Features

The above, mischievous words, “There is life on Mars: we put it there”, are on the part of the renowned NASA Astrobiologist and member of ISU’s faculty, Dr. Chris McKay.  The reality is that we humans, via our early – and unsterile -- Martian landers have already contaminated the Red Planet.  Yes, we have; yes, we have! 

It has been long recognized that space technologies not only benefit space exploration but offer direct and tangible benefits to people on Earth.  Satellites have the capability of observing Earth’s surface from space with constant revisit times.  We have grown reliant on satellites for weather forecasting, military reconnaissance, transportation, agriculture, and many more services

The Space Studies Program (SSP) of ISU is since 1988 a unique intensive nine-week course hosted each year where participants learn about all facets of space. The SSP provides courses in all space disciplines, as well as hands-on education through workshops and professional visits.

What is the easier way to make someone love you? According to many cultures, "the way to  someone's heart is through their stomach". This proverb reflects how much value humans assign to food. While the saying's use takes a somewhat comical tone, there are truths in it that can be applied toward making the space sector more inclusive.

Best Mars rovers from around the world. Inspirational meetings and speeches about space exploration, Mars, the Moon and the Earth. Live connection with famous Dr. Ballard’s expedition exploring the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. These are just a few of the many attractions that await visitors and viewers of the 8th edition of the European Rover Challenge. For those who can’t be in Poland this time there is fantastic news – all debates and lectures accompanying the ERC 2022 will be available live online.

The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) was conceived at UNISPACE III in 1999. The purpose of SGAC was, and remains, to support the United Nations Programme on Space Applications as a representative of university students and young space professionals ages 18-35 across the globe.

While Earth remains engulfed by endless wars, biosphere destruction, and other calamities of biblical proportion, we too, not unlike Don Fabrizio, Tancredi, and Claudia, navigate upheaval again. For us too, this is not an era of change, but a change of era.

If you have ever driven through a pitch-black, rainy night on an unlit country road, you probably have been thankful for the invention of reflective paint. Illuminated by the car's headlights, lane markers and road signs appear magically out of the darkness.

How does the world outside the Space bubble perceive our domain? And what can we do to promote our own sector in a productive, modern and fruitful way? On the 22nd and 23rd of June 2022 the Secure World Foundation 4th Summit for Space Sustainability discussed this profoundly modern issue with a panel of communication and public relations experts.

Imagine walking on a remote beach away from the polluting lights of a city. You look up and see thousands upon thousands of stars blanketing the heavens, bisected by the pale glow of our Milky Way—the galactic disc in which we live. You pick up a grain of sand and hold it at arms’ length to cover a minuscule portion of the night sky. What might lie in that tiny patch?