HOUSTON, Texas — Already home to a herd of Texas longhorns, Texas A&M is now planting its flag at Johnson Space Center.
The Aggies are building a $200 million Space Institute on 200 acres just outside JSC in the Clear Lake area.
"We are all in on this with our friends at NASA,” TAMU System Chancellor John Sharp said during a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday.
The massive facility will house, among other things, realistic lunar and Mars simulation spaces where astronauts, NASA contractors, researchers, and others will test equipment ahead of future missions.
That includes rovers like one designed and built by current engineering students.
“I didn’t think I’d end up here on the forefront of this really exciting facility and all this work that’s being done at A&M,” graduate student Rishi Jangale said.
The Space Institute will be the first tenant of what will be known as JSC’s Exploration Park and is part of a state allocation of taxpayer money meant to bolster space-related development in Texas.
"We’ll be working here together on all the great things we’re doing in space,” JSC Director Vanessa Wyche said.
Under one roof the size of two Kyle Fields, officials said the possibilities are out of this world.
"Can you imagine the students who are interested in space-related careers having the opportunity to study, to do research at a facility like this, with people like this?" TAMU President Mark Welsh said. "It’s incredible.”
Construction is expected to begin soon with an estimated completion date in the summer of 2026.