Current Missions
The UT Center for Space Research is a leader and innovator in mission planning, design, and execution of spacecraft, aircraft, and ground-based campaigns. CSR expertise has led, supported and enhanced many missions that have improved our knowledge of complex processes ranging from how the Earth’s system operates to exploring questions regarding fundamental physics.
Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2)
NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2), was launched successfully on 15 September 2018, and is currently collecting critical measurements of the Earth system.
Surface, Topography and Vegetation (STV)
STV science goals call for exploring next-generation measurement approaches that could be ready for spaceborne implementation within the decade.
NASA Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) Program
Space-based laser altimetry has revolutionized our capacity to characterize terrestrial ecosystems through the direct observation of vegetation structure and the terrain beneath it.
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on (GRACE-FO)
Since its launch, the GRACE-FO mission has continued the measurement of variations in the Earth’s gravity field, and is providing datasets that enable scientists to develop an even deeper understanding of long-term global climate processes.
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment – Continuity (GRACE-C)
After two highly successful missions to measure the Earth’s time variable gravity (GRACE and GRACE-FO), NASA announced a successor mission called GRACE-C to continue the legacy of its predecessors in collaboration with German Aerospace Agency (DLR).