National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST

George Mason University will be the home of the $19.5 million recently approved Landolt NASA Space Mission that will put an artificial “star” in orbit around the Earth. George Mason faculty and students will work together with the NASA and NIST and nine other organizations for a first-of-its-kind project for a university in the Washington, D.C., area.

George Mason is the home for the new $19.5 million NASA Landolt Space Mission. Led by the College of Science’s Peter Plavchan, with the College of Engineering and Computing, this mission will launch an artificial star in orbit to help scientists calibrate telescopes and measure brightness.

George Mason researchers Nirup Menon and Brian Ngac recently won a two-year award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, to create unique experiential learning opportunities and workshops designed to enhance cybersecurity education and workforce development.