News

Four CU Boulder juniors, all from Colorado, are headed to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Feb. 14 to propose a new in-orbit assembly design of a spacecraft that can deliver cargo from low-Earth orbit to lunar and Martian orbits.

University of Colorado Boulder researchers have discovered an atmospheric escape route for hydrogen on Mars, a mechanism that may have played a significant role in the planet’s loss of liquid water.

Antonella Albuja’s doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from CU Boulder just became more valuable, as did the educational, research and career prospects of those who follow her in the Smead Program, thanks to $15 million in support from a notable Colorado family.

A team led by CU Boulder has found the mechanism behind the sudden onset of a “natural thermostat” in Earth’s upper atmosphere that dramatically cools the air after it has been heated by violent solar activity.

Fasten your spaceship seat belts. On Dec. 5, CU Boulder is hosting an advance screening of two new episodes from National Geographic’s current global series MARS, produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.

Graduate student Heather Hava has designed and built a device called SmartPot, (SPOT), a compact hydroponic chamber for growing plants in space. Nutrient-rich water circulates through the chamber, which is autonomously controlled for temperature, humidity, light and ventilation and can be operated by either astronauts in space or remotely by NASA’s mission control on Earth.

A multimillion dollar CU Boulder instrument package expected to help scientists better understand potentially damaging space weather is now slated to launch aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite on Saturday, Nov. 19.

CU Boulder faculty researchers, staff, and students discussed innovation, collaboration and career opportunities with thought leaders and executives from Colorado’s aerospace industry on campus Thursday, October 27 at the 4th Annual AeroSpace Ventures Day.

Earlier this year, CU Boulder publicly announced a push to construct a dedicated building for aerospace on campus. An architectural firm was hired in June and began meeting with professors and administrators to discuss their needs for lab spaces, classrooms, and overall design for the structure.

Get an inside look at the dust-analyzing instrument that will fly on NASA's upcoming mission to the ocean-harboring Jupiter moon.