From UND to Artemis: A Conversation with NASA’s Branelle Rodriguez

About this event

What does it take to help send astronauts around the Moon? Connect with UND Mechanical Engineering alumna Branelle Rodriguez on Nov. 5 for a presentation and student Q&A about her work with Orion and NASA’s Artemis program. As Vehicle Integration Office Deputy Manager & Artemis II Vehicle Manager, Rodriguez brings firsthand experience with the engineering and teamwork behind human space exploration. Bring your questions about Orion, working at NASA and where your degree can take you.

Branelle Rodriguez is NASA’s Vehicle Integration Office Deputy Manager & Artemis II Vehicle Manager and a 2005 University of North Dakota Mechanical Engineering graduate. Based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, she has helped guide the Artemis II Orion spacecraft through development, production, testing, mission operations and recovery. Her NASA career spans more than two decades, including work on life support and habitation hardware for the space shuttle and International Space Station. Before joining the Orion Program in 2022, she led teams of engineers and flight controllers to address real time technical challenges aboard the space station.