New Horizons Scientist Measures Brightness of our Galaxy

A new study led by Southwest Research Institute determined the brightness of the galactic Lyman-alpha background using a SwRI-developed instrument aboard NASA’s Kuiper Belt space probe, New Horizons.

Nov 23, 2021

NASA Selects SwRI-LED Cubesat to Assess the Origins of Hot Plasma in the Sun's Corona

NASA has selected the CubeSat Imaging X-Ray Solar Spectrometer (CubIXSS), led by SwRI, to measure the elemental composition of hot, multimillion-degree plasmas in the Sun's corona.

Nov 5, 2121

Team Produces a New Earth Bombardment Model

SwRI led team has updated its asteroid bombardment model of the Earth with the latest geological evidence of ancient, large collisions.

Oct 21, 2021

Colliding Worlds: How Cosmic Encounters Shaped Planets and Life

Dr. Simone Marchi explores in a new book (Colliding Worlds, Oxford University Press, 2021) the key role that collisions in space have played in the formation and evolution of our Solar System, the development of planets, and possibly even the origin of life on Earth.

Oct 7, 2021

Alan Stern named AGU Fellow

Dr. Alan Stern has been named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

Sep 28, 2021

John Spencer named Fellow of the AGU

Dr. John Spencer has been named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Sep 28, 2021

Mission to Jupiter's Trojan Asteroids Begins Final Preparations for Launch

The Lucy spacecraft will undergo final testing and fueling prior to launch during a 23-day launch period starting Oct 16th, 2021.

Aug 2, 2021

SwRI Team Zeros in on Source of the Impactor that Wiped out the Dinosaurs

The impactor believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs and other life forms on Earth some 66 million years ago likely came from the outer half of the main asteroid belt, a region previously thought to produce few impactors.

Jul 27, 2021

PUNCH Mission Advances Towards 2023 Launch

The Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission achieved an important milestone, passing its latest NASA review and entering the final mission design phase with a new launch-readiness target of October 2023

Jul 27, 2021

SwRI Awarded Lunar Lander Investigation Contract

To advance understanding of Earth's nearest neighbor, NASA has selected three new lunar investigations, including a payload suite led by SwRI.

Jun 21, 2021

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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