ASU NASA Space Grant

01/09/2026

ASU’s SPARCS CubeSat: Tiny Telescope, Big Science—Launching Jan 11!

A tiny space telescope about the size of a cereal box is set to make big discoveries. The Star Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), built at Arizona State University in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will launch January 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. SPARCS will study ultraviolet light from flares and starspots on red dwarf stars—key hosts of potentially habitable exoplanets—helping scientists understand how stellar activity shapes planetary atmospheres and the prospects for life beyond Earth.

Read More : https://news.asu.edu/20260108-science-and-technology-asu-built-cubesat-sparcs-spacex-launch-weekend

Watch the Launch
Three missions – SPARCS (Arizona State University), BlackCAT (Pennsylvania State University) and Pandora (Goddard Space Flight Center), are set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday, Jan. 11, at 6:19 a.m. Arizona time (5:19 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, 8:19 a.m. Eastern).
SpaceX will livestream the launch, with a live webcast beginning about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. Watch the broadcast on the Space X website or through X at .

ASU Space Grant participants involved in the project

Current ASU Space Grant Interns
Alec Arcara
Tyler Nielson

ASU Space Grant Alum
Genevieve Cooper
Gabriela Roig

Space Grant ASCEND
Alejandro Reyes Villas

Space Grant Mentors
Danny Jacobs
Judd Bowman
Joe Dubois

A small space telescope roughly the size of a family cereal box — having cleared its pre-shipment review by NASA last spring — is now at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, where it will be readied for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E for a Twilight mission.

05/21/2025

05/20/2025

What an incredible journey for the ASU/NASA Space Grant and ASCEND graduating seniors! It has been a year packed with adventure, discovery, and plenty of cosmic inspiration. Here’s to the Class of 2025 and all the bright futures ahead—may your next mission be just as extraordinary! 🚀✨
Naomi Carl
Kiera Charley
Simon Fronmueller
Amanda Gibbons
Tyler Hinrichs
A***n Jain
Athul Kodancha
Hailey Nelson
Ryan Oppen
Khushi Patel
Jakob Perivolotis
Kadin Pulliam
Namita Shah
Saket Shanbhag
Emily Speckman
Jake Summers

05/07/2025

Arizona State University's graduating seniors.

05/07/2025

Kiera Charley’s educational path began with a ceremonial blessing held at her home on the Navajo reservation. Four years later, it will culminate in a graduation ceremony at a 53,000-seat stadium in Tempe.Her journey has led her around the globe as she evolved from being a shy teenager venturing o...

12/05/2024

Congratulations to 2024-25 ASU NASA Space Grant Intern, Hailey Nelson on winning the 2024 Karin Valentine Science Communication Award.

This award recognizes undergraduate or graduate students in the School of Earth and Space Exploration who demonstrate a passion and ability for science communication. The award will honor the recipient’s efforts in communicating about the Earth and space sciences to a broad audience in an impactful way.

11/22/2024

Are you an ASU STEM student interested in becoming an ASU/NASA Space Grant Intern? Come talk to us Saturday, November 23, 2024 at the ASU Homecoming Block Party starting at 9:30 AM in Zone ST on the Tempe Campus.

11/06/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUya2RUMKHA&t=1s

Students land opportunity to create inflatable lunar pad for NASA
A diverse team of ASU students has been hard at work creating an inflatable lunar landing pad that would enable rockets to safely and successfully land on the moon, as part of NASA's 2024 BIG Idea Challenge. They've been designing, building and testing their prototype for the last few months.

Source: ASU News

The Big Ideas Challenge is funded in conjunction with ASU/NASA SpaceGrant

Will a $150,000 inflatable lunar landing pad created by 16 ASU students actually work? After nearly a year of arduous work designing and building the pad, t...

10/01/2024

Student teams from three U.S. universities became the first to measure what scientists have long predicted: eclipses can generate ripples in Earth’s

05/30/2024

For the past two years, Arizona’s NASA Space Grant program has been involved in the National Eclipse Ballooning Project hosted by Montana State University. Today, the project ended on a high note as team members Ricardo Ontiveros, Courtney Banks, Tyler Derrick, and team lead Jacqueline Do presented at the Stratospheric Ballooning Association’s Academic High Altitude Conference in Minneapolis, MN. Other team members that presented were Andrew Kowlak (University of Arizona), and from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University: Chloe Reed, Somaralyz Grullon and Winona Roulston. These eight students did an outstanding job. Congratulations to you all.

03/21/2024

Are you or someone you know aspiring to be an Astronaut? NASA is now accepting applications for the next generation of astronauts. Apply by Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Astronaut requirements have changed with NASA's goals and missions. Today, to be considered for an astronaut position, applicants must meet the following

10/17/2023