Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

a black and white photo of Hapke in a suit, holding a vial of moon dust
As a postdoctoral researcher, Bruce Hapke helped NASA determine the consistency of the moon’s soil, which helped engineers create the proper boots, rovers and wheeled equipment for the Apollo 11 landing, which happened 50 years ago this Saturday. Hapke and others at Pitt have helped build on a legacy of space research.