SPACE/COSMOS
From classroom to cosmos: Students aim to build big things in space
University of Florida
In the vast vacuum of space, Earth-bound limitations no longer apply. And that’s exactly where UF engineering associate professor Victoria Miller, Ph.D., and her students are pushing the boundaries of possibilities.
In partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the University of Florida engineering team is exploring how to manufacture precision metal structures in orbit using laser technology.
“We want to build big things in space. To build big things in space, you must start manufacturing things in space. This is an exciting new frontier,” said Miller.
An associate professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, Miller said the project called NOM4D – which means Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design – seeks to transform how people think about space infrastructure development. Picture constructing massive structures in orbit, like a 100-meter solar array built using advanced laser technology.
“We’d love to see large-scale structures like satellite antennas, solar panels, space telescopes or even parts of space stations built directly in orbit. This would be a major step toward sustainable space operations and longer missions,” said team member Tianchen Wei, a third-year Ph.D. student in materials science and engineering.
UF received a $1.1 million DARPA contract to carry out this pioneering research over three phases. While other universities explore various aspects of space manufacturing, UF is the only one specifically focused on laser forming for space applications, Miller said.
A major challenge of the NOM4D project is overcoming the size and weight limitations of rocket cargo. To address these concerns, Miller’s team is developing laser-forming technology to trace precise patterns on metals to bend them into shape. If executed correctly, the heat from the laser bends the metal without human touch; a key step toward making orbital manufacturing a reality.
“With this technology, we can build structures in space far more efficiently than launching them fully assembled from Earth,” said team member Nathan Fripp, also a third-year Ph.D. student studying materials science and engineering. “This opens up a wide range of new possibilities for space exploration, satellite systems and even future habitats.”
Miller said laser bending is complex but getting the correct shape from the metal is only part of the equation.
“The challenge is ensuring that the material properties stay good or improve during the laser-forming process,” she said. “Can we ensure when we bend this sheet metal that bent regions still have really good properties and are strong and tough with the right flexibility?”
To analyze the materials, Miller’s students are running controlled tests on aluminum, ceramics and stainless steel, assessing how variables like laser input, heat and gravity affect how materials bend and behave.
“We run many controlled tests and collect detailed data on how different metals respond to laser energy: how much they bend, how much they heat up, how the heat affects them and more. We have also developed models to predict the temperature and the amount of bending based on the material properties and laser energy input,” said Wei. “We continuously learn from both modeling and experiments to deepen our understanding of the process.”
The research started in 2021 and has made significant progress, but the technology must be developed further before it’s ready for use in space. This is why collaboration with the NASA Marshall Space Center is so critical. It enables UF researchers to dramatically increase the technology readiness level (TRL) by testing laser forming in space-like conditions inside a thermal vacuum chamber provided by NASA. Fripp leads this testing using the chamber to observe how materials respond to the harsh environment of space.
“We've observed that many factors, such as laser parameters, material properties and atmospheric conditions, can significantly determine the final results. In space, conditions like extreme temperatures, microgravity and vacuums further change how materials behave. As a result, adapting our forming techniques to work reliably and consistently in space adds another layer of complexity,” said Fripp.
Another important step is building a feedback loop into the manufacturing process. A sensor would detect the bending angle in real time, allowing for feedback and recalibration of the laser’s path.
As the project enters its final year, finishing in June of 2026, questions remain -- especially around maintaining material integrity during the laser-forming process. Still, Miller’s team remains optimistic. UF moves one step closer to a new era of construction with each simulation and laser test.
“It's great to be a part of a team pushing the boundaries of what's possible in manufacturing, not just on Earth, but beyond,” said Wei.
European high school students emerge from isolation after groundbreaking explore analog space exploration mission
image:
Angelika (a student from Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece) carries out a solo EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) to search for meteorites using the rover
view moreCredit: Erasmus+ project EXPLORE
This pioneering mission is part of the EXPLORE project, an EU co-funded Erasmus+ program launched in 2023. EXPLORE, short for EXpeditionary Program for Learning OppoRtunities in analog space Exploration, aims to inspire a passion for STEAM subjects in the next generation by bringing the thrill of space exploration into classrooms through immersive simulations of Mars and Moon environments.
A collaborative effort of leading organizations in space education and research, namely the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), NUCLIO, Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EA), and OLA – Observatório do Lago Alqueva, it provides an exceptional opportunity for students to leave their comfort zones and experience life in an extreme, isolated environment.
Project lead Gernot Grömer (OeWF) said: “A simulated Mars mission presents unique challenges – from the cognitive and mental workload to challenges of working in an international, interdisciplinary and intercultural environment, whilst embedded in an immersive tech-dominated setting. Yet these nine students not only faced these conditions head-on but actually thrived on that learning journey with self-discipline, resilience, and a truly impressive level of dedication and enthusiasm. Watch out for this generation of future explorers: they will be the ones that will realize the first actual human Mars mission."
Analog missions, like this one, are critical for preparing for actual space missions. They provide realistic simulations of the extreme conditions found on Mars or the Moon, allowing for the testing of equipment, procedures, and the study of the psychological and physiological effects of isolation on crews. The barren, reddish landscape of the Monsaraz site in summer almost perfectly replicates the terrain of Mars, making it an ideal location for such a simulation.
Rosa Doran (NUCLIO, Chair of COSPAR’s Panel on Education) commented on the mission's impact: “The transformation we observed in these students throughout the mission was remarkable. This type of hands-on, immersive learning experience is crucial for developing essential skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and adaptability. I am looking forward to following the progress of these young people. And let’s not forget their classmates, working behind the scenes to support them, following from a distance, as much a vital part of the mission as the analog astronauts themselves.”
Student analog astronaut Pedro (from Escola Secundária Frei Gonçalo de Azevedo in Cascais, Portugal) shared his experience: "At first in the habitat I was a little nervous, but afterwards it was great. I learned that it is important to follow procedure, and when we work as a team, everything is easier.” He and his teammate Patricia (Portugal) agree: “Science is a topic which connects people, even if they have different opinions on everything else, we can relate to each other easily because of our passion, and EXPLORE is all about that."
Teresa Sousa, a teacher from Escola Secundária Frei Gonçalo de Azevedo in Cascais, Portugal, added: “The EXPLORE project inspires dreams and makes us believe in the best that young people have to give. The students not only deepened their understanding of science and engineering but also developed critical life skills. This extraordinary educational adventure provided them with a first-hand look at the challenges and rewards of space exploration, and I have no doubt it will shape their future paths."
The mayor of the municipality of Reguengos Monsaraz, Marta Prates, was present at the closing of the mission to meet the students that emerged from their habitat, and she visited the Mission Support Centre. Media representatives present had the opportunity to interact with the EXPLORE 1 team, examine the mission toolkits and experience for themselves a little of the life of an analog astronaut through various hands-on activities, including trying on parts of the space suits, as used by the students.
EXPLORE 1 has already received extensive coverage in Portugal’s leading press, such as Público and Forbes Portugal, as well as other major media, including the highest-rated television channel, SIC.
The next EXPLORE mission is scheduled for early summer 2026. Teachers eager to offer their students this life-changing experience in the world of analog missions are encouraged to apply through the EXPLORE website: https://explore-project.eu/join-explore/ .
Opportunities for sponsorship and support are still available for companies seeking visibility in Europe's only open-field Mars simulation station. Innovative companies and institutions can also leverage this unique setting for team-building events, offering clients or employees an unforgettable analog mission experience. Contact alquevahab@oewf.org for more information.
Pedro (a student from Escola Secundária Frei Gonçalo de Azevedo, Portugal) in the habitat, trying to find a solution for a malfunction in the helmet ventilation system.
Credit
Erasmus+ project EXPLORE
Issued by: leigh.fergus@cosparhq.cnes.fr
Website: https://explore-project.eu
Social media: www.facebook.com/EXPLOREprojectEU and www.instagram.com/exploreprojecteu/
Press kit in English
Press kit in Portuguese
Selected photos from EXPLORE 1 mission here.
Please note that photos should be used only in connection with the EXPLORE – EXpeditionary Program for Learning OppoRtunities in analog space Exploration project – an Erasmus+ funded project under Action Type: KA220-SCH – Cooperation partnerships in school education. Grant Agreement nº 2023-1-AT01-KA220-SCH-000154094. Period: September 2023 – August 2026
For any photo used, credit should be given to Erasmus+ project EXpeditionary Program for Learning OppoRtunities in analog space Exploration (EXPLORE).
Meteorological satellites observe temperatures on Venus
The forecast is bright for future, long-term multiband monitoring of planets
University of Tokyo
image:
A photo with magnified sections to show just how small Venus is in the field of view of the observation satellites. Despite this limitation, researchers can still gather useful data. ©2025 Nishiyama et al. CC-BY-ND
view moreCredit: ©2025 Nishiyama et al. CC-BY-ND
Imaging data from Japan’s Himawari-8 and -9 meteorological satellites have been successfully used to monitor temporal changes in Venus’ cloud-top temperature, revealing unseen patterns in the temperature structure of various waves. A team led by the University of Tokyo collated infrared images from 2015–25 to estimate brightness temperatures on day to year scales. The results demonstrate that meteorological satellites can serve as additional eyes to access the Venusian atmosphere from space and complement future observations from planetary missions and ground-based telescopes.
The Himawari-8 and -9 satellites, launched in 2014 and 2016, respectively, were developed to monitor global atmospheric phenomena through use of their multispectral Advanced Himawari Imagers (AHIs). The University of Tokyo team led by visiting researcher Gaku Nishiyama saw the opportunity to use the cutting-edge sensor data for spaceborne observations of Venus, which is coincidentally captured by the AHIs near the Earth’s rim.
Observing temporal temperature variations in the cloud tops of Venus is essential to understand its atmospheric dynamics and related phenomena, such as thermal tides and planetary-scale waves. Obtaining data for these phenomena presents multiple challenges, as Nishiyama explained. “The atmosphere of Venus has been known to exhibit year-scale variations in reflectance and wind speed; however, no planetary mission has succeeded in continuous observation for longer than 10 years due to their mission lifetimes,” he said. “Ground-based observations can also contribute to long-term monitoring, but their observations generally have limitations due to the Earth’s atmosphere and sunlight during the daytime.”
Meteorological satellites on the other hand appear suited to fill this gap with their longer mission lifetimes (the Himawari-8 and -9 satellites are scheduled for operation until 2029). The AHIs allow multiband infrared coverage, which has been limited in planetary missions to date, essential for retrieving temperature information from different altitudes, along with low-noise and frequent observation. Aiming to demonstrate this potential to contribute to Venus science, the team investigated the observed temporal dynamics of the Venusian atmosphere and provided a comparative analysis with previous datasets. “We believe this method will provide precious data for Venus science because there might not be any other spacecraft orbiting around Venus until the next planetary missions around 2030,” said Nishiyama.
The team first established a data archive by extracting all Venus images from the collected AHI datasets, identifying 437 occurrences in total. Taking into account background noise and apparent size of Venus in the captured images, they were able to track the temporal variation in cloud-top temperature during the periods where the geostationary satellite, Venus and the Earth lined up in a row.
The retrieved temporal variations in brightness temperatures were then analyzed on both year and day scales and compared for all infrared bands to investigate variability of thermal tides and planetary-scale waves. Variation in thermal tide amplitude was confirmed from the obtained dataset. The results also confirmed change in amplitude of planetary waves in the atmosphere with time, appearing to decrease with altitude. While definitive conclusions on the physics behind the detected variations were challenging due to the limited temporal resolution of the AHI data, variations in the thermal tide amplitude appeared possibly linked to decadal variation in the Venus atmosphere structure.
In addition to successfully applying the Himawari data to planetary observations, the team was further able to use the data to identify calibration discrepancies in data from previous planetary missions.
Nishiyama is already looking at implications of the study beyond Venus’ horizon. “I think that our novel approach in this study successfully opened a new avenue for long-term and multiband monitoring of solar system bodies. This includes the moon and Mercury, which I also study at present. Their infrared spectra contain various information on physical and compositional properties of their surface, which are hints at how these rocky bodies have evolved until the present.” The prospect of accessing a range of geometric conditions untethered from the limitations of ground-based observations is clearly an exciting one. “We hope this study will enable us to assess physical and compositional properties, as well as atmospheric dynamics, and contribute to our further understanding of planetary evolution in general.”
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Journal article: Gaku Nishiyama, Yudai Suzuki, Shinsuke Uno, Shohei Aoki, Tatsuro Iwanaka, Takeshi Imamura, Yuka Fujii, Thomas G. Müller, Makoto Taguchi, Toru Kouyama, Océane Barraud, Mario D'Amore, Jörn Helbert, Solmaz Adeli, Harald Hiesinger, “Temporal variation in the cloud-top temperature of Venus revealed by meteorological satellites”, Earth, Planets and Space, DOI: 10.1186/s40623-025-02223-8
Funding: This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP22K21344, 23H00150, and 23H01249, and JSPS Overseas Research Fellowship.
The Advanced Himawari Imagers measure Venus’ temperature over multiple infrared bands, showing the temporal variation across the period of observation. ©2025 Nishiyama et al. CC-BY-ND
Credit
©2025 Nishiyama et al. CC-BY-ND
Useful links:
Department of Earth and Planetary Science - https://www.eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/
Graduate School of Science - https://www.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/index.html
About The University of Tokyo:
The University of Tokyo is Japan's leading university and one of the world's top research universities. The vast research output of some 6,000 researchers is published in the world's top journals across the arts and sciences. Our vibrant student body of around 15,000 undergraduate and 15,000 graduate students includes over 5,000 international students. Find out more at www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/ or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @UTokyo_News_en.
Journal
Earth Planets and Space
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Temporal variation in the cloud-top temperature of Venus revealed by meteorological satellites
Article Publication Date
30-Jun-2025
Hungarian astronaut arrives at ISS aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying the crew of the Ax-4 mission, including Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu, docked with the International Space Station on June 27.
The mission, organised by Axiom Space, SpaceX and NASA, is planned to take 14 days and is headed by US astronaut Peggy Whitson. The two other crew members are India's Shubhanshu Shukla and Poland's Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski.
The crew is scheduled to complete nearly 60 scientific experiments during their journey for 31 countries, with special regard to the study of micro-gravity on low Earth orbit. Experiments will also be conducted in the areas of cancer and diabetes research. Fully 25 experiments will be completed under Hungary's Hunor scientific programme to learn more about space and its impacts on humans and various materials.
The 33-year-old astronaut has become the second Hungarian to travel to space, following in the footsteps of Bertalan Farkas, who flew in 1980. Unlike Charles Simonyi, who, as a private space tourist, does not count as part of Hungary’s official astronaut lineage, Kapu's mission marks a significant milestone in Hungary’s state-supported space ambitions.
His journey was made possible by the Hunor Programme, the country’s ambitious national space initiative, launched in early 2020, designed to develop domestic space capabilities and foster international cooperation. It represents a strategic move by Hungary to deepen its role within the European Space Agency and international space missions.
"The space business isn’t out of reach for Hungary," Viktor Orban said commenting Kapu’s mission, adding that the sector that’s growing and offers more and more opportunities, so it’s good if Hungarian private businesses are present and demonstrate with certain symbolic things, like our astronaut, that we Hungarians have a presence in the industry of the future.”
On Sunday, June 29, Hungary’s veteran leader spoke via video link with Tibor Kapu.
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