New FireSat Set to Transform Wildfire Detection and Response

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
Chris Ruf with students
The first prototype of the FireSat constellation launched into low-Earth orbit in March, paving the way for a large network of satellites that will help enhance wildfire detection, mitigation and response around the world. The entire constellation will eventually consist of 50 satellites that will use infrared cameras to detect and track wildfires from space. They will also use a next-generation Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) receiver that can measure soil and vegetation moisture based on how the surface reflects GPS microwaves, harnessing signals already bouncing off the Earth from navigation satellites.

SPAR Set Its Sights on the Future of the Institute

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
SPAR meeting
The SPAR Institute was formed to develop spacecraft that can “maneuver without regret,” with funding from the U.S. Space Force, and is set to bring fast chemical rockets together with efficient electric propulsion powered by a nuclear microreactor. As the eight universities and 14 industry partners and advisers come together to tackle the initiative, the SPAR Institute is now one of the nation’s largest efforts to advance space power and propulsion.

Small, Faint and ‘Unexpected in a Lot of Different Ways’: U-M Astronomers Make Galactic Discovery

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
galaxy
A discovery made by a team led by researchers at the University of Michigan tugs at the seams of some key cosmic lessons we thought we had learned from our own galaxy. This dwarf galaxy, named Andromeda XXXV and located roughly 3 million light-years away, is forcing astronomers to rethink how galaxies evolve in different cosmic environments and survive different epochs of the universe.

“Former NASA Rocket Scientist Aisha Bowe to Make History as Crew Member on Blue Origin’s First All-Woman Spaceflight”

Posted on by U-M Space Institute

In an article for BecauseOfThemWeCan.com, Aisha Bowe, a U-M Climate & Space alumna, talks about her announcement that she will be part of Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission, making history as one of six women flying together on the 11th human spaceflight of New Shepard. She was featured in the article “Former NASA Rocket Scientist Continue Reading »