On Wednesday (January 29), we hosted our 2025 KISS Affiliate welcome event at the historic Tolman/Bacher House. The affiliates gathered to learn more about KISS, the affiliates program, and upcoming events.
Read more »How do scientists measure air quality, and what do we know about the air in greater Los Angeles following the January fires?
Experts from Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the University of Colorado Boulder shared information about the environmental hazards of smoke, data collected since the January 2025 fires, and lessons learned from previous similar fires.
A recording of the webinar and recap of the discussion is available on Caltech’s YouTube channel and on the Caltech Science Exchange.
Read more »January 2025 - The Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) is pleased to announce the 2025 class of KISS Affiliates.
Read more »Watch Dr. Robert Pappalardo from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology as he discusses the Europa Clipper Mission.
This talk was recorded on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at Ramo Auditorium at Caltech.
Watch the lecture »View presentations that were given as part of the "Interferometry Lands on the Moon" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, November 18, 2024.
Details »View presentations that were given as part of the "Digital Twins for Solar System Exploration" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, November 4, 2024.
Details »View videos and presentations that were given as part of the "Quantifying Emissions through Greenhouse Gases and Transport" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, October 7, 2024.
Details »The Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) is soliciting nominations for KISS Affiliates who will begin their tenure in January 2025.
Details »The Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) is soliciting concepts for Study Programs to be carried out during the 2025 calendar year. Concepts are solicited in the areas of space engineering, planetary science, remote sensing and earth system science, astrobiology, and astronomy and physics from space.
Details »View videos and presentations that were given as part of the "Nano Engineering for Exo Discoveries: Advancing Metasurfaces for Exoplanet Exploration" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, September 23, 2024.
Details »View videos and presentations that were given as part of the "Sample Return from all across the Solar System" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, September 9, 2024.
Details »The final report from the 2023 KISS study "Determining the Interior Structure of Uranus - A Case Study for Leveraging Cross-Discipline Science to Answer Tough Questions" is now available.
FINAL REPORT »For those that were not available to attend in-person, the video for this amazing panel is now available on YouTube.
The panel spoke from their personal perspectives about the most important discoveries from the Red Planet, and what they believe is next for Mars exploration.
View Video »
The final report from the 2022 KISS study "Enabling Fast Response Missions to NEOs, ISOs, and LPCs" is now available.
The group was tasked to identify science drivers, key technology gaps, and enabling capabilities, and to explore potential architectures that could be applied to rapid response missions.
FINAL REPORT »
Congratulations to our amazing KISS affiliates who graduated this year - let's meet some of the Class of 2024!
Read more »
Missed last week’s KISS lecture from Dr. Jim Green on the “Origins and Evolution of Life in Space and Time”?
The recording is now on our YouTube channel - check it out here. Thank you to Dr. Green for his phenomenal lecture to a packed lecture hall!
Details »
The Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Harriet Brettle (M.S. ’18) as Executive Director.
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The final report of the 2022 KISS Study "Developing a Continuity Framework for Satellite Observations of Climate" is now available.
The Keck Institute of Space Studies carried out a study to codify best practices, articulate successes, and identify challenges and opportunities in the prioritization, acquisition, curation, and stewardship of sustained space-based Earth observations.
View Final Report »
View videos and presentations that were given as part of the "Extrasolar Space Weather: The Hidden Hand in Exoplanet Evolution" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, November 6, 2023.
Details »The final report of the 2021 KISS Study "Venus In Situ Sample Capture Mission" is now available.
The Venus In Situ Transfer and Analysis (VISTA) mission concept provides an opportuity to make measurements that cannot be obtained by a single, short-term in situ mission to Venus.
The targeted science aims to provide detailed knowledge of the surface and atmosphere to better understand the origin and evolution of Venus, changes in its habitability and the interaction of the surface with the atmosphere.
View Final Report »View videos and presentations that were given as part of the "What Do We Know About Uranus? Preparing for a Mission to Uranus" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, September 11, 2023.
Details »The final report of the 2019 KISS Study "Data-Driven Approaches to Searches for the Technosignatures of Advanced Civilizations" is now available.
The report provides an evaluation of the possible technical approaches that can be applied on the existing and forthcoming data sets and streams from large sky surveys, and recommendations for the observing strategies that may increase the chances of the success.
View Final Report »View videos and presentations that were given as part of the "Understanding and Empowering Soil Management as a Climate Mitigation Option" Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, August 28, 2023.
Details »Watch Dr. Mark Simons (JPL / Caltech) as he provides an overview of the measurements NISAR will enable, with particular focus on the exquisite measurements of ground movement and examples of how we use these measurements to study earthquakes, aquifers, glaciers, and devastation associated with natural disasters.
Watch Video »View videos and presentations on topics such as microbial energy sources, subsurface life, geobiology in planetary analaog systems, extreme environment microbiology in ices, and understanding false positives from terrestrial microbiology.
These presentations were given as part of the Parameters of Biological Validation Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, July 17, 2023.
View »Watch Dr. Jeffrey Plaut (RIME Co-PI / JPL) as he describes the JUICE mission, its scientific goals, and provide details about the RIME experiment, already underway during the interplanetary cruise phase. Launched in April by the European Space agency, JUICE carries a diverse payload of instruments with the primary targets the icy moons of Jupiter: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
This lecture was recorded on Thursday, June 22, 2023 at Sharp Lecture Hall at the California Institute of Technology.
Watch Video »Watch Dr. Albert Haldemann (Mars Chief Engineer, ESA) as he shares information about the European Space Agency's Terrae Novae exploration programme, which includes missions to 3 destinations: low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars for his talk "ESA's Vision for Mars Exploration".
This lecture was recorded on Thursday, May 11, 2023 at Chen 100 Lecture Hall at the California Institute of Technology.
Watch Video »Watch Professor Amanda Stockton from the Georgia Institute of Technology present her talk "Field Exploration and Life Detection Sampling through Planetary Analogue Research (FELDSPAR) – Lessons from rocky terrains and how they may translate to ice" .
This lecture was recorded on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at Lees-Kubota Lecture Hall at the California Institute of Technology.
Watch Video »KISS Affiliates joined Dr. Leshin for an intimate discussion as she talked about her journey to becoming JPL’s 10th director and her vision for JPL moving forward.
Dr. Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since May 2022, is a distinguished geochemist and space scientist with extensive leadership experience in academia and government, including senior NASA positions.
View »Watch Dr. Bruce Banerdt, InSight Principal Investigator, as he describes the InSight mission, its science goals and some of its outstanding scientific results.
This lecture was recorded on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at Lees-Kubota Lecture Hall at the California Institute of Technology.
Watch Video »The authors of this recent paper acknowledge the W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) for providing collaboration space and its support of the KISS workshops "Bridging the Gap: Observations and Theory of Star Formation Meet on Large and Small Scales" in 2014 and "Star Formation in Nearby Galaxies with JWST" in 2017.
View »The Keck Institute for Space Studies welcomed our 2023 KISS affiliates on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at the Keck Center. Nominated by the Caltech faculty, KISS Affiliates are an ongoing cohort of Campus graduate students and postdocs who are seen as the next generation of space exploration leaders. Congratulations to the 2023 KISS Affiliates!
Details »View videos and presentations on Interferometry and its applications to the search for life, learn about how rocky planets can be investigated with Ground-Based ELTs, receive a overview of the vision of the LIFE initiative and explore the challenges of Interferometry from ground and space. These presentations were given as part of the Exoplanet Science Meets Interferometry Short Course hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies on Monday, November 28, 2022.
View »This summary will outline some of the relevant options for Venus human fly-by and orbital missions, some of the new or enhanced science investigations that could be achieved in tandem with human fly-by or orbital missions, why integrating Venus into the overall Moon-to-Mars strategy may be valuable, how social and cultural activities might advance human missions to Venus, and why Venus may deserve its own journey of exploration independent of other destinations.
Final Report DOI: 10.7907/68mv-np46
Report PDF »Watch Dr. Fiona Harrison, Benjamin M. Rosen Professor of Physics and the Kent and Joyce Kresa Leadership Chair of the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy at Caltech, discuss how NuSTAR will continue to open new horizons, discover fascinating objects, and expand our knowledge of the Universe.
Also check this recent article "A Decade of NuSTAR: What Its X-Ray Vision Has Taught Us".
Watch Video »Erik M. Conway, Donald K. Yeomans, and Meg Rosenburg's new book "A History of Near-Earth Objects Research" references 2011 KISS study and the workshops focused on the retrieval of a near-Earth asteroid into a high lunar orbit by a robotic spacecraft, followed by a crewed visit to the asteroid.
Book PDF »Watch Dr. Erik M. Conway from Jet Propulsion Laboratory discuss the evolution of several Mars sample return efforts, displaying how technologies intended for sample return campaigns wound up being used for other missions.
Watch Video »COMAP (the CO Mapping Array Project), which received critical, early technology development from KISS as part of the First Billion Years study, will offer us a new glimpse into this epoch of galaxy assembly, helping to answer questions about what really caused the universe's rapid increase in the production of stars.
Details »This mini-symposium serves to provide valuable background material for the upcoming KISS Study on “Developing a Continuity Framework for Satellite Observations of Climate”. The overall goal of this study program is to help accelerate discussions and plans for a greater and more impactful U.S. contribution to the global climate observing system.
Details »This in-person lecture discussed two NIAC Phase I studies (FLOAT - Flexible Levitation On A Track and SWIM - Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers) aimed at investigating novel solutions for the unique environmental, operational, and design constraints imposed on two types of robots operating on the Moon and Ocean Worlds.
Details »This mini-symposium leverages and contributes to the JPL CCS series focused on “The Essential Role of Long-term Satellite Records for Climate Science and Monitoring.” The objectives of this series are to raise the visibility of the remarkable role and importance of the long-term satellite climate records currently in existence; to highlight critical accomplishments in selected areas; and to review challenges in sustaining a climate monitoring system.
Details »This webinar overviews efforts to coordinate fire research, management, policy, and technology development for coordinated action to reduce negative impacts from wildfire. It builds on a workshop hosted by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) in March 2021. Since this workshop, many major national efforts have occurred, including: national policies and funding, research agendas, agency coordination, and big technology investments.
Details »The Keck Institute for Space Studies hosted a workshop that investigated the potential and limitations of a non-nuclear solar system exploration architecture. This final report represents the findings of this workshop, and provides evaluation of the system architectures and technologies necessary to extend solar-powered missions to the ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
Final Report DOI:10.7907/h62p-6328
Details »On April 19th, KISS Affiliate Aida Behmard won the Caltech Three Minute Thesis Final Event in an exciting competition with fourteen talented finalists. She won the $3000 grand prize for her presentation "Planets on a Galactic Scale".
Recent article by Leonard David published in Aerospace America describes a recommendation for NASA from the scientists working on the Keck Institute for Space Studies program "Revolutionizing Access to the Martian Surface" to send a variety of small robotic spacecraft to regions inaccessible to today's landers and rovers.
Details »The Keck Institute for Space Studies hosted two workshops that realized practical models for the broadly applicable Nebula concept. This final report represents the findings of those two workshops, and provides concept descriptions, use cases, pragmatic considerations, and justification for this complementary operations paradigm.
Final Report DOI: 10.7907/d1sm-mj77
Final Report »The Keck Institute for Space Studies hosted two workshops that realized practical models for the broadly applicable Nebula concept. This final report represents the findings of those two workshops, and provides concept descriptions, use cases, pragmatic considerations, and justification for this complementary operations paradigm.
Final Report DOI: 10.7907/yqde-dj03
Final Report »Earth’s atmosphere reacted in surprising ways to the lowering of emissions during the pandemic, showing how closely climate warming and air pollution are linked. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting limitations on travel and other economic sectors by countries around the globe drastically decreased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions within just a few weeks.
(Image Credit: International Monetary Fund).
Final Report »Watch Dr. Charles Elachi, the Professor of Electrical Engineering and Planetary Science, Emeritus at Caltech and JPL Director (2001-2016), discuss the history of Earth observation with spaceborne radars which dramatically expanded the ability to map and monitor the changes on our planet.
View »The workshop "Next-Generation Approach for Detecting Climate-Carbon Feedbacks: Space-Based Integration of OCS, CO2, and SIF" assembled a multi-disciplinary team to conceive a new integrated technique for measuring photosynthesis at regional to global scales. The results of this collaborative work have been presented in the Final Report for this study.
Final Report DOI: 10.7907/81y6-119
Final Report »Watch Dr. Karen Meech from University of Hawai’i talk about interstellar comets at the Keck Institute for Space Studies lecture on September 14, 2021.
The recent discovery of the first interstellar object, 1I/`Oumuamua, passing through the solar system in 2017 has provoked intense, sustained interest by the scientific community. This talk summarized what we know about our first two interstellar visitors and present some new ways to explore these intriguing objects in the future.
View »Zach Putnam from the KISS study "Revolutionizing Access to the Martian Surface" presented out a short overview of Workshop #1 at the International Planetary Probe Workshop on July 8, 2021. The workshop goals and the initial findings were discussed. Four sub-teams were formed and will be gearing up for the second workshop in September 2021.
A copy of Zach’s presentation is available below.
View »The technique is being developed to detect venusquakes. A new study details how, in 2019, it made the first balloon-borne detection of a quake much closer to home.
Read the full story at Caltech Weekly and explore "Probing the Interior Structure of Venus" report prepared by Venus Seismology Study Team in 2015.
Press Release » Report (pdf) »Read about the top four recommendations from our 2021 KISS study on Real Time Detection and Tracking of Fires that Matter:
The location where NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will observe the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's attempt at powered controlled flight at Mars is called "Van Zyl Overlook," after Jakob van Zyl, the team's longtime colleague, mentor, and leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He passed away unexpectedly in August 2020, about a month after the launch of Perseverance.
He was a huge fan of our Institute and the Caltech Space Challenge and we miss him still.
Details »A recent workshop has led to new ideas and recommendations for the detection and tracking of megafires, wildfires that burn upward of 100,000 acres. The two-day session brought together a diverse group of experts working on the megafire problem to engage in a topic of paramount importance for California, the United States, and the world.
Details »Watch Swarm’s co-founder and CEO Sara Spangelo as she discusses how Swarm creates the world's smallest and lowest-cost two-way communication satellites on March 17, 2021.
Details »Watch Natasha Stavros from CU Boulder discuss the wildfire problem at the Keck Institute for Space Studies workshop "Real Time Detection and Tracking of Fires that Matter" on March 11, 2021.
Details »Join us for a very special lecture by Rob Manning, the Chief Engineer of JPL, explaining the challenges and some of the stories and lessons that have led to the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) design of this newest Mars mission
Details »This talk presented the efforts to study the UV exoplanet environments using existing space telescopes and describing new efforts to build dedicated UV space telescopes.
Details »This talk reviewed the OSIRIS-REx mission, which traveled to Bennu, a carbon-rich, near-Earth asteroid. The spacecraft launched on September 8, 2016, and rendezvoused with Bennu in 2018. Sample collection from site Nightingale occurred in October 2020. The sample will return to Earth in 2023 and will be the first for a U.S. mission.
Details »Watch a panel of pre-eminent science fiction authors famous for their vivid imaginings of fantastical, fictional worlds as they describe their favorite fictional world, and then discuss the process of inventing a new world. Moderated by Phil Plait, the panel will feature Becky Chambers, Mary Robinette Kowal, John Scalzi, and Simon Guerrier.
Details »