he NASA DC Space Grant Consortium, in collaboration with the American University Physics Department and Department of Mathematics & Statistics, is incredibly proud to support an AU student-led team selected by NASA as one of only eight university teams worldwide to participate in the Artemis II mission. This historic mission, the first crewed lunar flight since Apollo 17, carries four astronauts on a journey around the Moon, and the AU team will track radio signals from the Orion spacecraft, contributing directly to NASA’s citizen science initiative.

Led by Ankur Purao (Physics Major), and supported by faculty, the students have designed and installed professional-grade radio astronomy equipment at AU’s Airlie property, providing an unprecedented opportunity to conduct research at a level normally reserved for graduate students. This initiative showcases the ingenuity, dedication, and talent of our students, as well as the power of hands-on, interdisciplinary learning fostered through the partnership between the NASA DC Space Grant Consortium and AU’s Physics and Mathematics & Statistics departments. 

We are immensely proud of our students for taking part in this groundbreaking project and helping advance space science while setting a new standard for undergraduate research at AU.