Arizona/NASA Space Grant Consortium

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Arizona/NASA Space Grant Consortium

We are a NASA-sponsored organization dedicated to promoting STEM education in Arizona.

Our consortium, led by a statewide team of managers and affiliate representatives, is part of The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, established by Congress in 1989. Space Grant contributes to the nation's science enterprise by implementing research, education and public service projects through a national network of university-based Space Grant consortia. Nationally, the Space Grant network has 830 affiliate members from academia, industry, government agencies, the military and nonprofit institutions. 31 of these are partners of Arizona's Space Grant Consortium.

09/21/2026

Join us this Thursday for the Rising Above Roadblocks panel, where professionals will share the pivots, unexpected wins, and real-world experiences that shaped their careers. Roadblocks are part of the journey, come hear how others navigated them, adapted, and found their way forward!

All ages welcome, you do not need to be 21+ to attend.

09/18/2026

Alumni in Action: Michael Klooster at NASA Johnson Space Center!

In Summer 2021, Michael Klooster was awarded an internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, funded through the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Prescott Space Grant program. The internship provided Michael with valuable hands-on experience and an opportunity to begin building his career in the space industry.

Since then, Michael has graduated from ERAU with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and joined NASA Johnson Space Center, where he worked as a BME Flight Controller for NASA's Artemis II mission. Michael worked within the Artemis Crew Health Team to develop procedures and integration for crew health care systems on the Orion spacecraft, monitoring the crew health system hardware/software, and responding in real time in the NASA Mission Control Center.

Reflecting on his journey, Michael says, “It was truly the experience of a lifetime. I believe AZ Space Grant was a massive component in helping me obtain that position.”

Photos provided by Michael Klooster.
Photos 1-4: Michael Klooster in Mission Control with team after Artemis II splashdown on April 10, 2026. Photos 5-8: Michael Klooster at work with BME Flight Controller team.

09/17/2026

Introducing the NAU/NASA Grad Fellow, Erin Clark!
What is Erin studing?
"Where is the water in the asteroid belt? I am investigating a rare subset of asteroids in the main belt that behave like comets. These main belt comets (MBCs) have tails and comae, and could have a water-ice inventory. Less than 50 of these objects have been discovered, and certainly more exist. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time will observe 5 million asteroids, giving us a large dataset to find more of these rare objects. However, humans alone cannot analyze such a data volume. With this motivation I utilize algorithmic tools such as machine learning to identify cometary behavior on asteroids in large datasets, to increase our catalog of main belt comets and inform where water-ice exists in the asteroid belt."☄🌌🛰

09/16/2026

🚀 Kicking off the new academic year with UA Space Grant!

Last week, interns, mentors, graduate fellows, and UA Space Grant management came together for a fun evening of networking, connection, and learning more about the people and projects that make this year’s program so exciting. 🌟

After a great networking hour, we headed over to Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium for a showing of Dark Biosphere. 🌌 It was a blast and a great way to start the new academic year!

A big thank you to everyone who joined us—and to Flandrau for hosting us! 🔭

📸 Here we are in front of Flandrau’s James Webb Space Telescope mirror wall, featuring a life-size model of JWST’s primary mirror.

09/15/2026

Join CEFNS Career Development and the NAU/NASA Space Grant for the Rising Above Roadblocks panel, where professionals will share the pivots, unexpected wins, and real-world experiences that shaped their careers. Roadblocks are part of the journey, come hear how others navigated them, adapted, and found their way forward!
All ages welcome, you do not need to be 21+ to attend.

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09/11/2026

🌕🚀 Help Build the Future of Lunar Communications!

NASA’s 2027 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) is calling on U.S. college teams to develop innovative solutions for reliable communications on the Moon. 📡

Teams can tackle challenges in:
🔹 Space-rated wireless networks & antennas
🔹 Data efficiency & link optimization
🔹 Intelligent network management
🔹 Lunar surface & orbital communications architectures

🏆 Prizes:
Up to 12 Phase 1 teams: $9,000 each
🥇 1st: $10,000
🥈 2nd: $5,000
🥉 3rd: $3,000

🎓 Open to students at accredited U.S. colleges and universities.

📅 Notice of Intent deadline: October 15, 2026

Could your team help connect astronauts, rovers, habitats, and the Moon Base? 🌙📡

Learn more at: https://hulc.nianet.org/

09/10/2026

🎈 Want to send your experiment to the edge of space?
The High-Altitude Student Platform (HASP) is inviting student teams to apply for a payload seat on the 2027 flight! 🚀
HASP gives students the opportunity to fly their own experiments to approximately 120,000 feet (36 km) aboard a zero-pressure scientific balloon—reaching the stratosphere for around 10 hours.
It’s an incredible opportunity between traditional balloon flights and Earth-orbiting satellites, with payload seats that include:
🔹 In-flight power
🔹 Downlink telemetry
🔹 Command uplink
🔹 Remote monitoring
The platform can accommodate 24 student payloads:
• 16 Small payloads
• 8 Large payloads
📅 Important deadline:
Notice of Intent (NOI) due October 9, 2026
Student teams will need to develop a proposal outlining their experiment, science goals, team structure, and technical specifications. HASP provides the flight opportunity but does not provide financial support for student teams.
Ready to take your research to the stratosphere? 🎈🌎✨
Learn more and start preparing your proposal for the 2027 HASP flight!
https://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp/

09/09/2026

Applications are now OPEN for the 2026/2027 AAS Student CanSat Competition!

The AAS Student CanSat Competition is an international student design-build-launch competition that challenges students to put their technical skills, teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving abilities to the test.
STUDENTS: How to Compete
• Assemble Your Team: Teams may consist of undergraduate students, graduate students, or a combination of both. All team members must be enrolled at the same university.
• Secure a Faculty Advisor: Teams need a school staff member to help advise and guide them through the competition.
• Apply and Compete: Submit your team application by November 1, 2026, to be considered for eligibility.

Application Deadline: November 1, 2026

Learn more and apply at: https://cansatcompetition.com/

09/08/2026

The 2027 NASA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition is seeking US-based collegiate teams to develop innovative concepts that improve our ability to build the Moon Base while advancing the technologies needed for expanded operations at the lunar South Pole.

The 2027 competition will focus on four exciting themes:
Enabling Extreme Exploration: Design long-duration, rapid, and autonomous lunar traverse systems that can explore the extreme environments of shadowed craters and high mountains on the Moon.
Transit Pathway Construction: Design a scalable integrated system to build and maintain enduring transit pathways on the Moon, supporting a variety of traffic, power, data, and consumables.
Lunar Resource Exploration: Design an exploration campaign for discovering and exploring volatile and mineral resources on the Moon, from measurement requirements to system operations.
Smart/Resilient Lunar Habitat: Design a lunar surface habitat that is primarily manufactured, assembled, and outfitted on the Moon.

Submit your notice of intent to participate by October 13th! Learn more at: https://rascal.nianet.org/

08/31/2026

🚀 The Arizona Space Grant team is in Omaha, Nebraska, for the National Space Grant Meeting!

A huge thank you to the Nebraska Space Grant Consortium for hosting us in your beautiful city! 🌽✨

We’re excited to connect with our Space Grant partners from across the country, learn about exciting programs and opportunities we can get involved with, hear the latest on NASA priorities and directives, and—of course—catch up and network with old friends! 🤝

We’re looking forward to a great meeting filled with collaboration, new ideas, and plenty of inspiration. 🚀🌎

Address

1629 E University Boulevard
Tucson, AZ
85721

Website

https://spacegrant.arizona.edu/

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