Housed within Research, Innovation and Impact, Space4 is a group of researchers with trusted and demonstrated expertise in science and engineering.
Together, we are committed to ensuring responsible, peaceful, and sustainable access to and exploration of all orbital regimes in the Earth-Moon system for future generations.
We love what we do and invite you to engage with Space4.
Orbital space around Earth has become congested and competitive. The Space4 Center is developing solutions to ensure that the use of orbital space remains sustainable and safe.
Between 20,000 and 100,000 new satellites are forecast to be launched into space over the next decade, potentially creating a space traffic jam if not managed in a sustainable way. That's where Space4 comes in.
Space4 and Faculty
We offer three types of seed grants to faculty across all units to support research-related travel, development of white papers, and proposal development.
Space4 and Students
We offer experiential learning opportunities to develop and expand the future workforce in commercial, academic, and governmental space careers.
Space4 and Partners
Beyond campus, we partner with government, industry, and other academic institutions to provide continuing education and interdisciplinary research expertise.
Videos
Hear from two of our founders about the challenges and opportunities in the orbital space between Earth and the moon that drove the conception of Space4, and the mission that keeps us going.
Roberto Furfaro explains space domain awareness and tracking space objects, from data to actionable intelligence.
“It’s the connection to my childhood that makes me want to do astronomy every night.” Vishnu Reddy discusses how stars and space captivated him as a kid growing up in rural India.
Hear from Our Students
Training undergraduate and graduate students on state-of-the-art methods and techniques in space domain awareness is key to the Space4 mission. But don't just take our word for it. Meet some students who are an integral part of our work.
Meet Rebecca Lersch, a University of Arizona undergraduate who works and learns in the Space4 Center lab. “Working at Space4, I’ve learned I enjoy science in a direction I never thought I would go.”
Meet Andrea Scorsoglio, a University of Arizona PhD student who works in the Space4 Center. “I can do research and what I really like, but for an application that I can see the value of. This is really a special opportunity at Space4.”
Adam Battle, a PhD student in the Lunar and Planetary Lab, helps manage and train undergraduates in the Space4 Center lab to use telescopes in their research and to collect data on asteroids, space craft missions and rocket bodies.
Tanner Campbell, who earned his PhD in aerospace and mechanical engineering and now works for the Space4 Center as an R&D software engineer, describes how the center offers students “the opportunity to do brand new things, to be on that cutting-edge of research, and that’s very rewarding.”
UArizona: Space is Wildcat Country
#1
in Astronomy/Astrophysics
#6
in NASA funding
#7
in Physical Sciences funding
#20
in research expenditures among public universities
#37
overall in FY21 expenditures
1st university
to lead a NASA mission to an asteroid and back
>20
unique telescopes operated worldwide
Largest optics program in the US
James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences
Discovered
>14K near-Earth objects (about half of the known NEO population)
Discovered
>100K non-hazardous Main Belt asteroids and hundreds of comets
$824M
in FY22 research activity
~300
cloudless nights/year
