Daniels to co-chair panel reviewing space program

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue University President Mitch Daniels has joined a panel that will make recommendations about the future of the nation's space program.

The Committee on Human Spaceflight is part of the 2010 NASA Authorization Act. Its purpose is to review the space program's long-term goals and direction and suggest ways to sustain it.

Daniels says Purdue has a long history with the space program and that he's honored to serve on the panel. Purdue's alumni include astronauts Virgil 'Gus' Grissom, Roger Chaffee, Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan. Armstrong was the first man on the moon, and Cernan was the last.

Daniels will serve as co-chairman of the committee through June 30, 2014.