Rice Space Institute

ISS

Ultimate field trip will be out of this world

While it may be virtual, the Rice Space Institute (RSI) has organized the ultimate spring trip for grade school students.

Images of the sun captured by the IRIS mission show new details of how low-lying loops of plasma are energized and may also reveal how the hot corona is created. (Credit: Rice University/NASA)

Scientists get the lowdown on sun’s super-hot atmosphere

Images of the sun captured by the IRIS mission show new details of how low-lying loops of plasma are energized, and may also reveal how the hot corona is created.

A colorized image of Jezero Crater, the target for NASA’s Perseverance rover. Kirsten Siebach, a Martian geologist at Rice University, is one of 13 scientists selected to help operate the rover. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL)

Rice scientist joins next Mars adventure

A Rice University geologist is one of 13 scientists recently selected to operate the Mars rover Perseverance and analyze samples for an eventual return to Earth.

The CanadArm2, a robotic manipulator, has been an essential component of the International Space Station since it was launched in 2001. The successor to the CanadArm that flew on the space shuttle is used to manipulate payloads, including satellites, docking capsules and astronauts. (Credit: NASA)

Rice Space Institute, Canada agree to collaborate

Rice Space Institute and the Consulate General of Canada in Dallas agree to collaborate on science and technology related to the space industry.

A view showing how the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction will appear in a telescope pointed toward the western horizon at 6 p.m. CST, Dec. 21, 2020. The image is adapted from graphics by open-source planetarium software Stellarium. (This work, "jupsat1," is adapted from Stellarium by Patrick Hartigan, used under GPL-2.0, and provided under CC BY 4.0 courtesy of Patrick Hartigan)

Christmas week: Worlds will align for spectacular heavenly sight

Early in the evening of Dec. 21, people the world over will get a chance to see Jupiter and Saturn line up closer together in Earth's night sky than they have been since just before daybreak on the morning of March 4, 1226.

Space X craft launching

SpaceX launch 'historic,’ will pave way for NASA’s moon and Mars plans, Rice space expert says

HOUSTON -- (May 22, 2020) – The Crew Dragon space capsule made by Elon Musk's SpaceX faces a final big test when two astronauts climb aboard for a flight to the International Space Station on Wednesday. "This historic first launch of American astronauts from American soil since 2011 will mark the next stage in U.S. human spaceflight, paving the way for a more versatile and flexible access to the International Space Station," said astronomer David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute.

Artist's depiction of OwlSat in orbit.

Rice satellite OwlSat set to launch in 2022

OwlSat, a small research satellite designed by Rice University students to monitor ultraviolet radiation, is set to launch into orbit in 2022.