Rice University and NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) will host the International Space University’s (ISU) 2024 Space Studies Program, an intensive, eight-week summer program for professionals in space-related fields.
The Space Studies Program will be held June 8 to Aug. 3 at Rice’s campus, a location deeply rooted in the annals of space exploration.
“Rice is privileged to be a partner in pursuits related to space exploration and to be part of a historic collaboration with NASA that supports some of the world’s most important research and educational outreach,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “Hosting the International Space University on Rice’s campus will be a great opportunity to amplify the work that is being done worldwide in the space exploration field and to strengthen existing partnerships and build new ones.”
Held annually since 1988, the Space Studies Program provides an expansive curriculum tailored for professionals at various junctures in their space careers. Participants take courses across all space disciplines, participate in workshops and meet with professionals in the industry. Multidisciplinary projects that address current and future challenges in the space sector are a unique highlight of the program and ensure participants garner perspectives that redefine their outlook on global space activities.
Rice and JSC partnered to host the program in Houston in 1997.
“This continuing collaboration resonates with NASA’s and JSC’s strategic objectives guiding the future of space exploration and the Artemis program” and helps foster international collaboration, ISU President Pascale Ehrenfreund said.
“Rice’s engagement with space exploration is legendary,” said David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute and a professor of physics and astronomy. “From hosting President John F. Kennedy’s historic 1962 speech where he boldly stated, ‘We choose to go to the moon,’ to being the first academic institution to lay the foundation for a dedicated space science department, to the current work of the Rice Space Institute, Rice’s continues to be a world leader in space research and exploration.”
Founded in 1987, ISU is based in Strasbourg, France, and is the world’s only university devoted entirely to space education. ISU has U.S. and Asia-Pacific hubs, partnerships with leading space organizations and 5,400 alumni from 110 countries who include astronauts, entrepreneurs and current and former space industry and government leaders.