NASA Gets $250M University Of Alabama-Huntsville Satellite Mission To The Moon Proposal

NASA's quest to further study space just got a $250 million proposal from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The team from the university's physics department created a proposal that would lead a satellite mission to orbit the moon.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville, along with nine other universities, are working on reaching NASA's goals. The proposal includes a special telescope that is going to orbit the moon and document its surroundings.

NASA already has its hands full with more than a dozen scientific submissions but Physics Professor Richard S. Miller says that everyone is doing the best they can to show NASA why their programs should be funded, as reported by WAFF.

He is also keen on using the specially designed satellite to study the supernova. The University of Alabama in Huntsville is partnering with Johns Hopkins University. Other collaborating institutions are the University of Arizona, Clemson University, Florida State University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of New Hampshire, Ohio State University, Princeton University, and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

With other engineering teams and universities in the running, Miller adds that NASA is going to choose the top three proposals. These three successful proposals are going to receive funding to continue the study for space exploration.

When it comes to the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Miller points out that the institution then becomes a home for nuclear astrophysics, if they get in the top three. Everyone expects NASA to make the final decision around June.

While they are waiting for the results from NASA, the University of Alabama in Huntsville are busy preparing to set out their high altitude balloon teams on Aug. 21, 2017 to cover the total eclipse. UAH and other universities are partnering with NASA for their space eclipse camp, as reported by The All State.

Everyone will not only get the opportunity to view the eclipse but also study the sun more closely.

In the meantime, watch the UAH clip below of students working on the Quadrotor and Airship UAV: