Thirty years after Weber launched what he termed CU's Space Initiative, the university has helped prepare 20 astronauts for space, provided hundreds of students hands-on space mission experience and launched an instrument to every planet in the solar system, including the former planet Pluto. It is the top NASA-funded public university in the country, according to CU.
With the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft scheduled to enter the Red Planet's orbit Sunday night and initiating a year-long probe of its upper atmosphere just the latest accomplishment, many at CU believe Weber's goal has been realized.
"With regard to CU's stature in space science, I think arguably we're No. 1, 2 or 3, depending on who is doing the counting," said CU Provost Russ Moore.
Dan Baker, director of CU's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, was willing to go further, saying, "I absolutely do believe that by most objective standards, CU is the pre-eminent space university in the world."
He cited MAVEN's entry into Martian orbit as a "watershed moment" for the university's aspirations in space research and related fields.
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