University of Florida To Launch Space Mission Institute With $2.5 Million in Strategic Funding

Faculty at the University of Florida are joining forces to form the UF Space Mission Institute, with $2.5 million in funding from UF President Ben Sasse. The Institute will be managed by UF Research and will be a hub in which scientists and scholars from across UF can collaborate, conduct research, and innovate.

The institute will work to enhance existing relationships with Space Florida and the Space Life Sciences Laboratory at the Kennedy Space Center, and seek new partnerships with the International Space Station National Laboratory. The institute will also work to leverage UF’s proximity to the growing commercial space ecosystem in Florida. Throughout the next five years, the total economic impact of the commercial space industry in Florida is expected to be more than $5.3 billion.   

Rob Ferl, Ph.D., assistant vice president for research, distinguished professor in IFAS, and a passionate researcher of plants in space, said this Institute will propel UF forward in space innovation.

“UF has a long and distinguished history of research in space – from low-Earth orbit to the moon and Mars and beyond, but this new institute will provide a vehicle for a diverse group of researchers to collaborate in new and exciting ways,” said Ferl. “This will position UF to play a more prominent role in space exploration research in the state, the nation, and the world.”   

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