Space Commission Approves $14.2M for Rice Space Institute Center

The Texas Space Commission (TSC) has announced a $14.2 million grant for Rice University to create a Center for Space Technologies within the Rice Space Institute (RSI), closing out the commission’s first $150 million round of Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF) awards.

The commission was created in 2023 and received $150 million from lawmakers that year to distribute as grants. SEARF has received $450 million total from the state Legislature.

In describing the RSI project, TSC said the new center would provide workforce training, space-focused education and research opportunities, including work tied to using resources found on the moon to support human exploration.

The RSI award lands inside a broader slate of 24 projects rolled out throughout 2025 and early 2026, a portfolio that the commission has framed as support for Texas’ space ecosystem. Publicly described initiatives range from potential inland launch pads and data centers in space to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education programs.

The commission also provided $705,000 to the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium, which was created as part of the commission to connect academic institutions, government agencies and industry leaders.

“The goal is to fulfill an articulated need for research, workforce development and industry collaboration,” said TSC Board Chair Gwen Griffin. “This portfolio consists of advancing sustainable human lunar exploration and discovery with a primary focus on In-Situ Resource Development and Utilization (ISRDU) that is a key element of NASA’s Artemis program.”