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BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — Bluefield State University students Gabrielle Justice and Danaye Walters have been selected to serve as NASA West Virginia Space Grant Ambassadors for the 2026–2027 academic year.

Justice and Walters were chosen from a strong statewide pool of applicants. As ambassadors, they will help promote NASA WV Space Grant opportunities, connect fellow students with available programs and support STEM outreach efforts across West Virginia.

“We congratulate Gabrielle and Danaye on earning this opportunity to represent Bluefield State University,” President Darrin Martin said. “Their selection reflects their commitment to STEM education and their willingness to help other students discover opportunities that can shape their academic and professional futures.”

The NASA WV Space Grant Ambassador program engages students from participating colleges and universities in promoting educational, research and career opportunities connected to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Read the full article on blackbygod.com

Original Post Date: 8.18.2026

Author Credit: BBG

Image Credit: Black By God (BBG)

Moo Muhammad, a Computer Science student, is shooting for the stars, rising from a ride-share driver who once lived in his car to become the winner of a highly competitive scholarship. He’s the latest recipient of the NASA Delaware Space Grant, which awards $5,000 in tuition to an outstanding undergraduate.

“While NASA Space Grant awards have traditionally been associated with the natural sciences, this award highlights the growing role of computer science and interdisciplinary STEM education,” says Dr. Milton Muldrow Jr., dean of the College of Sciences and Engineering.

As part of the NASA Space Grant program, Wilmington University receives federal funding to provide undergraduate STEM, Computer Science, and Cybersecurity students with hands-on experience in aerospace and earth-science projects. The NASA consortium also includes the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical College, Swarthmore College, and Villanova University.

Muhammad is the first WilmU student in recent years to be awarded the Space Grant. He completed an associate degree in Cybersecurity at Philadelphia Community College, where he earned a 4.0 grade point average and gave the 2024 commencement address.

“Receiving this NASA grant is both an honor and a tremendous opportunity,” he says. “I’m grateful for the support and excited to gain experience that will help prepare me for a career in computer science.”    

Author Credit: Eileen Smith Dallabrida

Image Credit: Wilmington University

Original Post Date: 8.17.2026

Read the full article on blog.wilmu.edu

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls Falcon Rocketeers were named Grand Champion of the 2026 NASA Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Collegiate Rocket Launch Competition, held April 24-25 at Richard Bong State Recreational Area in Kansasville. The team received a $3000 prize and a VIP Tour of Sierra Space in North Freedom.

“I am very happy with the rocket team’s performance,” said Team Lead Brook McLaird, a senior physics major from Kansas City, Kan. “We put in a lot of work throughout the school year and I am so pleased that it paid off!”

The team worked on the project from September through May, designing and building the rocket, reporting on their progress, participating in the launch competition and producing a final report after the launch.

“We have to write four reports and create two presentations,” McLaird said. “The judges use these reports to not only make sure we are planning and building a safe rocket but also assess our time management, project management and teamwork.”

The teams are judged on their reports and presentations as well as the performance of their rocket at the launch event. The rocket launch is judged on altitude, design challenge success and safety. This year’s design challenge was to stabilize the rocket in flight and have it rotate 90 degrees clockwise, hold for five seconds and rotate back 90 degrees counterclockwise, then deploy all parachutes and land without being damaged. This year’s rocket reached an altitude of 3,600 feet, the highest of all 10 teams in the competition and 1,000 feet higher than the Falcon Rocketeers’ third place finish in 2025.

Read the full article on riverfallsjournal.com

Author Credit: UWRF

Image Credit: Contributed Photo | River Falls Journal

Original Post Date: 7.7.2026

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – Twenty-seven students from Benjamin Franklin Middle School are heading to Richmond to receive awards for their research in the Plant the Moon Challenge. They used simulated lunar soil called regolith to find out the best conditions for growing plants.

Two teams, The Mean Greens and MoonShrooms, were recognized as Overall Best in Show middle school teams for Virginia under the NASA Space Grant Regional Expansion Project.

The Mean Greens were also recognized as the Top Middle School Virginia team within the state awards and Overall Best in Show for the middle school international awards under the Plant the Moon program.

Austin Fletcher, captain of The Mean Greens, said he didn’t expect to win anything.

“I didn’t think we were going to win anything at all, honestly,” Fletcher said.

The students never competed with the mindset of winning. They just wanted to take part in the research.

Read the full article on wdbj7.com

Author Credit: Neesey Payne

Image Credit: WDBJ7

Original Post Date: 5.15.2026

 | The Texas A&M University System is quickly building one of the most expansive university-led space enterprises in the United States. From microbes floating in orbit to a $200 million lunar training ground rising next door to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, A&M System members are advancing astronaut training, radiation protection, satellite engineering, autonomous systems, and workforce development. Together, they are helping position Texas and the United States at the forefront of the next era of space exploration while preparing the workforce needed to sustain it. 

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SPACE INSTITUTE 

The Texas A&M University Space Institute will be the centerpiece of the A&M System’s growing space enterprise. Set to open in fall 2026, the first-of-its-kind research facility is rooted in collaboration, discovery, and training, bringing government entities and private-sector partners together under one roof to perform space-related research side by side. The institute is being built in NASA’s Exploration Park, a 240-acre property adjacent to Johnson Space Center in Houston, and will be the first tenant in that development. It is funded through a $200 million initial investment from the State of Texas, part of a $350 million space and aeronautics package approved by the Texas Legislature in 2023. 

The 400,000-square-foot facility will house the world’s largest indoor lunar and Martian surface simulations, high-bay laboratories, research garages, and multifunctional project rooms. It is led by Director Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg, a former astronaut with four space shuttle missions and roughly 1,000 hours in space, alongside Associate Director Dr. Robert Ambrose. Early private-sector partners include lunar-rover developer Venturi Astrolab and lunar-lander company Intuitive Machines. When it opens its doors, the Space Institute will support applied research and development, planetary science, mission concept development and training, and workforce development, establishing Texas as the global leader in advancing humanity’s future in space. 

Read the full article on news.tamus.edu

Author Credit: The Texas A&M University System

Image Credit: The Texas A&M University System

Original Post Date: 6.1.2026

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 26, 2026) — When NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts on a path around the moon — farther from Earth than any humans have traveled in decades — the world watched in awe.

Yet, one of the most critical parts of the journey remained invisible.

For a team of faculty, staff and students in the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering at University of Kentucky, that unseen work is their expertise.

Artemis II shows how research — right here in Kentucky — is helping address one of human spaceflight’s most dangerous challenges: surviving the fiery return to Earth.

“Whatever kinetic energy you have coming back from the moon has to go somewhere,” Alexandre Martin, Ph.D., professor of aerospace engineering and director of the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium and NASA EPSCoR programs, said.  “And most of it becomes heat. Without a heat shield, there is no safe return.”

On this edition of “Behind the Blue,” researchers share how their work made the “Mission to the Moon” possible — offering an inside look at the innovation behind heat shield technology and the role UK plays in advancing it.

Read the full article on uknow.uky.edu

Author Credit: Lindsey Piercy and Kody Kiser

Image Credit: Photo Courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls

Original Post Date: 5.26.2026

1. Toennisson TA, Horton TB, Rueckeis S, Chiera J, Cho S, Perera IY, Doherty CJ.Building and operating a low-cost elevated carbon dioxide growth chamber to evaluate microgreen physiology under spaceflight-relevant CO₂ levels.J Vis Exp. 2026 Apr 17;(230):e70050.PI: C.J. DohertyNote: From the abstract: “This protocol describes how to construct and operate a small, low-cost growth chamber capable of maintaining extreme carbon dioxide (exCO₂) levels for plant experiments.”

   Journal Impact Factor: 1.2

   Funding: “This research was funded by NASA grant number (80NSSC23K0344) and an undergraduate NC Space Grant fellowship awarded to Samantha Rueckeis.”

Congratulations to NC NASA Space Grant Research Fellow, Samantha Rueckeis!

Read the full article on astrobiology.com

Author Credit: Keith Cowing

Image Credit: NASA KSC | Astrobiology.com

Original Post Date: 5.12.2026

Two Elon University students have been chosen for the NC Space Grant Undergraduate Research Scholarship, a highly competitive program that helps students gain hands-on research experience aligned with NASA Mission Directorates.

Cayden Tirak ’28 and Myka Thomas ’27 are the second and third Elon students to receive the award, following Jules Levanti ’25 in 2024. Tirak is also the youngest Elon student to receive the award.

“It is really exciting to have won this grant, and the funding will be able to help me take this research project further,” said Tirak, who is an astrophysics major and Honors Fellow studying “green pea galaxies” and the black holes at their center. “Being able to say I won a research grant for my undergraduate project is a huge privilege and will help me in the future pursue my dreams of doing research as a career.”

Read the full article on elon.edu

Author Credit: Elon University News Bureau, staff

Image Credit: Elon University | Today at Elon

Original Post Date: 6.15.2026