UNG To Celebrate Apollo 11 Lunar Landing 50th Anniversary

DAHLONEGA, GA — The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Dahlonega Science Council is hosting an event to mark the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing.

The keynote speaker is NASA aerospace engineer Sabrina Thompson, who works at Goddard Space
Flight Center.

She spent her first few years working as a Safety Engineer in the Occupational Health and Safety Division. She now works as a Flight Dynamicist in the Navigation and Mission Design Branch, where she performs orbit design studies and develops trajectories for NASA missions.

Thompson will speak about the historic mission at 7:30 p.m. July 20 in the Health and Natural Sciences (HNS) building at 159 Sunset Drive on University of North Georgia's Dahlonega Campus.

Prior to joining the Goddard community, she attended SUNY Stony Brook, where she received a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering while playing four years of NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball. In addition, she received a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

Thompson's current work includes providing trajectory design support as Deputy Flight Dynamics Lead for a wide range of mission phases from Pre-Phase A feasibility studies through launch and early orbit operations for NASA missions. Such missions include the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) and Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS). Her work has contributed to the advancement of many SmallSat missions and technology development efforts.

Throughout her career, she has remained passionate about innovation, space exploration and having a positive impact on society. She encourages the next generation to pursue their dreams and refuse to settle for less than they are capable of achieving.

Before and after the speech, activities include hands-on projects for children, planetarium shows and solar observations.

If the weather is clear, telescopes for observing will be set up at HNS, the observatory, or both.

Here is the schedule:

• 5:30- 7:30 p.m. – Hands-on kids' activities and solar observing (weather permitting) (HNS building)
• 6:30 p.m. – "Birth of Planet Earth" planetarium show (HNS 234)
• 7:30 p.m. – Sabrina Thompson delivers keynote address (HNS 232)
• 8:30 p.m. – "Birth of Planet Earth" planetarium show (HNS 234)
• 9:30 p.m. – Night sky observing (North Georgia Astronomical Observatory)

Narrated by Richard Dormer, the planetarium show will begin with a 24-minute full dome video about the formation of Earth. Audience members will see a close-up view of the violent collisions that produced the planet and the moon.