Texas Space Grant is excited to announce two new affiliates joining our program: LeTourneau University and the Texas Rural Education Association.
NASA Space Waste Revolution Challenge Applications Open
As we venture farther into space and establish a long-term presence, managing waste becomes critical. Current methods of discarding or burning waste upon re-entry are not sustainable for lunar missions.
NASA is seeking contributors for a groundbreaking research initiative focused on recycling polymer waste in space environments. Selected participants, working individually or in teams, will research cutting-edge recycling technologies, analyze market landscapes, and develop recommendations for NASA’s space sustainability initiatives.
Application deadline: May 16
2025 Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) Summer School
Applications are now open for the 2025 Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) Summer School. The school’s goal is to train students in the theory and concepts of incoherent scatter radar and allows for hands-on opportunities to design and run experiments at ISR facilities. This year’s school will focus on high-latitude/auroral observations using the Poker Flat ISR (PFISR) as a part of the NSF supported Geospace Facility.
Application deadline: March 20, 2025
Kibo Robot Programming Challenge – Call for U.S. Teams
The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) hosted by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, invites U.S. teams of students to create programs to move free-flying robots known as Astrobees on the International Space Station. The competition presents tasks/obstacles for high school and college students to solve using the space station’s Kibo module as a game space.
U.S. Preliminary rounds, conducted by NASA, are now open.
The submission deadline is May 12th.
Design Challenge Participant Awarded Brooke Owens Fellowship
A TSGC Design Challenge participant has been selected as one of three Texas undergrads to enter the 2025 Brooke Owens Fellowship class. Cat-Linh Tran, a senior Mechanical Engineering major from Rice University and a member of Rice’s Artemis Owls Design Challenge Team, is one of 44 undergrads chosen for the highly competitive fellowship. In addition to Tran, two undergrads from TSGC educational affiliates were also selected: Heavyn Porter from The University of Texas at Austin and Montserrat Hernandez from the University of Texas El Paso.
The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a nationally acclaimed program that aims to recognize exceptional undergraduates in space and aviation. Fellows are matched with an executive-level mentor in the aerospace industry who will support and work with the Fellows to help launch their careers.
Click below to read more about their internship selections, inspirations, and more:
THIS MONTH IN SPACE
MAR 1, 2013
SPACEX DRAGON GOES TO THE SPACE STATION
SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is the first commercial vehicle to carry externally mounted cargo to the space station.
MAR 6, 2009
KEPLER LAUNCHES
The NASA spacecraft Kepler was launched. Its mission is to search for planets outside our solar system, in a distant area of the Milky Way.
MAR 13, 2025
TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
On the night of March 13-14, 2025, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from Earth, and North America which will also feature a “Blood Moon.”
MAR 16, 1966
FIRST SPACE DOCKING
Gemini 8 launched on March 16 with astronauts Neil Armstrong & David Scott. The mission accomplished the first docking of two spacecraft when Gemini 8 docked with an unmanned Agena target vehicle launched earlier the same day.