Space Science Institute

The Space Science Institute (SSI) is a Boulder, Colorado-based nonprofit research and education organization founded in 1992, conducting planetary science, astrophysics, space physics, and heliospheric research while simultaneously developing science education programs and informal learning exhibits for the general public. SSI operates as a distributed research institute — scientists are affiliated across university partners and NASA centers rather than centralized in Boulder — enabling SSI to serve as an organizational home for planetary scientists affiliated with major space mission teams.

SSI's science contributions span some of NASA's most celebrated missions. The institute has had researchers as Co-Investigators or principal investigators on the Cassini Saturn orbiter, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) camera science team, New Horizons Pluto flyby, Voyager data analysis, and various Mars lander instrument teams. SSI scientists led CICLOPS (Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations), which processed and released the iconic Saturn ring system, moon surface, and atmospheric imagery from the Cassini mission's 13-year Saturn tour from 2004 through 2017 — images that remain among the most scientifically rich and publicly celebrated in planetary history.

On the education side, SSI develops Space Science Exhibits — museum-quality traveling science display installations — that have toured science centers, children's museums, and informal education venues across North America. These exhibits translate active NASA research into accessible public engagement, covering topics from solar system formation to aurora physics. SSI also produces educator guides, digital learning resources, and public outreach programs aligned with NASA's Education and Public Outreach requirements for funded missions.

SSI's funding model combines NASA research grants, mission instrument team contracts, and NSF education program awards, with the Boulder nonprofit structure providing administrative infrastructure for geographically distributed researchers. The institute competes for NASA grants with planetary science departments at UC Berkeley, University of Arizona (LPL), Brown University, and Southwest Research Institute.