Purdue plans public tribute to alumna Voss

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue University plans to honor astronaut Janice Voss, an alumna and South Bend native who died earlier this month.

The school will host a public celebration with Voss’ friends and family Feb. 24 in the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering on Purdue’s campus. The Voss family also has established an engineering scholarship in her honor.

Voss is one of 23 Purdue graduates who went on to become an astronaut. She spent almost 50 days total in space and traveled 18.8 million miles in her five spaceflights.

NASA says Voss was one of six women to fly in space at least five times.

Voss earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering sciences from Purdue in 1975. She died Feb. 6 in Arizona of complications from cancer. She was 55.