars Campaign.

Troutman currently serves as the lead for strategic assessments for the Deep Space Gateway and Transport activity, which  includes developing the next set of activities for humans beyond the space station, and how those missions will prepare humanity for missions to the Moon and Mars.

NASA Langley’s Colloquium and Sigma lectures provide monthly talks and demonstrations related to science and technology. The lectures are intended to stimulate the creative processes of Langley employees and enhance the quality of life at Langley by providing more opportunities for learning. For more information about NASA Langley’s Colloquium and Sigma Series Lectures, visit:
http://colloqsigma.larc.nasa.gov