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The Space Science Institute (SSI) in Boulder, Colorado, is a nonprofit, public-benefit corporation formed in 1992. Its purpose is to create and maintain an environment where scientific research and education programs can flourish in an integrated fashion. SSI is among the four non-profit institutes in the US cited in a 2007 report by
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
, including Southwest Research Institute, Planetary Science Institute, and Eureka Scientific, which manage federal grants for non-tenure-track
astronomers An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either obse ...
.


Description

SSI's research program encompasses the following areas: space physics, earth science, planetary science, and astrophysics. The flight operations branch manages the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft's visible camera instrument and provides spectacular images of Saturn and its moons and rings to the public. SSI participates in mission operations and is home to the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for OPerations (CICLOPS).CICLOPS
/ref> The primary goal of SSI is to bring together researchers and educators to improve science education. Toward this end, the institute acts as an umbrella for researchers who wish to be independent of universities. In addition, it works with educators directly to improve teaching methods for astronomy. SSI has also produced several traveling exhibits for science museums, including Electric Space, Mars Quest, and Alien Earths. It is currently producing Giant Worlds. SSI provides management support for
research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
scientists A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...
and principal investigators, which help them to submit proposals to major
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
funding agencies such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
(NSF),
Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...
(STSci),
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...
(DOE), and
Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...
(JPL) Principal investigators are supported by SSI though proposal budget preparation, proposal submission, and project reporting tools, and have competitive negotiated overhead rates. The institute is loosely affiliated with the
University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
. SSI has obtained several grants in astrophysical sciences since 1992 from NSF and
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
funding agencies.


Divisions

SSI has five research centers: * Center for Space Plasma Physics (CSPP), * Center for Extrasolar Planetary Systems (CEPS), * Center for Mars Science (CMS), * Center for Polarimetric Remote Sensing (CPRS), * Center for Data Science (CDS). SSI's National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) is dedicated to expanding the understanding of educators, and citizens in science through educational and outreach programs by SSI researchers in four interconnected groups: Exhibition Development, Digital Learning, rofessional Development, and Public Engagement. SSI is managed by a board of 12 directors for Aerospace, Academic Research, Small Business Consultant, Astronomy, Science and Technology, Engineering, Civil Space, Martin, Planetarium, Innovation, Legal and Policy, and 4 acting directors for Research, National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL), Information Systems and Technology (IST), and Business Operations.


Gallery

SSI has participated in
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's Cassini mission and hosted the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for OPerations (CICLOPS). File:Saturn during Equinox.jpg, NASA's Cassini color view of the planet Saturn. File:The Day the Earth Smiled - PIA17172.jpg, NASA's Cassini image of the planet Saturn. File:PIA08166 - Saturn's Subtle Spectrum.tif, Cassini-Huygens Image of Saturn's Subtle Spectrum. File:Mimas_Cassini.jpg, NASA's Cassini image of Saturn's moon Mimas. File:Iapetus as seen by the Cassini probe - 20071008.jpg, NASA's Cassini image ofSaturn's moon Iapetus.


See also

* Heidi Hammel *
Carolyn Porco Carolyn C. Porco (born March 6, 1953) is an American planetary scientist who explores the outer Solar System, beginning with her imaging work on the Voyager missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the 1980s. She led the imaging scienc ...
*
Associated Universities, Inc. Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a research management corporation that builds and operates facilities for the research community. AUI is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, headquartered in Washington, DC. The President is Dr. Adam ...
* Planetary Science Institute *
Space Studies Institute Space Studies Institute is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1977 by Princeton University Professor Gerard K. O'Neill. In 2009 SSI moved its operations from its long-term base in Princeton, New Jersey, to Mojave, Californi ...
* Southwest Research Institute


References


External links

*
National Center for Interactive Learning

Scientific Publications (INSPIRE-HEP)

Scientific Publications (ResearchGate)
Space organizations :Non-profit organizations based in the United States :Organizations established in 1992 :Research institutes established in 1992 :Companies based in Boulder, Colorado :Astronomy institutes and departments :Astrophysics institutes :Research institutes in Colorado :1992 establishments in Colorado {{Nonprofit-org-stub