Two Newly-Funded Research Projects

Dr. Ron Fevig is working on two newly-funded research projects. The first involves near-Earth object space mission design, and is being funded by a faculty seed grant through ND NASA EPSCoR. Dr. Fevig is working with two thesis-track, and several other Space Studies distance students on this effort to design a spacecraft that collects critical data on an asteroid which poses a threat to Earth. During the 2011-2012 academic year, two new on-campus Space Studies students will receive GRA funding through ND NASA EPSCoR to work on this project. The second newly-funded research project involves ionospheric studies using satellite radio occultation data. Dr. Fevig and a thesis-track on-campus student, Kajli Agrawal, are using the COSMIC satellite dataset to look at phenomena in the E-region of Earth’s ionosphere. This a collaborative effort with the Department of Earth System Science and Policy, under the auspices of their Center of Excellence in Space Technology and Operations. The Center is funded jointly from both the ND Dept of Commerce, and private sector partners, including GeoOptics Inc., of Pasadena CA.