LSU collaborating with NASA on extraterrestrial construction workforce

As NASA prepares for a late-November launch for the Artemis I Moon Mission, LSU faculty are making preparations of their own to train a future-ready construction workforce in extraterrestrial construction.

Led by LSU construction management assistant professor Amir Jafari, the research group will work over the next year to determine how construction skills on Earth could translate to working on another planetary body other than our own. The work is funded by a nearly $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

The LSU research team will first work—with the help of its collaborators at NASA—to gain a better understanding of what transferable skills are needed for a future extraterrestrial workforce.

Following the meeting with NASA, the LSU researchers will develop a simulation-based training environment using interactive virtual reality simulations that run in real time. Read more about the project from LSU. 

This story originally appeared in an Oct. 18 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.