Space & Space Resources


As the aerospace industry continues to expand, Colorado School of Mines is preparing the next generation of aerospace professionals to shoot for the stars - no aerospace engineering degree required.
Chris Tolton and Ken Liang, who also founded space startup Orbital Mining Corp., developed power storage and transmission solutions for lunar exploration.
Colorado School of Mines alumni are routinely sought out by and hired into the aerospace industry, despite Mines not offering a dedicated bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
If a tool breaks in space, the solution isn’t as easy as popping down to the hardware store to buy a new one. Mines researchers are conducting NASA-funded research that could lead to 3-D printing bioplastics in space for tool repairs and more.
Colorado School of Mines has qualified for the finals of NASA’s 2024 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) Competition. The Capstone Design student team, comprised of seven mechanical engineers and three
KFF Fellows each receive $12,000 in unrestricted funding to support their pursuit of careers in research.
The Ice Diggers will be one of six teams facing off head-to-head this spring at a NASA-designed test facility to see which prototype lunar excavation rover performs best.
Front Range Team, which includes Mines students Kenneth Liang and Chris Tolton, was one of eight groups named winners in the second and final round of the NASA Entrepreneurs Challenge 2023.
Mines researchers are partnering with Lunar Outpost to compete in the NASA Break the Ice Challenge.
If humans are going to establish a long-term presence on the Moon, they’ll need resources – and more than just water and oxygen. They’ll need metals, minerals and other materials sourced not only from Earth but also the lunar surface itself.