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.听Learn more about the latest in space research and science at CU Boulder.
听

Illustration showing a sun with radiation impacting three planets surrounded by magnetic fields

New project to probe how planets lose their atmospheres

Sept. 13, 2023

Scientists will develop 鈥渨orlds in a box鈥� to investigate the phenomenon of atmospheric escape鈥攈ow some planets, like Earth, hold onto their atmospheres while others, like Mars, don鈥檛.

SpaceX craft launches into outer space

CU Boulder earns NASA award for reducing spaceflight costs

Sept. 11, 2023

CU鈥檚 Heinz Research Group has earned a prestigious NASA award for their research centered on designing lightweight, high-strength materials that could save millions of dollars for spaceflights.

Dark craters seen from above on the moon

India just won the race to the moon鈥檚 South Pole. Here鈥檚 what comes next

Aug. 23, 2023

Marking the latest milestone in a new kind of space race, India's Chandrayaan-3 mission touched down safely on the moon. CU Boulder astrophysicist Jack Burns gives his take on why nations and companies are hurrying to parts of the moon that no Apollo craft ever visited.

Moon

CU Boulder wins $5M Air Force grant to track objects orbiting the moon

Aug. 23, 2023

CU Boulder is leading a major Air Force project to track objects orbiting near the moon, collaborating with researchers at Texas A&M, Georgia Tech and L3Harris Technologies.

Assistant Professor Hisham Ali

Construction underway on plasma wind tunnel to advance hypersonics

July 28, 2023

A new laboratory for a plasma wind tunnel is taking shape in the aerospace building at CU Boulder. The project is the vision of Assistant Professor Hisham Ali.

Illustration showing two merging black holes creating undulations in the fabric of space and time

Scientists use exotic stars to tune into hum from cosmic symphony

June 28, 2023

An international collaboration, including researchers from CU Boulder, has for the first time uncovered compelling evidence of what scientists call the "gravitational wave background"鈥攅normous undulations in the fabric of space and time.

Matter swirls around a central black hole as it emits a bright jet

Weighing the mysterious black holes lurking at the hearts of galaxies

June 20, 2023

At the center of nearly all large galaxies in the cosmos sits a supermassive black hole. In new research, a CU Boulder astrophysicist explores what might happen if you put these giants one-by-one on a massive scale.

rendering of small satellite in orbit around Earth

New keen-sighted satellite will view distant stars, assist Webb telescope

June 8, 2023

The new mini-satellite, called MANTIS, will be designed and built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. It borrows its name from the mantis shrimp, an undersea creature with famously powerful eyesight.

Man wearing a lab coat and gloves makes adjustments inside a large metal chamber

Space tractor beams may not be the stuff of sci-fi for long

June 1, 2023

One day, small spacecraft could fly around Earth, using devices called electron beams to remove hulking, derelict spacecraft from orbit without ever having to touch. It may sound like science fiction, but aerospace engineers from CU Boulder say they could be ready to test the idea in space in just five to 10 years.

asteroid covered in shadows with sun in the background

Avoiding Armageddon: Researchers narrow down list of potentially hazardous asteroids

May 31, 2023

The asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) measures about two-thirds of a mile across. It will also remain in Earth's vicinity for much of the next 1,000 years. CU Boulder aerospace engineer Oscar Fuentes-Mu帽oz says its important to study objects like this one to make sure they don't pose a risk to life on our planet.

Pages