Post Archives

This course builds directly on the success of Space Security by moving students into the most contested and urgent debate in contemporary space policy: whether outer space has become or is becoming a warfighting domain and what that means. For decades, space was militarized primarily through enabling functions such as, communications, navigation, intelligence, and early warning while overt weaponization remained constrained by norms, treaties, and strategic restraint. That equilibrium is now eroding and strategic drift is omni present. Intensifying great-power competition, the creation of dedicated space forces, rapid commercialization, and renewed ambitions to establish a sustained human presence on the…

Mass spectrometry is a foundational analytical technique for identifying and characterizing molecules, and it plays a central role in planetary exploration.  This course introduces the core principles of mass spectrometry, with an emphasis on how the technique is adapted and applied to spaceflight. Students will examine how molecules are ionized, separated according to their mass to charge ratio, and detected to produce a mass spectrum. They will learn to interpret spectral data, including peak patterns, isotopic signatures, fragmentation behavior, and relative abundances. Throughout the course, students will develop practical skills for reading and interpreting spectra, assessing data quality, and understanding…

Orbital Dynamics are the physical and mathematical principles governing the motion of all objects in space—from satellites orbiting Earth to spacecraft traveling toward the Moon and beyond. This course introduces Newtonian gravitation, Kepler’s laws, satellite motion in cislunar space, including the three-body problem, and key elements of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Students will learn how these invisible “rules of the road,” dictated by gravity, momentum and energy, bound how space can be accessed, used, and ultimately governed. Familiarity with fundamental calculus is helpful but not required. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with an understanding…

Students will learn how to work with geospatial data to understand and address environmental issues. Popular GIS tools (such as ArcGIS) will be used to create maps for the effective communication of many types of environmental data. Relevant applications in areas such as climate science, biodiversity monitoring, and human-ecosystem interactions will be explored. More advanced topics such as geospatial statistics, gap-filling, and filtering will also be covered. This course will count as a quantitative reasoning requirement toward the BS-ES degree; also counts toward the CAS QRDL requirement. Course information

Spaceflight increasingly serves as a powerful tool for diplomacy, fostering collaboration between nations and shaping global relations. This interdisciplinary course explores the role of outer space in international relations, examining how space programs, missions, and technologies influence political, economic, and strategic interactions on Earth. Throughout the semester, students will investigate how spaceflight has served as a tool of diplomacy, while also examining how diplomatic frameworks and negotiations are essential for space exploration. Key topics include the role of multinational organizations like the United Nations in space policy, landmark programs in space history (such as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and the…