UCF in the News

There’s a big spotlight, if you will, on space this week in Central Florida, with NASA’s Artemis II launch making history as the first mission around the moon in 50 years. It’s a perfect time, then, to talk about Spaceman of Bohemia, a sci-fi novel written by 2011 University of Central Florida alum Jaroslav Kalfař. He’ll be at UCF discussing the book – which was the basis for the 2024 film Spaceman starring Adam Sandler – as part of “UCF Celebrates the Arts.” That’s an annual event highlighting the artistic endeavors and successes of UCF’s students, faculty, and grads. The titular Spaceman of Bohemia is, like Kalfař himself, from the Czech Republic. He’s an astronaut on that country’s first space mission. But as Kalfař explains, the mission journeys through deep emotion, as well as deep space.

Moon bases and Mars missions: Artemis II explained NASA is preparing for Artemis II, which will send four astronauts around the Moon. The mission will test Orion’s life-support, navigation, and communication systems in preparation for future lunar landings. FOX 13's Craig Patrick reports. NASA is preparing for Artemis II, which will send four astronauts around the Moon. The mission will test Orion’s life-support, navigation, and communication systems in preparation for future lunar landings. Dr. Phil Metzger elaborated on why that's important. "The Moon has no atmosphere. And because it has no atmosphere, it catches the solar wind in the soil. The solar wind coming out of the Sun — which is like a nuclear reactor — produces helium," he explained. "For billions of years, the Moon has been collecting that helium. So the best place in the inner solar system to get helium, which we need for quantum computing and fusion, is right there next to Earth." Dr. Alain Berinstain, director of UCF’s Florida Space Institute, stressed the unpredictable scientific payoff of returning to the Moon. "What excites me the most is the kind of stuff we haven’t even thought of — the discoveries we don’t yet realize we’ll be able to make," Berinstain said. "We’ve hardly scratched the surface of the Moon. When we’re there full-time for an extended period, we have no idea yet what great things we’ll discover — and what that will spur on."

orbit, the Moon, or Mars-present unique challenges, especially when it comes to radiation exposure. Astronauts aboard the upcoming Artemis II mission will travel beyond Earth's protective magnetic field, exposing them to what experts call galactic cosmic radiation, according to aerospace physician Emmanuel Urquieta with UCF. Further explaining, this type of radiation poses significant health risks because it’s “outside of the magnetic protection of the Earth.” As the department Vice Chair, Urquieta’s knowledge in this field is expansive, having also served as the Chief Medical Officer at the NASA-funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health. He explained that for long-duration missions to the Moon, this exposure could increase the risk of cancer, cognitive decline, and even severe DNA mutations. However, Artemis II is expected to last only about 10 days, limiting those risks.

Odin was dying in the dark. The angular 265-pound spacecraft with solar panel wings, giving it the appearance of a cyberpunk angel, was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 26, 2025. It was to swoop past 2022 OB5, a rocky asteroid island adrift in a starry sea, and take photographs of it. Odin successfully left its ride, headed into space—and vanished. The asteroid scout had barely begun its five–million–mile journey from Earth, and it was powerless to reach its destination. Flying through space is eventful. Temperature extremes in and out of sunlight range from hundreds of degrees above and below zero, which can cause spacecraft to warp. Corrosive cosmic radiation coming from the sun or from distant exploding stars can eat away at electronic circuitry. Bullet-like micrometeorites zooming past at high velocity can potentially pierce through metal like a hot knife through butter. “Any one of them can kill your spacecraft,” says Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida.

The Orlando Family Stage has been a fixture in the Central Florida community for 100 years, providing a cultural outlet for residents, including ambitious young performers. Notable alumni of the company include pop star and actress Mandy Moore, Broadway legend Norm Lewis, and Delta Burke of Designing Women fame. The Centennial Celebration Concert commemorating 100 years since Orlando Family Stage's founding will take place on Thursday, April 2, in the Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The event is being presented as part of UCF Celebrates the Arts, an annual performance festival highlighting the talents of UCF Faculty and students as well as that of the Central Florida community. The event also acknowledges a deep partnership between the Orlando Family Stage and the University of Central Florida, one that creates connections to the university’s Master of Fine Arts program as well as outreach to schools and aspiring actors facing barriers to education and the stage. Chris Brown is the Executive Director of Orlando Family Stage, and Jeff Moore is the Dean of UCF’s School of Performing Arts. They both join Engage to talk about the role the stage plays in the Central Florida community and the opportunities provided by the partnership between the stage and the university.

Artemis II sets the stage for future Artemis missions, when astronauts will once again set foot on the moon. Besides this launch, there are several more things that need to be done on Earth to get humans to the moon. A lot of that work is being done by professors and students at the University of Central Florida. Noah Brockhoff, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Central Florida, spent 300 hours to build a simulated lunar lander.

Future doctors across the country learned where they will continue their medical training on Friday, as part of the annual Match Day. At the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, the moment brought celebration, relief, and a deeper question about the future of health care in Central Florida. The atmosphere was electric as students counted down together and opened envelopes revealing where they would spend the next three to seven years of residency training.

Autry has applauded Isaacman’s push to speed up Artemis launch rates, and sees the potential for more reliance on commercial companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to accomplish the nation’s moon goals. While that might mean less money in all 50 states’ pockets, Autry thinks Florida is in a good position no matter how it plays out. “We have a sustainable competitive advantage,” Autry said. “Any smart company is either moving out of the West Coast to Texas or to Florida, just how it is … I spent my whole life and career in California, and honestly, their elected officials just don’t care about space.”

NASA is getting closer to sending humans back to the moon through its Artemis program, and understanding the environment and the dirt on the moon is crucial. Humans will be spending time there, living and working on the lunar surface. However, access to dirt from the moon is extremely limited. Since people can’t grab moon dirt and come back to Earth, lunar regolith is made synthetically in labs. At the University of Central Florida’s Exolith Lab, managed by the Florida Space Institute, technicians make everything from synthetic moon dust to asteroid regolith. Dan Britt, a Pegasus Professor of planetary sciences at the UCF physics department said this dirt is in high demand.