CLEMSON — Clemson University and NASA’s Johnson Space Center are partnering under a Space Act Agreement, a first for the school as it aims to align itself with other prominent research colleges.
The university said in a news release the partnership paves the way for Clemson faculty and NASA to pursue research in areas like aerospace engineering, space and Earth science, advanced materials, computer and data science, advanced manufacturing, human health in space and more.
The agreement is not for any specific project and there is no funding involved, but it will open the door to mutually beneficial research, Clemson spokesman Alex Brooks told The Post and Courier.
“We both share a deep commitment to research, innovation, collaboration and positively impacting the lives of others,” Clemson President Jim Clements said of NASA. “And together, we will continue discovering new and exciting ways to create an even brighter future for everyone.”
Director of the Houston-based Johnson Space Center Vanessa Wyche said the collaboration will help NASA advance human spaceflight with missions to the International Space Station, the moon and, in the future, Mars.
“Johnson Space Center’s history of working with colleges and universities dates back to the early days of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs where students, faculty, and staff helped us achieve our human spaceflight missions,” Wyche said.
Wyche, a South Carolina native and Clemson alum, became the first Black woman to lead a NASA Space Center after taking on the role in 2021.
Clemson has worked with NASA in the past on research projects, but not in this capacity before.
The deal furthers Clemson’s aims to bolster its research output and align itself with universities in the Association of American Universities.
The 71-member AAU is an invite-only group of public and private universities dedicated to academic research and education. Some schools in the AAU are Duke University, Georgia Tech and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Clemson has committed itself in its strategic plan to double research spending by 2035 to try and get into the AAU.
Several AAU schools have active Space Act Agreements with NASA, according to a list of active agreements.
The deal also comes as Clemson broke ground on a $130 million advanced materials engineering center last May and announced a $10 million partnership with GE Aerospace and the U.S. Air Force last June to develop advanced flight materials.
