Author: mbabcock9

From deserts in Arizona to salty lakes in Canada, these environments give scientists an idea of what Mars and Jupiter’s moons might be like.

The surface is covered with fine ash. The lava fields stretch for miles, punctuated only by basalt mountains. But life could be found here if you look hard enough.

This barren land isn’t Mars or Pluto, but volcanic deserts in Iceland. The environment is so comparable to Mars’ arid landscape that researchers can use it as an analog. From Earth, they can extrapolate how planets in our galaxy and beyond could sustain life and what tools humans might need to make homes on these planets.

Georgia Tech researchers explore everywhere from Oregon’s mountaintops to Arizona’s deserts to better understand space — and life on this planet.

Click here to read the full article.

Jud Ready always wanted to be an astronaut.

“From first grade forward, that’s what I planned to do,” said Ready, principal research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and adjunct professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering. “While studying engineering in college, I realized I didn’t want to build the spaceship. I wanted to work inside the spaceship.”

Glenn Lightsey, interim director of Georgia Tech’s Space Research Initiative, had similar aspirations. Both men tried to follow their dreams to the stars. But life presented them with alternative plans.

Read the full story here.

The comet made a close approach to Earth around Halloween, offering a rare and spectacular celestial event.

Read the article by Dr. James Wray, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology here.

Lisa Yaszek, Regents’ Professor of Science Fiction Studies, shares her insights on Georgia Tech’s recent event, Spacefunk! A Science Fiction Reading Meet ‘N’ Greet.

https://research.gatech.edu/spacefunk-building-futures-full-color-georgia-tech-across-atlanta-and-around-world

Thomas G. Roberts, a postdoctoral fellow in International Affairs at Georgia Tech explained it to The Conversation. 

https://theconversation.com/both-harris-and-trump-have-records-on-space-policy-an-international-affairs-expert-examines-where-they-differ-when-it-comes-to-the-final-frontier-238289

Minor in Quantum Sciences and Technology (Available Now!)

In response to the explosion of research, development, investment, and employment opportunities in quantum information science taking place across academia, national labs, and private industry, the Georgia Tech School of Physics is now offering a new undergraduate Minor in Quantum Sciences and Technology.

Major in Astrophysics (Coming Summer 2025!)

The Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics degree provides comprehensive and rigorous training in the fundamental physical processes and laws that govern planetary systems, stars, galaxies and the Universe as a whole. In addition to these core topics, the degree includes training in computational techniques and data analysis that can be applied to a variety of disciplines.

To learn more about the new major and minor, and to see the required coursework, view the full story here.

Across Georgia Tech, researchers are exploring the universe — its origins, possible futures, and humanity and Earth’s place in it. These investigations are the efforts of hundreds of astrobiologists, astrophysicists, aerospace engineers, astronomers, and experts in space policy and science fiction — and all of this work is brought together under the Institute’s new Space Research Initiative (SRI).

The SRI is the hub of all things space-related at Georgia Tech. It connects research institutes, labs, facilities, Schools, and Colleges to foster the conversation about space across Georgia and beyond. As a budding Interdisciplinary Research Institute (IRI), the SRI currently encompasses three core centers that contribute distinct interdisciplinary perspectives to studying space.

To learn about all of the research centers supported by the SRI, and to read the full story, click here.

“Most space mission systems historically have used one spacecraft designed to complete an entire mission independently. Whether it was a weather satellite or a human-crewed module like Apollo, nearly every spacecraft was deployed and performed its one-off mission completely on its own.”

To learn more, you can read the full story here.

A Georgia Tech alum has emerged after living in a simulated Mars habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston for the past year.

Read More Here