Contact: Dan Adkins

“This new partnership will create new opportunities for Kentucky’s scientists, faculty, entrepreneurs, teachers and students. I have a vision for Kentucky to have a more competitive position in the New Economy, and this initiative will help us in this endeavor.”

-- Ernie Fletcher,
Governor of Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 3, 2004) -- Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher joined with representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today to announce a partnership on behalf of the emerging Moon/Mars initiative.

The partnership will be between the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC) and NASA.

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. co-founded KSTC, a not-for-profit organization focused on increasing university research capacity, developing science and technology education (K-12) programs, and encouraging an entrepreneurial economy in Kentucky.

The nation has embarked on an ambitious effort to return to the moon for more extended exploration and then on to Mars. Kentucky’s colleges and universities -- including the University of Kentucky -- and innovation-driven companies are in a position to contribute and participate in this exciting effort. Among those at the governor’s announcement were several students involved in the College of Engineering’s BIG BLUE project – a balloon-released glider that may facilitate unmanned exploration of other planets, including Mars.

“This new partnership will create new opportunities for Kentucky’s scientists, faculty, entrepreneurs, teachers and students,” stated Governor Fletcher. “I have a vision for Kentucky to have a more competitive position in the New Economy, and this initiative will help us in this endeavor.”

To facilitate its work, the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation will open and manage an office at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

Kentucky native and director of the NASA Ames Research Center, Scott Hubbard, is thrilled about the new partnership. “We are very excited to more broadly involve the intellectual and technological resources of Kentucky as we embark on our ambitious space exploration agenda,” said Hubbard.