Hutton Honors College

Discussion Lunch with Former Astronaut and U.S. Senator H. H. Schmitt.

This is a small-group program and requires participants to sign up in advance. Participants must be IU undergraduates and must sign up using the established procedures. For complete sign-up procedures, see http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eiubhonor/hdextra/signup.php.

In 1972, Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt became the twelfth man to walk on the moon when he served as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17, the final manned Apollo lunar mission. Dr. Schmitt, the only geologist to ever visit the moon, stayed on the moon's surface for a record 75 hours as he and another astronaut conducted three separate surface excursions and collected some 243 pounds of rock and soil samples. He had earned his doctorate in geology from Harvard University in 1964 and was selected by NASA in 1965 as part of its scientist-astronaut program, where he oversaw lunar science training for the Apollo crews. After leaving NASA in 1975, Dr. Schmitt represented New Mexico in the U. S. Senate from 1977 to 1983. More recently, Dr. Schmitt has been an adjunct faculty member in the department of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin and has worked as a consultant and freelance writer and speaker on matters related to space, geology, technology, business, and public policy. The lunch, which is co-sponsored by the Honors College and the Wells Scholars Program, will give participants an opportunity to talk with Dr. Schmitt about his own experiences as well as the future of the U.S. space program and space exploration, including the return to the moon proposed by President Bush.

Dr. Schmitt will also deliver a public lecture, "Trip to the Moon and Beyond," at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, in Whittenberger Auditorium (IMU).