Student Launch Program subject of lecture at Branigan Cultural Center

Las Cruces, NM – The Branigan Cultural Center will host a lecture on Thursday, December 8 at 1pm on NMSU’s Student Launch Program.  The talk will be delivered by Dr. Patricia Hynes, Director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium.

Hynes’ lecture will focus on the Student Launch Program, a collaborative NMSU and NASA project that sent local students’ experiments into space on May 20, 2011, from Spaceport America. 

The presentation complements the Cultural Center’s current exhibition of NASA photographs, From Earth to the Solar System, and the Museum of Natural History and Museum of Art sponsored exhibit NASA | ART 50 Years of Art.

While 2011 was the first year for the Student Launch Program, the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium has plans for an annual educational launch.

For more information on the student launch program, visit www.launchnm.com. 

Hynes has served as director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium since 1998. In 2007 she was appointed director of NASA's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Both programs are headquartered at NMSU. The NMSGC is a member of the congressionally funded National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program which is administered by NASA.

The Branigan Cultural Center is located next to the Museum of Art at 501 N. Main Street.  Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 4:30pm; admission is free. For more information, contact the Branigan at (575) 541-2154 or visit www.las-cruces.org/museums.