The future of research and technology at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is expanding Wednesday, as Kennedy’s center director and charter members in the Florida University Space Research Consortium signed a memorandum of understanding in research and development to assist with missions and contribute to NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.

Officials from the consortium – designated in 2024 as the state’s official space research entity – NASA leaders, and guests participated in the signing ceremony held at Kennedy, marking a critical milestone in a partnership to advance research, technology development, education, and communication between the spaceport and the state’s growing space industry.

“Through this agreement, NASA will benefit in new and exciting ways from our longtime partnership with the universities that make Florida shine,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “As we move deeper into this golden era of space exploration, a new generation of thinkers and leaders will lead the way – thinkers and leaders like the researchers, faculty, and students of the Artemis Generation, whom we are pleased to work with through the consortium.”

The creation of the consortium was the result of more than a year of effort by leaders at Kennedy, the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The agreement highlights the partnership and serves as the official start to partnering activities, with Florida now the only state with a university consortium affiliated with one of NASA’s centers.

Present at the event was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. “It was great to visit the Space Coast Jan. 8 to announce the Florida University Space Research Consortium—our state’s official space research entity. Home to a thriving aerospace industry and world-class higher education institutions, Florida is the ideal place to launch this initiative. We are primed to lead the nation in developing a blueprint for state-space partnerships into the future.”

The mission of the consortium is to foster a symbiotic relationship between NASA Kennedy and Florida’s universities to drive innovation in space exploration, research, and technology through academic collaboration, joint projects, and workforce development.

“The launch of the Florida University Space Research Consortium is a significant milestone for our state’s aerospace sector, bringing together our world-class education system with cutting edge research and development,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez. “This consortium will undoubtedly further strengthen and deepen Florida’s position as the leader in the global aerospace economy.”

The memorandum of understanding marks the dawn of a new era of cooperation between the Florida spaceport and the state’s university system, starting with the three charter universities with plans to expand to other state universities interested in participating. The push to enhance research and technological collaboration with universities has been a priority at NASA for years and has seen success at other NASA centers across the country.

While Kennedy becomes the first NASA center affiliated with a university consortium, recently NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley partnered with University of California, Berkeley, on development of the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park, located at Ames. Still in development, the project is envisioned as a 36-acre discovery and innovation hub to include educational spaces, labs, offices, student housing, and a new conference center. More recently, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston teamed up with Texas A&M University to break ground on a building that will become a testing laboratory for apparatuses in development for NASA’s Moon to Mars plans. In attendance for the groundbreaking was Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro, who was one of the signatories on the agreement.

“This agreement is a shining example of what it looks like when we link arms and create a space for the whole to be greater than all our parts,” said Petro. “This symbiotic partnership makes way for collaborative research opportunities and increased exposure to advanced technology, significantly enhancing NASA’s research output in fields such as aerospace engineering, materials science, robotics, and environmental science, all of which are necessary for long-term human exploration as we learn to live and work deeper into space than ever before.”

For more information about NASA Kennedy, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy

Defeating dust may be a small concern for most people on Earth, but for astronauts and spacecraft destined for the Moon or Mars, it is a significant hazard that must be mitigated. That’s why researchers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are seeking innovative ways to use the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) technology.  

The EDS technology is headed to the Moon as part of the agency’s Artemis campaign. This innovative technology will be demonstrated on the lunar surface, where it will use electrical forces to lift and remove lunar regolith, or dirt, from various surfaces.

This dust-mitigating technology is one of 10 payloads aboard the next lunar delivery through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, set to launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday, Jan. 15, with Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lander.

Using transparent electrodes and electric fields, EDS technology can lift and remove dust from a variety of surfaces for space applications ranging from thermal radiators, solar panels, and camera lenses to spacesuits, boots, and helmet visors. Controlling and removing the charged dust will be critical to the success of Moon missions under the agency’s CLPS initiative and Artemis campaign.  

“For these CLPS and Artemis missions, dust exposure is a concern because the lunar surface is far different than what we’re used to here,” said Dr. Charles Buhler, lead research scientist at the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at Kennedy. “Lunar regolith dust can get into gaskets and seals, into hatches, and even into habitats, which can pose a lot of issues for spacecraft and astronauts.”  

Unlike dust particles on Earth, dust on the Moon’s surface is sharp and abrasive – like tiny shards of glass – because it hasn’t been exposed to weathering and elements like water and oxygen.  

“Simply brushing lunar regolith across surfaces can make the problem worse because it’s also very electrostatically charged and highly insulating,” Buhler said.  

Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA aims to be one of many customers on future flights. EDS was funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development Program (GCD).

Learn more about. CLPS and Artemis at https://www.nasa.gov/clps.