The North Carolina Space Grant (NC Space Grant) is soliciting proposals from accredited colleges and universities within North Carolina to join the consortium. For more information, please see the 2010 NC Space Grant Expansion RFP.

NC Space Grant News Archives The Final Frontier - A discussion about space history and exploration - 27 Aug 2010 Several panelists recently spoke about space history and the challenges of space exploration with Host Frank Stasio of WUNC-FM's The State of Things. Dan Reichart, associate professor of astrophysics at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill; Marc Lange, Bowman and Gordon Gray Professor of Philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill; Chris Brown, Director of the North Carolina Space Grant Consortium; Todd Boyette, Director of Morehead Planetarium and science fiction writer David Drake joined in a discussion of the wonders of the universe on a program entitled The Final Frontier. FAA Design Competition - 25 Aug 2010 The FAA is offering a Design Competition for Universities for the 2010-2011 academic year. The categories of Airport Operations and Maintenance, Runway Safety/Runway Incursions, Airport Environmental Interactions and Airport Management and Planning embrace many engineering, science, information technology, psychology and management disciplines. The Competition is open to individual and student teams at U.S. colleges and universities (undergraduate and graduate), working under the mentorship of a faculty advisor. Winners earn cash awards and 1st place winners may present their designs at a national aviation venue in summer 2011. A notice of intent is strongly encouraged. The Competition guidelines and many resources are posted here. Second Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition - 23 Aug 2010 NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate is pleased to announce the Second Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition. “Design It, Build It, Dig It” will be held May 23-28, 2011 at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. More information about the Lunabotics Mining Competition and the application link are available at: www.nasa.gov/lunabotics and on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Lunabotics An Open Letter to College Students from Robert Braun, NASA Chief Technologist - 13 Aug 2010 Nearly fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy spoke to a large college audience and asked them to join him on a grand challenge, one that was chosen not for its simplicity, but for its audacity. In the following seven years, those college students, and thousands of young professionals from around the nation, responded to the President's call. As our next generation of technologists, scientists and engineers, you are this country's future. We need your innovative ideas, your passion, your dedicated efforts, and your technological solutions. What future will you create? Read the full letter here.
Aero/Space Top Stories Labor Day Weekend for Astronauts: Space Toilet Cleaning and Exercise - 02 Sep 2010 The astronauts aboard the International Space Station won't be throwing any burgers on the grill this Labor Day, but at least they'll get the holiday off. Asteroid Diversity: Mixed Bag of Space Rocks Found Near Earth - 02 Sep 2010 A new survey of asteroids near Earth shows these space rocks are a mixed bag, with some shiny and bright, others dark and dull. Supernova Blast Wave Could Shape Galaxy Evolution - 02 Sep 2010 A new glimpse of a well-known supernova could provide new clues about how dying stars affect their surroundings. On Months-Long Missions, How Durable Is An Astronaut's Mind? - 02 Sep 2010 Volunteers in Russia are approaching the three-month mark in their record 520-day Mars spaceflight simulation. Meanwhile, researchers will continue to pay close attention to how the six volunteer 'astronauts' physically and psychologically cope throughout the mock mission to the red planet.		NASA Image of the Day Orbital Sunrise - 02 Sep 2010 The Expedition 24 crew on the International Space Station photographed this image of polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by an orbital sunrise. Polar mesospheric, or noctilucent ('night shining'), clouds usually are seen at twilight, following the setting of the sun below the horizon and darkening of Earth's surface. Occasionally the station's orbital track becomes nearly parallel to Earth's day/night terminator for a time, allowing the clouds to be visible to the crew at times other than the usual twilight because of the station's altitude. This photograph shows polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising, rather than setting, sun at center right. Low clouds on the horizon appear yellow and orange, while higher clouds and aerosols are illuminated a brilliant white. Polar mesospheric clouds appear as light blue ribbons extending across the top of the image. The station was located over the Greek island of Kos in the Aegean Sea (near the southwestern coastline of Turkey) when the image was taken at approximately midnight local time. The orbital complex was tracking northeastward, nearly parallel to the terminator, making it possible to observe an apparent 'sunrise' located almost due north. A similar unusual alignment of the ISS orbit track, terminator position and seasonal position of Earth's orbit around the sun allowed for this striking imagery of over the Southern Hemisphere. Image Credit: NASA