Space Science celebrates 50 years at Rice

A reunion marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of Rice’s Department of Space Science drew more than 170 alumni and current and former faculty and staff April 11-12. The celebration included a reception, a series of academic talks, a banquet and dancing. Though the Department of Space Science merged with Physics in 2000, Rice’s rich history of space science research, discovery and education continues in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. To date, Rice’s space science program has attracted more than 100 faculty and research staff, produced more than 240 Ph.D.s, been academic home to more than a dozen current or future astronauts, developed eight instruments that are now on the moon, overseen countless rocket launches into the aurora and played a key role in developing the Hubble Space Telescope, the Cassini probe and many other spacecraft missions. (Photo by Lanie Anderson)