About US

Mission

Here at the Space and Earth Analogs Research Chapter (SEARCH) of Purdue, our mission is to promote human spaceflight and space exploration through interdisciplinary collaboration. We do this through space analog research, or the simulation of space environments right here on Earth in order to design and develop new technologies. We have several high profile projects, such as two NASA competitions, a systems design competition called RASC-AL and an augmented reality software competition called SUITS. We also participate in our own research, forwarded by motivated Purdue students and faculty. One of these projects is our own Student Analog Astronaut Training Program, a three week long Summer program where we teach a crew of 10 students the foundational skills they would require in order to become an astronaut. The other is ASTRO-USA, where we are working to build a one of a kind, fully self-sustaining space habitat for use in bioastronautics research at Purdue University. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we organize outreach events which bring industry professionals to Purdue. These events have an average attendance of 70 Purdue students and faculty, and allow students to connect what they are learning in their coursework to their uses in their respective fields. We host at least 3 events every semester.

If you are interested in any of these activities, please connect with us! All information you would need to know is on the Contacts page.

Background

SEARCH of Purdue was founded in the summer of 2022 by Rodrigo Schmitt, PhD student in Aerospace Engineering, Kshitij Mall, Post-Doc in Aerospace and advised by Dr. Marshall Porterfield, Dr. Cesare Guariniello. Our vision as a multidisciplinary organization of students, faculty, staff, and alumni is to increase support for human spaceflight and space exploration. We aim to involve the student community in various research projects aimed at increasing our knowledge of space exploration. The club has participated in NASA competitions such as Rasc-AL and NASA SUITS. In 2023, the team was selected as one of the finalists for the SUITS 2024, to present their VR space suit interface to NASA scientists in Houston.

Operations

Apart from our student led research projects, we have many outreach events, where we aim to connect the space enthusiasts of Purdue with researchers and engineers from companies such as SpaceX, SETI, Blue Origin, NASA etc.

Plans and Goals

In the near future, SEARCH plans to build a self-sustaining, innovative, and inclusive lunar habitat to foster interdisciplinary research and development. The organization hopes to leverage the collective expertise of its members and partners to design an analog biosphere prepared to support human life under extreme extraterrestrial conditions through research, design, and prototyping of a self-contained structure. The self-sustaining habitat is a highly interdisciplinary undertaking by its very nature, essentially serving as a small-scale reconstruction of Earth that must employ the skillsets of all disciplines that allows Earth to function and thrive. The primary phase of this project involves development of a hydroponic system which will support the closed-loop atmosphere and provide necessary food to the inhabitants. Using the knowledge obtained during research and development, SEARCH will educate researchers who will utilize the hydroponic systems in the future and host outreach events for students at Purdue and elsewhere focusing on STEM fields, particularly at the intersection of agriculture and space exploration.