McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences

MCSS Fellows Retreat at Tyson Living Learning Center November 11, 2022

Research Professor Olga Pravdivtseva in the Noble Gas Lab

Merged images of asteroid 4-Vesta (above) and micrograph of a meteorite (below) thought to originate from this asteroid (Credit: Prof. Ryan Ogliore)

X-Calibur measured the polarization of the high-energy X-ray emissions from a neutron star. (Photo: Washington University)

About the Center

Space science is the province of multiple disciplines. Understanding the formation and evolution of the solar system, the galaxy, or the universe is equally the task of the cosmochemist who measures isotopic effects in meteorites, the astronomer who observes planetary atmospheres or interstellar dust, and the astrophysicist who studies high energy emissions and gravitational effects of neutron star mergers.

Faculty, researchers, and students of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences belong to one of the traditional science departments, yet overlap in their research. Members of the Center enjoy the diversity of research being conducted and consider the eclectic nature of the Center to be one of the most important aspects of the space sciences program at Washington University.

The McDonnell Center plays a key role at Washington University through endowed professorships, supporting acquisition of sophisticated instrumentation, hiring new faculty, supporting postdoctoral and graduate student fellowships, administering visiting scientist programs, seeding innovative research, and fostering wide-reaching collaborations.

As we look to the future, space science is central to humanity’s aspiration for knowledge as we seek to explore and comprehend our surroundings and our beginnings.

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The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. Credits: NASA/Keegan Barber

Faculty, Research

Asteroid Bennu samples have arrived on campus for analysis

After a seven year journey to asteroid Bennu and back, OSIRIS-REx brought samples back to earth, dropping them through the atmosphere on September 24.

12.7.23 Read the Story

Faculty, Research

Preparing for a Leap

Tansu Daylan, assistant professor of physics and fellow of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a two-year, $300K grant from NASA on it's upcoming Roman Space Telescope.

12.5.23 Read the Story

Meet Our Partners

Department of Physics
Arts & Sciences at Washington University
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Arts & Sciences at Washington University
Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering
School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University
Center for Quantum Leaps
Bringing together scientists working on the development and engineering of quantum technologies and materials and scientists using quantum technologies.
Astronomy on Tap - St. Louis
An organization offering informal talks on topics of broad interest in astronomy and astrophysics.
St. Louis Astronomical Society
Devoted to the interest and advancement of the science of astronomy.
St. Louis Science Center
Regional science museum with exhibits and resources related to the space sciences
WURocketry
WURocketry is a student rocket design team of Washington University that competes in the NASA Student Launch Initiative.

Postdoc Focus

Andrea Gokus

Hunting supermassive black holes in the early Universe

Dr. Andrea Gokus has completed her first year of a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University’s McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences. Her research focuses on supermassive black holes inside of active galaxies. Their activity is spawned by material that orbits and eventually falls onto the black hole.