Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. The lunar surface footsteps of this proud Boilermaker engineer are replicated on campus today outside the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, where many boys and girls jump across with joy.

These boys and girls, like generations before them, continue to gaze at the stars with wonder. It also takes many wonders of engineering behind all of the astronauts, including 25 who graduated from Purdue.

As the human race begins its quest to return to the moon, stay there and explore Mars and beyond, Purdue Engineering just launched the Cislunar Space initiative. With intent and intensity, we will contribute to research, to talent pipeline, and to commercial and societal impact. From mission design and propulsion to resilient habitats and systems engineering, our faculty, students, staff and alumni will leave their footprints of many more “small steps.”

From West Lafayette to outer space, courage and imagination will always escape the surly bond of Earth.