University at Buffalo graduates Frank Centinello and Kristen Paris helped in the creation of the first spacecraft in NASA’s return to the moon.

“I guess, when you think about it, for me this is one giant leap . . . with my work going to the moon and all,” Centinello said in an article in The Buffalo News. “This whole experience has been really serendipitous.”

The two UB alums are part of a 50-member team at Arizona State University that created and tested a camera attached to NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which lifted off Thursday.

The orbiter will record the moon’s surface to better facilitate future landings. Read more.