Lessons Learned in Advancing Academic Space Science Programs

The ability to economically launch small satellites (Cubesats) is opening up many new space-based opportunities. In academia this is enabling to space program creation through classroom problem-based learning (PBL) exercises where student groups of all abilities are able to explore questions related to space and technology. While modest investment of funds and resources opens this pathway quickly, a more substantial teaching and training experience reveals itself as the academic program evolves along space science and engineering disciplines. This paper discusses some of the programmatic and technical challenges inherent in advancing academic space research from a PBL exercise to a sustainable space science program, where the science and engineering interactions become important supportive elements of a more complex and challenging endeavor. Reference is made to two academic programs: the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), and the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) – a US academic space research institute. Using experiences and lessons learned from both, suggestions are offered to establishing and evolving an academic space program.