What say, this year, we analyze glacier-carved ridges where life could have existed on Mars? On it.
Plan for a Rubik’s-cube-sized satellite to fly to the International Space Station? Ponder the discovery of water on the Moon? Check. And check.
Explore Saturn’s dust-darkened moon Titan to look for ingredients for life in its methane rain and water-ice crust? Count us in.
And if you toss in the discovery of exomoons in distant solar systems, a contract to build vision tech for a moon rover, some meteor-spotting and an asteroid sighting you have just a sampling of the kind of year it’s been for Western Space.
In its first full year in 2020, the Institute for Earth & Space Exploration became recognized as one of the leading authorities for all things terrestrial and extra-.
Whether it was helping NASA understand how astronauts can get along during a long, cramped flight to Mars (answer: choose crewmates with conscientiousness as their top personality trait) or inspiring young astronauts to careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), 2020 saw some of Western’s brightest stars shine brightly.
A study co-authored at Western Space showed astronauts working together in space need personality traits such as conscientiousness.
