Texas Space Commission Awards Grant to Rice University
Austin, TX – The Texas Space Commission (TSC) announced a Space Exploration & Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF) grant of up to $14,154,767 has been awarded to Rice University for creating the Center for Space Technologies.
The Center for Space Technologies will be within the Rice Space Institute (RSI) and will advance targeted research and development focused on advancing sustainable lunar exploration objectives as well as In-Situ Resource Development & Utilization (ISRDU) for NASA’s Artemis program. The project is intended to enable technology transfer and workforce training while strengthening collaboration between academia, industry, and government partners across Texas. Other institutions of higher education identified to participate in this project include San Jacinto College, Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M International University, The University of Texas at El Paso, and the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley. One non-profit named as a participant for this project is the Boys & Girls Club of Laredo.
This grant award will strengthen Texas’ leadership in space research and innovation while supporting the continued growth of the state’s commercial space sector and long-term participation in emerging cis-lunar markets.
TSC funding will reimburse eligible expenditures for research, development, and equipment as well as other direct costs associated with the project. This grant has a proposed termination date of October 31, 2029.
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About Rice University
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering and computing, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy and Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Internationally, the university maintains the Rice Global Paris Center, a hub for innovative collaboration, research and inspired teaching located in the heart of Paris, and Rice Global India in Bengaluru, India. With 4,776 undergraduates and 4,104 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked in the top 10 for best quality of life by the Princeton Review. Learn more.
About the Texas Space Commission
Established by the 88th Texas Legislature in 2023 through House Bill 3447, authored by Rep. Greg Bonnen, M.D., the Texas Space Commission advances innovation in the fields of space exploration and commercial aerospace to strengthen the state’s proven leadership across civil, commercial, and military domains. To date, the total appropriation made by the Legislature for the SEARF Trust is $450 million. Learn more.
Contact
To submit a media inquiry to the Texas Space Commission, please send an email to: TSCPressInquiries@space.texas.gov