Dendrochronology at Bemidji State University
It is often uncommon to find field-based teaching in the study of ecology. At Bemidji State University, undergraduate students in the Center for Sustainability Studies are given the opportunity to learn material, such as patterns in the growth rings of trees to interpret environmental changes, through hands-on learning. This allows the students to learn landscape […]
Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars
On Feb. 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance Rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars. The car-sized rover is set to have a mission duration of at least one Mars year, which is about 687 Earth days. Perseverance is tasked with seeking out signs of ancient life and collecting rock and soil samples for possible return […]
Midwest High-Power Rocketry Competition Cancelled for 2020-2021 Academic Year
Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and uncertainties in Minnesota (and around the country), the Space Grant Midwest High-Power Rocketry Competition for the 2020-2021 school year needed to be cancelled. We are optimistic that by late summer 2021 we will be able to propose a new competition for the 2021-2022 academic year. Stay tuned!
Researching Spectroscopic Characterization of Low-Mass Stars at Carleton College
At Carleton College, students Freja Olsen and Adam Ickler developed and tested methods for measuring the chemical abundances of nearby low-mass stars using high-resolution spectra from the Habitable Zone Planet Finder. Their techniques, implemented in modular Python programs, have enabled the measurement of atomic absorption lines with improved precision, and are currently being extended to […]
NASA’s Artemis Team Returning to the Moon
NASA recently created the Artemis Team, which is a group astronauts from diverse backgrounds that are planning to walk on the Moon in 2024. This mission will involve the first ever woman to walk on the lunar surface and will be focused around scientific objectives. Furthermore, this mission will prepare NASA for their next large […]
Collecting a Sample from the Bennu Asteroid with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Touch-And-Go (TAG) spacecraft launched on Sept. 8, 2016, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and it plans to return to Earth in 2023 with a surface sample from the asteroid titled “Bennu.” OSIRIS-REx is expected to make contact with on Bennu and it is tasked with gathering 2 ounces of regolith from […]
Researching Experimental Plasma Physics at Concordia College
Amy Ott (’21) and Noel Geiger (’22) worked with Dr. Matthew ArchMiller in developing computational tools to support experimental plasma physics. While developing these tools, the students became proficient in Python programming with emphasis placed on specific techniques that are useful for physical modeling. Amy wrote a spectral analysis program that allows the user to […]
Dr. Demoz Gebre-Egziabher
Director of the NASA Minnesota Space Grant Consortium. Demoz Gebre-Egziabher is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
NASA Launched Perseverance Rover to Mars on July 30, 2020 – will land on Feb. 18, 2021
At 4:50 a.m. PDT on July 30, NASA successfully launched the Perseverance rover from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Perseverance rover was launched on a ULA Atlas 541, which should carry it to the Jezero Crater on Mars where the rover will proceed to explore the landing site region for one […]
Minnesota Space Grant Involved in Mars-Themed Pre-College Robotics Competition
In the summer of 2020 a “Minnesota-Modified” Rover Observation and Drone Survey on Mars (MN-ROADS) student challenge was held with multiple middle school groups from the Minneapolis Public School District. Over the course of six weeks student teams worked with teachers and MnSGC higher education teaching assistants to learn how to code mBot robots then […]