UCLA: A Space Odyssey
Since 1963, eight Bruins have flown into space. Today, UCLA scientists are creating a new constellation of Bruin brilliance.
space sciences
Results
The Odyssey Continues ...
A Nobel Prize winner, a tribute to Walt Cunningham, a new space medicine fellowship and more.
Alvine Kamaha receives American Physical Society award
The professor researches radioactive contaminant control programs and calibration techniques to improve sensitivity of dark matter detectors.
Celebrate Star Trek Day the Bruin way
Sept. 8 is the anniversary of the TV show’s debut. We asked 2 UCLA scholars to talk about the generation-spanning galactic phenomenon.
Stratospheric cooling: The concerning flip side of global warming
UCLA-led research finds human-generated greenhouse gases are responsible for the troubling changes in the upper atmosphere.
Planetary defense test deflected an asteroid but unleashed a boulder swarm
A UCLA-led study of NASA’s DART mission determined that the strategy presents previously unanticipated risks.
This Bruin is headed for the Space Force
During her four years at UCLA, Sam Vi-Tang found her calling — and friends she will never forget.
Astrophysicists confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe
The small, distant galaxy JD1 is typical of the kind that burned off hydrogen fog left over from the Big Bang.
Study could help solve mystery of the disappearing twins
A UCLA-led team of astronomers found, surprisingly, that there are no young binary stars near the Milky Way’s black hole.
Earth-like planets may be an inevitability
A UCLA-led study looks at how water might be formed by planets across the galaxy and why Earth-like planets may be common.
A mysterious object is being dragged into the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s center
Research by UCLA and Keck Observatory scientists concluded that the object, X7, could be a debris cloud from a stellar collision.
UCLA-led study explains how one of Saturn’s moons ejects particles from oceans beneath its surface
“Enceladus is giving us free samples of what’s hidden deep below,” says Ashley Schoenfeld, a UCLA doctoral student.
Are we alone in the universe? UCLA astronomers enlist the public to find out
Anyone with a computer or smartphone can help scientists classify radio signals that could reveal existence of intelligent life elsewhere.
How a 3 cm glass sphere could help scientists understand space weather
A study by UCLA physicists overcame the effects of Earth’s gravity, simulating conditions on other planets and stars.
How was the solar system formed? The Ryugu asteroid is helping us learn
UCLA scientists have discovered that minerals were being produced through reactions with water more than 4.5 billion years ago.
Marsquake!
Seismic waves from the largest marsquake ever detected revealed possible past meteoroid impact.
Webb Space Telescope reveals birth of galaxies, how universe became transparent
Studies led by UCLA astrophysicists shed light on how hydrogen fog burned away after the Big Bang.
Space medicine: Future interplanetary travel will depend on it
UCLA’s Dr. Haig Aintablian, campus’s first space medicine fellow, will have a role in shaping the next generation of flight physicians.
Bye, ELFIN: As UCLA’s first student-built satellites meet their fiery demise, the science lives on
Two CubeSats monitoring space radiation since 2018 have returned to Earth as shooting stars, next generation is coming.
First underground radar images from Mars Perseverance rover reveal some surprises
The rover’s RIMFAX instrument, co-led by UCLA’s David Paige, has found unexpectedly tilted rock layers beneath the Jezero crater.
UCLA scientists discover places on the moon where it’s always ‘sweater weather’
People could potentially live and work in lunar pits and caves with steady temperatures in the 60s.
How UCLA’s Alvine Kamaha helped build the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector
Thanks to the physicist’s expertise, the LUX-ZEPLIN has begun its hunt for the universe’s most elusive particles.
Dead star’s cannibalism of its planetary system is most far-reaching ever witnessed
UCLA-led research on a white dwarf 86 light-years from Earth sheds light on the systemic chaos that occurs when a star dies.
Q&A: Space physicist Jacob Bortnik on the new UCLA SPACE Institute
The UCLA professor speaks about why even non-scientists should be intrigued by space research and how the new organization will foster scholarly collaboration.