The University of Central Florida will hold its second Space Week from Sunday, Oct. 25, through Friday, Oct. 30, a run of industry meetings, campus talks and evening events built around the school's roots in the early U.S. space program.
UCF opened in 1963, when a moon landing was still years away, and the university says its founding purpose was to advance the nation's space program and train the people to carry it forward. Space Week is meant to put that history and the school's current research in front of the public, according to the university's event guide.
For the public and campus crowd
The guide lists these community events:
- Monday, Oct. 26: "Space in the Popular Imagination," a panel on how books and films have pictured the cosmos, 1 to 3 p.m. at the John C. Hitt Library. That night, Robinson Observatory hosts a full moon viewing from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27: a library screening of the 2025 documentary "Starman," about NASA robotics engineer and author Gentry Lee, 5 to 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, Oct. 28: "Mars to Table," 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the library, where a Rosen College of Hospitality Management professor and chef present a food system designed for a Mars crew.
- Thursday, Oct. 29: a 5 p.m. library showing of "Hidden Figures," then a synchronized drone show on Memory Mall at 7 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 30: the final pitches of Rosen College's Space Hospitality Student Challenge, 9 a.m. to noon, and the 10th annual Space Game, with UCF football hosting Baylor at Acrisure Bounce House. The game window is listed as 7:30 to 11 p.m., and it will air on ESPN.
The library will also keep two space exhibits up all week, one drawn from university archives and one on current faculty and student projects.
