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.
 

Planetesimal orbits around a white dwarf

Hungry, hungry white dwarfs: Solving the puzzle of stellar metal pollution

May 10, 2024

In results reported in a new paper, graduate student Tatsuya Akiba with JILA Fellow and Professor Ann-Marie Madigan and undergraduate student Selah McIntyre believe they’ve found a reason why these stellar zombies eat their nearby planetesimals.

Illustration of Venus seen from space with colored spheres flying around

Venus has almost no water. A new study may reveal why

May 6, 2024

Billions of years ago, Venus may have held as much water as Earth. Now, it harbors 100,000 times less water than our planet. A new study from planetary scientists at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) dives into how that water disappeared.

Illustration of a ring of material around an orange star with a white star moving through

A new star is about to appear in the night sky. Here’s how to catch a glimpse

April 29, 2024

Nearly 3,000 light-years away, two stars dancing around each other are about to put on a beautiful show for people on Earth. Astrophysicist David Wilson gives his take on why this is an event you don't want to miss.

Florence Tan of NASA, Xu Wang of LASP, Kenneth Liang of Colorado School of Mines, and Carolyn Mercer of NASA

Front Range team wins NASA Entrepreneurs Challenge with innovative idea for lunar service station

April 5, 2024

A team of researchers from LASP and the Colorado School of Mines has developed an innovative, award-winning idea for a lunar service station, where lunar rovers and mining machines could charge their batteries and clean the dust off their surfaces.

People wearing protective glasses look up at the sky

Tips for viewing the solar eclipse safely

April 1, 2024

On April 8, parts of the United States will witness a total solar eclipse. Solar scientist Jimmy Negus gives his take on why this will be a can’t-miss event and how to enjoy an eclipse without damaging your eyes.

Man and woman stand behind a telescope on a sunny day

Eclipse ‘magic’: Students traveling to Texas for astronomical event

March 27, 2024

On April 8, a total eclipse will pass over parts of Texas, the last chance to see such an event from the United States until 2044. A team from CU Boulder and the National Solar Observatory, including five students, will be among the crowds of people traveling to the Lone Star State to experience this occurrence.

satellite hovering over Earth

CU Boulder developing space wargames simulation facility

March 25, 2024

Aerospace engineering researchers are working to keep America’s armed forces safe in space with a new research grant, which will allow for scientific investigations on human-machine interaction and more.

Woman in red track suit puts her feet up while working on a desktop computer

As Voyager 1’s mission draws to a close, one planetary scientist reflects on its legacy

March 18, 2024

Planetary scientist Fran Bagenal first encountered NASA’s Voyager spacecraft during a student job in the late 1970s. Get her take on following these spacecraft for nearly 50 years, as they traveled to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—and beyond the bounds of Earth’s solar system.

view of planet Earth from space

Pollution to production: Student startup transforms CO2 into aerospace hardware

March 8, 2024

Spencer Dansereau, a doctoral student in aerospace at CU Boulder, is building a business that could turn air pollution into a useable product.

Woman sits strapped into heavy-duty chair wearing a virtual reality headset

With space travel comes motion sickness. These engineers want to help

Feb. 29, 2024

In amusement park-like experiments on campus, aerospace engineers at CU Boulder are spinning, shaking and rocking people to study the disorientation and nausea that come from traveling from Earth to space and back again.

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