SPACE RESOURCES PROGRAM

The first program in the world focused on educating scientists, engineers, economists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers in the developing field of space resources.

WELCOME

Since the 1990s, Colorado School of Mines has been a leading institution for the study of space resources and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) through its Center for Space Resources. It has also become a destination every year for space scientists and engineers, government agencies, aerospace companies, entrepreneurs, the mining and minerals industry, financial and legal experts, and policy makers to discuss all topics related to this field at the Space Resources Roundtable.

In recent years, growing interest in space resources by space agencies and the private sector has been driven by an awareness that further exploration and growth of commercial opportunities in space will require extraction of materials, production of propellants, and power generation from extraterrestrial resources for more affordable and flexible transportation, facilities construction, energy production, manufacturing of parts, and life support. The broad topic of space resources brings together many fields in which Mines has a strong presence, including remote sensing, geomechanics, mining, materials/metallurgy, robotics/automation, advanced manufacturing and construction, electrochemistry, solar and nuclear energy, and resource economics.

In this light, Mines launched a first-of-its-kind multi-disciplinary graduate program in Space Resources in 2017 to offer Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Master of Science, and Ph.D. degrees for college graduates and professionals interested in this emerging arena. The program focuses on developing core knowledge and gaining design practices in systems for responsible exploration, extraction, and use of resources in the Solar System.

The program has had students participating from 5 continents, 24 countries, and with a variety of professional backgrounds, including aerospace, mechanical, chemical, electrical, software, materials, petroleum, and mining engineering; physics, chemistry, geology, and geophysics; from space agencies, the public sector, and economists, financial and policy analysts, lawyers, and entrepreneurs.

The Space Resources program is geared toward supporting professionals interested in expanding their knowledge and skills into the exploration and utilization of resources in space. The program focuses on learning the core knowledge in this field and developing design practices in the identification, extraction, processing, and responsible use of available resources in the Solar System.

Students interested on pursuing research in space resources through a Ph.D. program are encouraged to apply. The degree requires 36 credit hours of coursework, 36 credit hours of research, and a doctoral dissertation. All Space Resources core courses and technical electives count toward the degree. Credit hours from relevant graduate courses taken from other universities are allowed to be transferred if approved. A limited number of Research Assistantships may be available to qualified on-campus Ph.D. candidates. The online Ph.D. degree program is also available for special cases approved by the Space Resources Graduate Admissions Committee (please contact the Program Director to ask for eligibility).