Tiger of the Week: David Goldstein '84

David Goldstein ’84 with daughter Galit ’13

Friday, Oct. 9 will be a big day for David Goldstein ’84, a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. Goldstein is on the science team of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecraft, which will crash into the moon's Cabeus crater at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, kicking up dust that researchers believe contains ice. A second spacecraft will follow, four minutes after the first.

If water ice is present, Goldstein explains, it could be a valuable resource for astronauts at a lunar station. As NASA's Web site notes, "It will not be practical to transport to space the amount of water needed for human and exploration needs." (Interested readers can follow the LCROSS spacecraft's journey on Twitter.)

Goldstein, an expert in fluid dynamics, has worked to model the gas and dust dynamics of the LCROSS impact plumes. His research group also models comet impacts on the moon.

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