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.
 

Autonomous vehicle using Ninja Car platform

Autonomous vehicle has potential for space exploration

June 26, 2017

Chris Heckman and his students are working to strengthen the decision-making capabilities of autonomous cars. Though mostly focused on Earth-bound activities, the technology platform could one day further space exploration.

MAVEN spacecraft near Mars

MAVEN's top 10 discoveries about Mars at 1,000 days

June 16, 2017

Measurements over the first 1,000 days of the MAVEN mission are providing insight into how the sun stripped Mars of most of its atmosphere, turning a planet once possibly habitable to microbial life into a barren desert world.

Galaxy cluster

CU Boulder researchers explain mystery of 'banging' galaxy clusters

June 6, 2017

Two galaxy clusters in the process of merging created a layer of surprisingly hot gas between them that CU Boulder astronomers believe is from turbulence caused by banging into each other at supersonic speeds.

dragon spacecraft

SpaceX launches CU-built heart, bone health experiments to space station

May 31, 2017

A SpaceX rocket launched two CU Boulder-built payloads to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida, delivering equipment to look at changes in cardiovascular stem cells in microgravity and study a new bone-building drug.

Illustration of Van Allen barrier shrouding Earth

Probes spot human-made barrier shrouding Earth

May 17, 2017

Humans have long been shaping Earth’s landscape, but we can shape our near-space environment as well. A certain type of radio communications have been found to interact with particles in space, affecting how and where they move. Watch the video.

Solar flare

CU space weather instrument installed on commercial satellite

May 17, 2017

A CU Boulder-built instrument that will provide unprecedented imaging of Earth’s upper atmosphere has been installed on a commercial satellite that will carry it into geostationary orbit some 22,000 miles above the Earth.

artists concept of Cassini during the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) maneuver

Saturn spacecraft starts its grand finale

April 26, 2017

NASA's Cassini mission, carrying a $12 million CU Boulder instrument, is ending, but not before the spacecraft performs several dives between Saturn and its rings from now until September, when it will run out of fuel and vaporize.

newly discovered exoplanet LHS 1140B

Potentially habitable 'super-Earth' is prime target for atmospheric study

April 19, 2017

A newly discovered “super-Earth” orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby small star is an intriguing target for astronomers searching for extraterrestrial life.

CU Boulder students and faculty display their QB50 micro satellite

Student-built satellite launches from Cape Canaveral

April 18, 2017

A student-built microsatellite is on its way to the International Space Station today after launching successfully from Cape Canaveral. The satellite will become part of a network of miniaturized satellites studying a portion of Earth’s atmosphere.

MAVEN spacecraft

MAVEN findings reveal how Mars' atmosphere was lost to space

March 30, 2017

Solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, transforming Mars from a planet that could have supported life billions of years ago into a frigid desert world.

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