Adventures in Aerospace: Viterbi Screening of “First Man” and Chat with Astronauts

By: Awo Jama ‘22

On October 5th, USC students were granted a rare opportunity when they had the chance to not only attend an early screening of the film First Man, but to witness a discussion panel featuring several notable figures in the aerospace field. The event was produced by both the Viterbi School of Engineering and USC’s Arts and Humanities initiative, Visions and Voices.

The film itself, which stars Ryan Gosling as renowned astronaut and USC Viterbi alum Neil Armstrong, details the events leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. The film not only chronologically maps NASA’s steps (and pitfalls) towards the moon landing, but offers an intimate glance into Armstrong’s personal life and psyche, especially after the death of his two-and-a-half year old daughter.

The panel, which proceeded the screening, was moderated by aerospace engineer and adjunct research associate professor of astronautics Anita Sengupta. It featured the University’s own interim president and former CEO of the Aerospace Corporation Wanda Austin, as well as former NASA administrator Charles Bolden, and veteran NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, who directed space operations at SpaceX before becoming a professor of astronautics practice at Viterbi.

The panel began with a conversation on how each guest ended up in the aerospace field, and revealed many of the motivations which initially drove their passions. 

Austin, who grew up in the Bronx during the 1960s, drew connections between President Kennedy’s decision to put a man on the moon and her parent’s own belief that “education would be the key to her success.” The government’s support of the space program, she claimed, allowed for greater emphasis to be placed on science and technology in the education system, and allowed her to transfer to “a good school district” where she would get a “solid math and science foundation.” 

Reisman, who never dreamed of becoming an astronaut partly due to his mother’s own fear of flying, was “gripped by the space flight” early on in his life and became enthralled with the Apollo 8 mission; he claimed that the mission and subsequent NASA endeavors into space “definitely inspired him, even if he didn’t know where it was leading.”

After their discussions surrounding the origins of their careers and relationships with Neil Armstrong, the conversation turned towards the subject of Mars; that is, the possibility of sustaining human life on the planet. Bolden claimed that humanity is “closer than it’s ever been before” to being able to bring humans onto the planet, despite the difficulties that the planet’s radioactivity might pose. Austin claimed that “there’s a lot to be discovered in our quest to explore Mars,” and that the journey and its challenges would ultimately teach humankind more about “what we have to do to make Earth sustainable.” Reisman asserted that a successful landing on the planet will only be possible if “we have the desire and will to do it…and have a sustainable reason for why we’re going.”

The panel concluded with a discussion on the efforts that the aerospace industry should make to foster inclusivity in all of its sectors. Sengupta began to delve into this subject by reflecting on the film “Hidden Figures” and the incredible strides it made in encouraging young girls to pursue science and technology. 

Austin cited that growing up, she was never made aware of the existence of Katherine Johnson, the mathematician who calculated the trajectories of NASA’s Project Mercury spaceflights. She stated that “one of the important things that we have to do is make sure that young women, very early in their careers, are exposed to the fact that there are women doing amazing things in science, engineering, and technology, and to help them understand that by enjoying math and pursuing math, that will allow them to make a choice on what kinds of career options they will have.” 

She also applauded Viterbi for “accepting more women into their engineering program.” Inclusion, for Austin, is especially important in the aerospace field because it allows for greater diversity in “discipline, in thought process, and approaches to solving problems,” which are all vital  when tackling projects and new ideas.

You can find the full panel discussion on USC’s Facebook page here. For more updates on Viterbi events, click here! For news on Visions and Voices latest events, click here.

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