Chancellor Tseng and PISCES co-director Robert Fox (at right) visited Colorado School of Mines to sign a partnership agreement to work on space research at both campuses. CSM President Bill Scoggins is at left.

UH Hilo has partnered with the Colorado School of Mines to work on space research at both campuses and at the new space research center at Hilo, the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES).

PISCES is dedicated to developing technologies that will enable humans to sustain life on another planet. The new center is led by Frank Schowengerdt, former director of the NASA Research Partnership Centers and Hilo Professor Robert Fox, chair of the department of physics and astronomy.

Colorado School of Mines is home to the Center for Space Resources, which focuses on using the natural resources of space, also called in situ resource utilization, to make air and water, and to meet all human needs for survival on the moon and beyond.

“This partnership is a natural extension of our space-related initiatives that are made possible by the Big Island’s unique living, learning laboratory,” says Chancellor Tseng. “From the world’s most important collection of telescopes atop Mauna Kea, to our ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, to PISCES, UH Hilo has taken its place on the cutting edge in this exciting field.”