The inaugural Glenn Symposium focused on advancements in aerospace technology including power and propulsion, autonomy and communications, low boom supersonics, hypersonics, and more. Discussion also encompassed humans returning to the moon, including challenges associated with the 2024 mission.

The Inaugural John Glenn Memorial Symposium

Astronaut John Glenn Jr. is honored by President John F. Kennedy after Glenn's historical first manned orbital flight, Mercury-Atlas 6. The ceremony was held in front of Hangar S at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. To Glenn's left are his wife, Annie, daughter, Lyn, and his son, David.

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NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, left, walks with Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) on Nov. 7, 1998. Glenn had just returned to Earth following the STS-95 space shuttle mission. Glenn's initial trip into space on Feb. 20, 1962 aboard Mercury 6 made him the first American in orbit.

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Mercury astronaut John Glenn speaks during the "On Shoulders of Giants" program celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's MA-6 mission on Feb. 20, 1962. The event was conducted in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida a few miles from the launch pad where Glenn and Scott Carpenter took flight in Mercury spacecraft. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

John Glenn Interment

Lyn Glenn, center, and David Glenn, right, daughter and son of the former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn are seen as their father is laid to rest during a full military honors interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, April 6, 2017 in Virginia. He was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, Glenn broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The Inaugural John Glenn Memorial Symposium

John H Glenn Jr.

Mercury astronaut John Glenn and his wife, Annie, pose during a luncheon Feb. 17, 2012, celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

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Mercury astronauts John Glenn, left, and Scott Carpenter sit in front of the plot board from the Mercury control center on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The astronauts, part of the original class of seven astronauts chosen by NASA, were taking part in a question-and-answer session with the media as part of events celebrating 50 years of Americans in orbit, an era which began with John Glenn's Mercury mission MA-6, on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

NASA Glenn Flight Simulator Laboratory

John H Glenn Jr.

John Glenn and NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana sit in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Bay 1 of the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

Project Mercury astronaut John H. Glenn Jr., enters the Friendship 7 spacecraft during the last part of the countdown on Feb. 20, 1962. At 9:47 a.m. EST, the Atlas launch vehicle lifted the spacecraft into orbit for a three-orbit mission lasting four hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds. Glenn and his spacecraft were recovered by the destroyer Noa just 21 minutes after landing in the Atlantic near Grand Turk Island, to successfully complete the nation's first manned orbital flight.

John Glenn Interment

Annie Glenn, wife of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn is seen as her husband is laid to rest during a full military honors interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, April 6, 2017 in Virginia. He was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, Glenn broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The Inaugural John Glenn Memorial Symposium

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The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. EST, Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission.

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Bolden Glenn Lecture Series

Former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States Sen. John Glenn speaks to those in attendance as he introduces NASA Administrator Charles Bolden as the speaker for the 2012 John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History, Wednesday evening, June 27, 2012, at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Bolden talked about his career as a Marine aviator, a Space Shuttle pilot and commander, and his leadership of America's space agency. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

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STS-95 Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr. (second from right), senator from Ohio, poses (left to right) with his son, David, daughter, Lyn, and (far right) his wife, Annie, after landing at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility aboard a T-38 jet. Glenn and other crewmembers flew into KSC to make final preparations for launch. Targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29, the STS-95 mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

Gateway Hardware Milestone: First AEPS Thruster for Power and Propulsion Element Delivered to NASA Glenn (GRC-2025-C-01673)

John Glenn Interment

Annie Glenn, wife of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn receives the folded American flag from Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General Robert B. Neller, during a graveside interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Thursday, April 6, 2017, the day on which Glenn and Annie were married in 1943. He was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, Glenn broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

John Glenn Interment

Annie Glenn, wife of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn gives the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General Robert B. Neller, a kiss on the cheek after he handed her the folded American flag during a graveside interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Thursday, April 6, 2017, the day on which Glenn and Annie were married in 1943. He was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, Glenn broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

John Glenn Interment

Annie Glenn, wife of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn receives the folded American flag from Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General Robert B. Neller, during a graveside interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Thursday, April 6, 2017, the day on which Glenn and Annie were married in 1943. He was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, Glenn broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Sen. John Glenn answers questions at a NASA Tweetup event celebrating Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

Sen. John Glenn listens to a question at a NASA Tweetup event celebrating Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

Sen. John Glenn answers questions as NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, and NASA Glenn Research Center Ray Lugo look on at a NASA Tweetup event celebrating Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

Wife of former astronaut and Senator John Glenn, Annie Glenn, listens intently to Cleveland State University Master of Music Major James Binion Jr. as he sings a musical tribute during an event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the university's Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bolden Glenn Lecture Series

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, along with former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States Sen. John Glenn and Gen. John R. Dailey, director of the National Air and Space Museum, right, look around the Fly Marines exhibit at the museum, Wednesday evening, June 27, 2012, in Washington. Bolden spoke later at the 2012 John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

Bolden Glenn Lecture Series

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, stands with former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States Senator John Glenn and Gen. John R. Dailey, director of the National Air and Space Museum, in the Fly Marines exhibit at the museum, Wednesday evening, June 27, 2012, in Washington. Bolden spoke later at the 2012 John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

S62-06009 (20 Feb. 1962) --- View of Earth taken by astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. during his Mercury Atlas 6 (MA-6) spaceflight. Photo credit: NASA

MA-6 HAND HELD - JOHN GLENN

Astronaut John H. Glenn sits in a car in front of the east side of the Mercury Mission Control building. Glenn was the pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission aboard Friendship 7, which launched Feb. 20, 1962.

Astronut John H. Glenn

John Glenn Interment

A Marine Corps honor guard folds the colors as family and friends look on during a funeral service for former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn, who was buried with full military honors, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Thursday, April 6, 2017, the day on which he and his wife Annie were married in 1943. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, he broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Main Entrance of NASA Glenn Research Center

The newly renovated NASA Glenn Research Center, GRC Lewis Fie...

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

Sen. John Glenn, left, shakes hands with former Astronaut Steve Lindsey as NASA Administrator Charles Bolden smiles at an event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1998 Lindsey flew onboard the space shuttle Discovery along with then 77 year-old Sen. John Glenn for the STS-95 mission. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Gateway Hardware Milestone: First AEPS Thruster for Power and Propulsion Element Delivered to NASA Glenn (GRC-2025-C-01694)

John Glenn Interment

Lyn Glenn, daughter of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn receives the folded American flag from the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General Robert B. Neller, during a graveside interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, April 6, 2017 in Virginia. He was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, Glenn broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

John Glenn Interment

David Glenn, son of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn receives the folded American flag from the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General Robert B. Neller, during a graveside interment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, April 6, 2017 in Virginia. He was the first American to orbit Earth on Feb. 20, 1962, in a five-hour flight aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. In 1998, Glenn broke another record by returning to space at the age of 77 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

NASA Glenn Research Center Director Ray Lugo, foreground, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and Sen. John Glenn, background, stand during the presentation of colors by the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, at the start of an event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

NASA Glenn Research Center Deupty Director James Free moderates a combined media briefing and NASA Tweetup with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, seated left, Sen. John Glenn, and NASA Glenn Research Center Director Ray Lugo, seated right, at an event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Main Gate, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

Dr. Ronald M. Berkman, CSU President gives remarks while former Astronaut Steve Lindsey, left, Sen. John Glenn, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and NASA Glenn Research Center Director Ray Lugo, seated right, look on at an event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

Sen. John Glenn waves to a group of media and Twitter users as he takes the stage with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and NASA Glenn Research Center Director Ray Lugo, right, at a Tweetup event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, Sen. John Glenn, and NASA Glenn Research Center Director Ray Lugo, right, answer questions at a NASA Tweetup event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, Sen. John Glenn, and NASA Glenn Research Center Director Ray Lugo, right, answer questions at a NASA Tweetup event celebrating John Glenn's legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

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In the white room at the Kenndy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B, STS-95 Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, is prepared by closeout room crew members Danny Wyatt (left to right), Carlous Gillis, Jim Kelly and Travis Thompson for entry into the Space Shuttle Discovery for his second flight into space after 36 years. The STS-95 mission, targeted for launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and return to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.

NASA Glenn research engineers prepare our extreme environments chamber (GEER) for a test. GEER, which simulates the extreme conditions found in space, tests many devices that will explore Venus to see if they can withstand the punishing environment and temperatures over 800˚F.

Glenn Extreme Environment Rig (GEER)

Sen. John Glenn gives remarks at an event celebrating his legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

Sen. John Glenn is seen on a monitor as he gives remarks at an event celebrating his legacy and 50 years of americans in orbit held at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center on Friday, March 3, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Celebrating John Glenn’s Legacy

The Inaugural John Glenn Memorial Symposium