Kentucky, NASA Partnership Will Support Moon-Mars Initiative

Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher joined National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials earlier this month to announce a partnership in support of the Moon-Mars initiative. The agreement pairs the Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC) with the nation's principal agency for space exploration.

The joint effort between KSTC and NASA will involve research in living systems, information systems, automation, nanotech and celestial mining. To facilitate their work, KSTC will open and manage an office at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. The office, to be funded and managed by KSTC, is intended to expand access to new talent, venture capital firms, innovative companies and universities. Kentucky's own companies, faculty and students will have access to the office.

Kentucky and NASA already participate in several joint projects through the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, the Remote Sensing Center at Murray State University, the NASA Space Grant Consortium and NASA EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) efforts at Western Kentucky University and the new Space Science Center at Morehead State University.

KSTC is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science, technology and economic development in Kentucky. More information on the partnership with NASA is available at: http://www.kstc.com/?442