When NASA launches its Dawn spacecraft, slated for today, on a mission to learn about the formation of planets, a University of Maryland professor will have helped make it happen.

“I work with the science team in defining the scientific requirements and the engineers then make that happen,” said Lucy McFadden, an astronomy professor at the university?s College Park campus and director of education and public outreach for the mission. “We are responsible for planning the collection of data to answer our … questions.”