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.ĚýLearn more about the latest in space research and science at CU Boulder.
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nasa satellite black holes

CU Boulder to lead operations for NASA black holes mission

Jan. 11, 2017

CU Boulder students and professionals from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics will operate the satellite for an upcoming NASA mission to investigate exotic astronomical objects like black holes, neutron stars and pulsars.

solar storms Earth atmosphere

Researchers dial in to 'thermostat' in Earth’s upper atmosphere

Dec. 14, 2016

Researchers have found Earth's upper atmosphere has a natural thermostat that dramatically cools the area after powerful solar storms bring on the heat.

student space gardening

Sky-high harvest: Space gardening for astronauts

Nov. 18, 2016

Graduate student Heather Hava has received several national awards for her research on developing new research tools for growing and maintaining fruits and vegetables in a space environment. And she wouldn't mind being among the first astronauts to reap the benefits of gardens grown in the low gravity of space.

Supermoon

Let’s just call it a 'Supermoon Monday'

Nov. 15, 2016

Nov. 14, 2016 Right before sunrise on Monday, something really super is going to happen. That’s when we’ll be treated to a “super, supermoon” – a full moon at its closest distance to Earth - but one that’s even more spectacular than usual, says Matt Benjamin with CU Boulder Fiske...

NOAA satellite CU Boulder space weather

Ready for launch: Instrument suite to assess space weather

Nov. 10, 2016

Solar flares could damage satellites, trigger radio blackouts and even threaten the health of astronauts by penetrating spacecraft shielding. That's why scientists are on a quest to better understand space weather, and a soon-to-launch instrument package will help.

galaxy

Galactic close encounter leaves behind 'nearly naked' supermassive black hole

Nov. 4, 2016

A team of astronomers, including one from CU Boulder, used the super-sharp radio vision of the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to find the shredded remains of a galaxy that passed through a larger galaxy, leaving only the smaller galaxy's nearly-naked supermassive black hole to emerge and speed away at more than 2,000 miles per second.

Mars Maven mission water escape

MAVEN scientists observe ups and downs of water escape from Mars

Oct. 19, 2016

A NASA mission to Mars led by CU Boulder has shown that water escaping from the planet's atmosphere is driven in large part by how close it is to the sun.

Mars is seen in ultraviolet images throughout the day.

MAVEN mission gives unprecedented view of Mars

Oct. 17, 2016

New global images of Mars from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission being led by CU Boulder show the ultraviolet glow from the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail, revealing dynamic, previously invisible behavior.

MAVEN's Imaging UltraViolet Spectrograph obtained this image of Mars on July 13, 2016, when the planet appeared nearly full when viewed from the highest altitudes in the MAVEN orbit. The ultraviolet colors of the planet have been rendered in false color, to show what we would see with ultraviolet-sensitive eyes. The ultraviolet (UV) view gives several new perspectives on Mars.

NASA’S MAVEN spacecraft celebrates one Mars year of science

Oct. 3, 2016

Today, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission, which is being led by the University of Colorado Boulder, completed one Mars year of science observations. One Mars year is just under two Earth years.

International Space Station

BioServe Space Technologies: CU Boulder's presence on the International Space Station

Sept. 28, 2016

If you gaze at the night sky from Earth in just the right place, you will see the International Space Station (ISS), a bright speck of light hurtling through space at 5 miles per second as it orbits 220 miles above the planet. And if you were an astronaut floating around inside the station, you would see high-tech hardware and experiments designed and built at CU Boulder.

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