For 75 years, CU Boulder has been a leader in space exploration and innovation. We travel to space to monitor sea level rise, melting ice, weather patterns and more. Our researchers explore how to track and remove dangerous debris in space. We research the health of humans in space to inform medical applications for people on Earth. Learn more about the latest in space research and science at CU Boulder.
 

A striking view of Mars and its smallest moon, Deimos.

New Emirates Mars Mission observations hint at origins of Mars’ mysterious moon

April 27, 2023

The Emirates Mars Mission, the first interplanetary exploration undertaken by an Arab nation, has unveiled a series of groundbreaking observations of Mars’ smaller moon, Deimos, that reveal new details of Mars’ most mysterious moon and where it came from, as well as the Red Planet’s larger moon, Phobos.

Artist's depiction of antennas in the FarView observatory criss-crossing over the surface of the moon.

Observatory on the far side of the moon could spy on universe’s ‘Dark Ages’

April 25, 2023

As early as 2030, engineers and robots from Earth could begin construction on an astronomical observatory that would expand over 77 square miles of the moon’s surface—almost entirely using materials mined from the moon itself.

Senior NASA leaders with CU President Todd Saliman and other university officials in front of the Mariner spacecraft displayed in LASP

CU Boulder, LASP welcome NASA leaders to campus

April 21, 2023

A group of senior NASA leaders visited the CU Boulder campus where they met with CU President Todd Saliman and other university officials, and toured the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.

An astronaut working with one of the experiments aboard the International Space Station.

Heart experiments to help astronauts live better in space

April 7, 2023

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are hard at work on research guided by students and researchers from CU Boulder.

Image of the sun fringed in white light as seen during an eclipse

Scientists heading to tip of Australia to observe rare eclipse

April 6, 2023

CU Boulder astrophysicists Kevin Reardon and Sarah Bruce are traveling across the globe to the fringes of Australia to witness a rare event—a total solar eclipse that will last just one minute but could help scientists answer a burning mystery about the sun.

LASP researchers over the last 75 years

LASP: 75 years of innovation in space science

April 5, 2023

The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics—CU’s oldest and highest-budget research institute and the only academic research institute in the world to have sent scientific instruments to all eight planets in the solar system, plus Pluto, the Sun and a host of moons—is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

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Far-off radio signal hints rocky exoplanet may have magnetic field

April 3, 2023

Astrophysicists may have detected the first Earth-sized planet outside our solar system with a magnetic field—a potentially key feature for making planets habitable.

Artist's depiction of James Webb Space Telescope

Webb telescope spots super old, massive galaxies that shouldn’t exist

Feb. 22, 2023

In a new study, CU Boulder astrophysicist Erica Nelson and her colleagues spotted six "fuzzy dots" of light in images from the James Webb Space Telescope. The candidate galaxies may have existed just 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang and contain almost as many stars as the Milky Way.

Buffalo statue on campus with solar eclipse in the background

Taking solar eclipse photos is a snap with gizmo developed by astronomer

Feb. 9, 2023

Doug Duncan searched online for something that would allow enthusiasts to safely use their cameras to watch eclipses, but he came up empty-handed. So, he decided he would have to invent something himself.

View of the Taurus Molecular Cloud

A star is born: Study reveals complex chemistry inside ‘stellar nurseries’

Feb. 6, 2023

The universe's carbon atoms complete a journey that spans eons—forming in the hearts of dying stars, then becoming a part of planets and even living organisms. Now, a team led by CU Boulder scientist Jordy Bouwman has uncovered the chemistry behind one tiny, but critical, step in this process.

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