Title: Educational Program in Space Civil Engineering

Author(s): Marvin E. Criswell and Willy Z. Sadeh

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 125

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 223-236

Keywords: civil engineering; concrete; lunar structures; space program; General

DOI: 10.14359/3782

Date: 5/1/1991

Abstract:
Early in the next century, humans will return to the surface of the moon for stays of increasingly longer duration. Many civil engineering challenges must be addressed so that these twenty-first century pioneers will have the shelter and life-support systems needed to survive and thrive in a largely benign but, in some ways, hostile environment. Depending on the stage of the lunar presence, different structures and processes will be feasible. Reliance on lunar resources, including manufactured forms such as lunar concrete, will become more important as the base size and maturity grows. It is the task of the universities in these endeavors to provide the basic knowledge to help meet these challenges and to produce enthusiastic and well-prepared graduates who can best continue to develop the solutions needed to support the expansion of humans into space. Educational programs in space civil engineering now undergoing development at Colorado State University under a NASA space grant college program are described. An undergraduate option that supplements the existing civil engineering program through a cluster of classes that can be taken within the existing elective structure is being developed. Concepts for an MS graduate program are also outlined.