SwRI AWARDED NASA CONTRACT TO DEVELOP HIGH-LATITUDE MISSION TO IMAGE THE SUN’S POLES

A Southwest Research Institute proposal to study the Sun’s poles — considered among the last unexplored regions of the solar system — is one of five science investigations selected as a possible future NASA mission.

January 21st, 2021

SwRI INSTRUMENTS ABOARD ROSETTA HELP DETECT UNEXPECTED ULTRAVIOLET AURORA AT A COMET

Data from Southwest Research Institute-led instruments aboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft have helped reveal auroral emissions in the far ultraviolet around a comet for the first time.

Nov 20th, 2020

SwRI STUDY DESCRIBES DISCOVERY OF CLOSE BINARY TRANS-NEPTUNIAN OBJECT

A new study authored by Southwest Research Institute scientists Rodrigo Leiva and Marc Buie reveals the binary nature of a trans-Neptunian object (TNO).

Nov 20th, 2020

SwRI SCIENTISTS EXPAND SPACE INSTRUMENT’S CAPABILITIES

A new study by Southwest Research Institute scientists describes how they have expanded the capabilities of the prototype spaceflight instrument Chemistry Organic and Dating Experiment (CODEX), designed for field-based dating of extraterrestrial materials.

Nov 20th, 2020

SwRI SCIENTIST STUDIES TINY CRATERS ON BENNU BOULDERS TO UNDERSTAND ASTEROID’S AGE

NASA snagged a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu, an Empire State Building-sized body that Southwest Research Institute scientists have helped map with nearly unprecedented precision.

Nov 20th, 2020

SwRI PLANETARY SCIENTIST TO FLY WITH NASA-FUNDED RESEARCH ABOARD COMMERCIAL SPACE FLIGHT

A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) planetary scientist has been chosen to be the first to conduct NASA-funded science experiments while flying aboard a commercial spacecraft, the space agency announced today.

Nov 20th, 2020

TWO SwRI EXPERIMENTS FLY ABOARD BLUE ORIGIN’S NEW SHEPARD SUBORBITAL ROCKET

Two SwRI experiments were aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocket which launched from Van Horn, Texas.

Nov 20th, 2020

SwRI SCIENTISTS STUDY THE RUGGED SURFACE OF NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID BENNU

SwRI scientists have helped determine what the spacecraft can expect to return from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu’s surface.

Nov 20th, 2020

Studying the Solar System through Research and Exploration

Southwest Research Institute's Planetary Science Directorate has over 80 employees and is located in the Exeter Building at 11th and Walnut in downtown Boulder, Colorado.

Areas of research and development:

Space Studies
Planetary Physics
Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces
Lunar Origin and Evolution
Solar Physics
Solar System Dynamics
Astronomy
Computer Systems
Space Operations
Space Technologies
Mission Operations

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), based in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical science research and development organization with over 3000 employees. The Space Science and Engineering Division's goals are excellence in space research and the expansion and deepening of SwRI's space research efforts.

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