Aerospace Hawaiʻi

Pacific Business News
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 2:41pm HST

Hawaii and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have agreed to collaborate on a range of activities promoting human and robotic exploration of space.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie and NASA Associate Deputy Administrator Rebecca Keiser signed a two-year agreement Wednesday that establishes a partnership between the state and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. Under the agreement, both parties will test and explore technologies, capabilities and strategies that support U.S. space exploration and development goals, according to a statement from the governor’s administration.

As part of the agreement, the state is proposing to build a prototype International Lunar Research Park at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. The park would use Hawaii’s natural terrain, which is similar to the terrain on Mars and on the moon, to enable the development and testing of automated and tele-robotic vehicles, according to the statement.

Hawaii’s Office of Aerospace Development will be the lead state agency on the research park project. The cost and start date of the project were not available.

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