Clayton Anderson, NASA astronaut and ISU alumnus, will be speaking Thursday evening in Howe Hall. He will be covering his time at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, highlighting his most recent space voyage on the STS-131 and the future of the space program.

Anderson is a native Nebraskan who attended graduate school at Iowa State. Graduating from Iowa State in 1983 with a degree in aerospace engineering, Anderson then went on to work at the Johnson Space Center. After arriving at NASA, he had various positions associated with mission planning and operations. During this time, he led several design teams and in 1998 was promoted to the position of mission specialist.

Anderson’s first trip into space occurred in 2002, and since then he has logged 167 days in space. His longest trip was five months at the International Space Station, and in 2010 he worked aboard the STS-131. Anderson has performed six space walks.

His time working in space and the future of NASA will be the primary subjects of his lecture.

Also this week, Iowa State will host several other events with Anderson. Before this Saturday’s football game, Anderson will be signing autographs in the ISU Alumni Center and an ISU flag that he brought to space will be presented during that game.

This lecture is sponsored by Aerospace Engineering, the Alumni Association, the College of Engineering and the Committee on Lectures (funded by GSB).

The lecture will start at 5 p.m. in Howe Hall.