The Texas Space Commission approved a $14.2 million grant in February to create the Center for Space Technologies, which will lay the groundwork for systems that could eventually turn the moon's dirt into hand tools or vehicle parts.
The U.S. Space Force likewise approved $8.1 million in funding last month to create the Center for Advanced Space Sensing Technologies. This center, despite its similar name, will be focused on creating cameras that can observe and identify objects in space or on the ground and provide real-time data analysis.
Both centers will be part of the Rice Space Institute. They'll build on the university's history with NASA and draw on expertise cultivated for energy, health care and other sectors. Artificial intelligence will be a crucial part of both centers' research.
"We're basically using the strengths across campus to now focus on some of the key problems in the space world," said David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute.
The funding comes as multiple space initiatives are gaining momentum.
NASA's Artemis Program is working to create a sustained, long-term human presence on the moon. The U.S. Space Force is continuing to mature. Commercial companies own and operate a wider variety of space hardware. And scientists hope new telescopes will answer long-standing questions about the universe.
"If you look at what's going on in this industry, it's pretty remarkable," said Amy Dittmar, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Rice. "There is this awe-inspiring moment at the same time as there's this very practical and pragmatic need for broader and more workforce development."
Other universities are also addressing these needs in Houston.
Texas A&M University is building a new facility near NASA's Johnson Space Center. This building will recreate the moon and Mars so scientists and engineers can test tools, robotics and other hardware before sending them into space.
The University of Houston opened the Aerospace Innovation in Mechanics and Materials lab last year. This provides advanced fabrication and vacuum testing to create deployable space structures and autonomous robotics. New faculty members are also expanding UH's research into inflatable space structures and other areas.
"It's really a changing dynamic in the space world," Alexander said, "and I think universities are awakening to more of that and stepping up and providing some of the solutions."
Rice University is where President John F. Kennedy gave his famous "we choose to go to the moon" speech. It began the nation's first dedicated space science department in 1963 and placed six instruments on the moon, including one with a small university pennant that jokingly claimed that portion of the moon for Rice, according to the university.
A Rice researcher used NASA's Voyager spacecraft in the 1980s to unlock new insights on the heliosphere, which is a protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the sun. In the 2000s, the university partnered with NASA to incorporate nanotechnology into the space sector.
Rice has made space research an even higher priority in the past five years as the university sought to differentiate itself and lean into topics relevant to Houston, said David Sholl, executive vice president for research at Rice.
He said the two centers announced this year validate and continue the university's long history. They also expand the Rice Space Institute's focus — it already has a center for planetary science and astronomy — to low-Earth orbit and the moon.
The Rice Space Institute may add a human health and performance project in the not too distant future.
"Now, we're spanning quite a wide range," Alexander said. "It gives us the reputation that not only do we have good faculty, good students, but we can actually deliver on some of the more important problems."
CENTER FOR SPACE TECHNOLOGIES
The Center for Space Technologies, or CSTx, will be led by C. Fred Higgs III, whose NASA-funded Particle Flow & Tribology Laboratory has been turning simulated dirt for the moon and Mars into 3D printed objects, including a drill bit and tiny Rice owl statue.
He hopes the new center will open this summer, though Rice is still finalizing grant details with the Texas Space Commission. Higgs said the center will expand his lab's work and focus on developing the technologies that will later enable in-situ resource utilization and manufacturing, which he described as "living off the land."
These research and development programs could include 3D printing with simulated dirt, advancing the robotic technologies needed for long lunar missions, studying autonomous decision-making and safe human-robot interactions, and combining artificial intelligence and machine learning with video footage to autonomously determine when rovers or habitats need to be repaired.
Most of this research will be led by Rice, but it's also partnering with the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Prairie View A&M University.
The center also has funding to enhance workforce development. Rice will use the money to start two training certificate programs for current engineers and technical professionals. Texas A&M International University will start a pre-college space engineering program, and San Jacinto College will start a new space workforce education program.
"All of this is driven by enabling a space economy and a space industry to form," Higgs said.
CENTER FOR ADVANCED SPACE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES
Alexander will lead the Center for Advanced Space Sensing Technologies, or CASST, which will have its official kickoff meeting at the end of April.
This center is working to develop state-of-the-art camera systems and new techniques to make them smaller.
It will also use artificial intelligence to sift through massive amounts of data to find and relay only the most relevant pieces of information for human decision-making.
Alexander said the center's technology could help the Space Force increase its observational capabilities to protect personnel and equipment on the field or satellites in space. It could also track space debris, which circles the planet and poses a risk to satellites or crewed spacecraft.
"It's about monitoring the environment and determining what's there," Alexander said. "How is it moving? Is it moving in a threatening way? Is it moving in a natural way?"
The center's partners include the University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Santa Barbara; Georgia Institute of Technology and the Houston-based space and technology company Aegis Aerospace.
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