Design Challenge Returns Live!
The Design Challenge Showcase is only a week away! Our Showcase will feature 19 college teams from across the state of Texas presenting their research and models. Returning again for the Fall Showcase, TSGC will be livestreaming the presentations through our YouTube channel!
To learn more about our 19 teams and their projects, click here.
To watch the Showcase live, head over to our YouTube channel.
Plant the Moon Opens Spring Applications
NASA is heading back to the Moon and will explore more of the lunar surface than ever before! This Challenge asks high school and college students to test what nutrients, fertilizers, or other modifications to the regolith are needed to grow nutrient-rich, sustainable food sources for future astronauts.
Space Grant funding applications are due December 4th. Learn more here.
ROSES-24 Announces FINESST Proposal Search
Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science Technology (FINESST F.5) is looking for proposals for graduate student-designed and performed research projects relevant to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. FINESST awards are research grants for up to three years at up to $50k per year.
Proposals are due February 5th, click here to learn more.
NASA Seeks Applicants For New Competition, NASA LunaRecycle
NASA’s LunaRecycle competition focuses on the design and development of recycling solutions that can reduce solid, inorganic waste and improve the sustainability of longer-term lunar missions. The competition spans over two phases over around three years with two competition tracks: prototype build or digital twin.
To learn more about NASA’s newest competition, click here.
Design Challenge Speaker Announced: Dr. Douglas Terrier
Texas Space Grant is happy to announce the speaker for the Fall 2024 Design Challenge: Dr. Douglas Terrier. Terrier serves as the Associate Director for Vision and Strategy at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and is a senior leader in the Center Director office.
Terrier is responsible for leading the strategy, creation, integration, and overall execution of Johnson’s ongoing transformation initiatives revolutionizing the center’s policies, plans, and processes around workforce, facilities, and products to advance human spaceflight. He provides executive and functional leadership to expand the center’s collaboration across the agency, industry, academia, and international community, to ensure alignment with NASA’s strategic plan and missions. Terrier serves as overall change advocate and decision maker for the major center transformation goals and ensures both horizontal and vertical coordination and alignment with the agency and across center organizations.
Prior to his current position, Terrier was NASA’s Chief Technologist serving as the principal advisor to the NASA administrator on technology policy and investment strategy, and advocate for technology with Congress, the White House, industry, academia and other federal agencies. He previously served as Johnson’s chief technologist, advising the center director on technology, and acting as the center point of contact for the agency Chief Technologist and the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Terrier also served as the deputy director of Johnson’s Strategic Opportunity and Partnership Development Office, as well as associate director of engineering, where he led teams responsible for design and development of spacecraft for NASA’s human space exploration program.
Terrier worked in the commercial aerospace sector for a total of 23 years with Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and General Electric Aircraft Engines. He was responsible for international business development for Lockheed Martin in the Asia/Pacific region, supporting major successful campaigns including the Australian Joint Strike Fighter campaign, which was worth $12B; and the Singapore F-16 Peace Carvin Program, worth $4B. Terrier managed Lockheed Martin’s executive strategy team in their successful bid for the Department of Defense’s Joint Strike Fighter program, worth $500B.
As an engineering project manager for Lockheed Martin, Terrier led several highly successful Department of Defense development projects on flight programs including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter international variants and block upgrade program; the F-22 Raptor fighter program; the A-12 Lightning program; the National Aerospace Plane; and several classified programs.
Terrier earned a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas. He was awarded a Doctor of Science honoris causa from the University of Warrick in England for his work in organizational strategy. He also completed the Carnegie Mellon Graduate School of Industrial Management program with the Lockheed Martin Leadership Institute. Terrier holds patents for his work in aerospace propulsion and has published numerous technical papers. He earned the Lockheed Martin “Outstanding Technical Achievement” award on four occasions, several NASA “Superior Technical Accomplishment” awards, and the NASA Leadership medal.
THIS MONTH IN SPACE
NOV. 9, 1967
Apollo 4 LAUNCHES
Apollo 4 was the uncrewed first test flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle – the rocket that would take astronauts to the Moon.
NOV. 14, 1971
MARINER 9, FIRST SPACECRAFT TO ORBIT ANOTHER PLANET
NASA’s Mariner 9 Orbiter would go on to map 85% of the Martian surface and send back more than 7,000 pictures.
NOV. 19, 1969
APOLLO 12 LANDS ON THE MOON
Apollo 12 was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon.
NOV. 26, 2011
CURIOSITY ROVER LAUNCHES
Curiosity, the largest rover at its launch, set out to answer the question: Did Mars ever have the right environmental conditions to support small life forms? Early in its mission, Curiosity’s scientific tools found chemical and mineral evidence of past habitable environments.