UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A team co-led by the Penn State Student Space Programs Lab (SSPL) has been selected as one of 70 teams to participate in the 2023-24 Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP), co-sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

According to its website, the goal of NEBP is to launch scientific balloons nationwide during the October 2023 and April 2024 solar eclipses to collect and analyze data, while also providing learning opportunities and experiences for STEM college students from several higher education institutions. NEBP, which also operated during the 2017, 2019 and 2020 total solar eclipses, has an engineering track and an atmospheric sciences track. As participants on the engineering track, the SSPL-led team will integrate three payloads, which will operate before, during and after the eclipses: a NASA payload that will live-stream video to the NASA eclipse website, a payload designed by SSPL to measure atmospheric conductivity in situ and a payload designed by Lincoln University that will detect solar wind.

Read the full article on PSU.edu here.

Read more about the NEBP here.

Author Credit: Sarah Small

Six University of Alabama at Birmingham students have been awarded NASA Alabama Space Grant Consortium research scholarships.

Under the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, the Alabama Space Grant Consortium is a supportive network of seven research universities and institutions in the state of Alabama. Operating under the primary mission of motivating and inspiring the next generation of aerospace researchers, the program seeks to educate promising undergraduate students in the fields of space science and technology.

Read the full article on UAB.edu here.

Author Credit: Micah Hardge

Image Credit: UAB.edu

Throwback Thursday!

Can studying sleeping Arctic ground squirrels help astronauts and further NASA’s mission? Dr. Kelly Drew and her students studied hibernating squirrels and their ability to retain muscle and bone mass during extended hibernation and they think it could apply to astronauts.

Drew, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska was awarded funds though through NASA Space Grant. Through the Alaska Space Grant Consortium, over 200 students and faculty have had the opportunity to further their research in areas such as – code and testing of autonomous systems, cameras to detect free electrons, and studying various characteristics of glaciers.

Read the full article on NASA.gov

Image Credit: Credits: Todd Paris, University of Alaska

Author Credit:

Veronica Wilson
Space Grant Liaison

KINGSTON, R.I. – May 18, 2023 – Nine students at the University of Rhode Island are the recipients of NASA R.I. Space Grants for this summer and/or next fall. The research grants are awarded by the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium.

Miguel Alessandro Lopez, Aubrey Laity, Julie Maurer, Katie Roche and Michelle Stage were awarded Graduate Student Fellowships, while undergraduates Samantha Adams, Oliver Carey, Charles McInerney and Sophia Motta received research scholarships from the program.

Read the full article on The University of Rhode Island’s “Rhody Today”

Author & Image Credit: Tony LaRoche | Rhody Today

The NASA Space Grant Consortium, a nationwide effort started by NASA to increase interest and engagement in STEM and space studies in K-12 and university students, invited students with visual impairment from the North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind for a tour of the University’s comprehensive Space Studies facilities on May 1.

The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium, a part of NASA’s consortia, is housed in UND’s Clifford Hall and seeks to connect Space Studies students and faculty with NASA expertise and research.

Read the full article on the UND Today website.

Image Credit: Photo by Walter Criswell/UND Today.

Author Credit:

Arkansas Space Grant Consortium grant awarded to SAU Chemistry and Agriculture Departments – Is a Martian greenhouse possible?

The Arkansas Space Grant Consortium board voted to fund Dr. Gija Geme, Dr. Tim Schroeder of chemistry, and Dr. Copie Moore of agriculture on a joint venture to explore the feasibility of growing crops such as soybeans, corn, lettuce, kale, and more, in a Mars soil simulant that is improved with fertilizer to add micronutrients. The team received $50,000 from NASA funding through Arkansas Space Grant Consortium in the spring of 2023.

Read the full article on the Southern Arkansas University News website.

Author Credit: #SAU

Image Credit: NASA.gov

The sky is not the limit! Five GCU students were awarded NASA NJ Space Grants for undergraduate research for the 2022-2023 academic school year. Each student received a $2,000 stipend from NASA for space-related research projects, guided by a faculty member in their respective fields which span across the sciences, including the social sciences. Facilitated by the grant, these research projects are conducted on-site at Georgian Court University.

Casey Korman, a junior from Sayreville, NJ majoring in Exercise Science on the pre-occupational therapy track, has worked with a team to study The Effects of Blood Flow Restriction on Peak Power and Electromyography. She has conducted her research alongside four other students – Mathias Madersbacher, Joseph Liberatore, Joseph Sauchelli, and Gabriele Balkius – all under the guidance of Vincent Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Exercise Science. Casey served as the student leader of the team.

Read the full article on Georgian.edu here.

Author Credit: PSC (Princeton Strategic Communications)

Image Credit: Georgian Court University

The Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) has announced Dr. Sara D. Nelson as its new director. The NASA-supported agency is part of Iowa State’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and works to improve and inspire Iowa’s involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.

Nelson has previously served as the ISGC as NASA Iowa EPSCoR interim director and assistant director for education and outreach. Nelson also holds a faculty position in Iowa State’s School of Education and conducts research in STEM education and uses her expertise to work alongside the Iowa 4-H Youth Development Program, developing STEM educational programs and STEM literacy outreach across the state of Iowa.

Read the full article on the ISU website here.

Author Credit: John Burnett-Larkins

Image Credit: Iowa State University College of Engineering News

Seven university teams were selected to develop concepts supporting metal production on the Moon in NASA’s 2023 annual Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge: Lunar Forge.

The awards total about $1.1 million, with values between $120,000 and $180,000 based on each team’s proposed concept. The challenge is a unique collaboration between NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s (STMD) Game Changing Development (GCD) program and NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Space Grant Project.

Read the full article on NASA.gov.

Image Credit: NASA/Advanced Concepts Lab

Article Credit: Editor: Loura Hall