Cornell Space Sciences

Cornell University's astronomy and space science programs in Ithaca, New York have shaped planetary science, SETI research, and spacecraft instrumentation for seven decades. Cornell's Department of Astronomy operates alongside the Carl Sagan Institute — named for Carl Sagan who was a Cornell professor for 30 years and whose Cosmos television series introduced millions to space exploration — focusing on exoplanet habitability, biosignature detection, and the conditions for life beyond Earth. Cornell's most celebrated space science legacy is the Mars Exploration Rover program: Steve Squyres led the science team for Spirit and Opportunity (2004-2018), rovers that collectively drove over 50 km across Martian terrain and fundamentally transformed understanding of Mars's wet geological history. Cornell also led the science team for the Cassini RADAR instrument mapping Titan's methane seas and lakes, and contributed spectral analysis tools to the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover. The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico — destroyed by cable failure in 2020 — was managed by Cornell/SRI under NSF contract for decades and was the world's most powerful radio telescope until superseded by China's FAST, used for SETI surveys, near-Earth asteroid radar ranging, and pulsar timing. Current Cornell space research priorities include direct imaging spectrographs for the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), machine learning methods for exoplanet atmosphere retrieval, and the ExoPAG (Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group) advisory processes. Cornell's proximity to top physics and engineering programs creates strong cross-disciplinary spacecraft instrumentation research, and the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CCAPS) coordinates across departments.