The University of Notre Dame announces the launch of the Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) minor, a multidisciplinary program designed to prepare students for the rapidly expanding global space sector. A collaboration between the Colleges of Engineering, Arts & Letters, and Science, the minor will be available to undergraduates starting in fall 2026.
The five-course, 15-credit minor will allow students to explore an array of subjects related to space exploration, as well as prepare them for employment in the space industry.
Clive Neal, professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences, led the cross-college faculty committee that designed the curriculum. “The space industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in our economy,” Neal said. “The last 10 years have seen rapid growth in commercial space companies focused on low Earth orbit, and now the Moon.”
Students with an EPS minor could pursue roles in areas such as space policy, mission engineering, or the commercial space sector. The capstone course Living and Working on the Moon is designed to integrate the multidisciplinary nature of space exploration. It will cover such subjects as the politics and policy of space exploration, exploration architectures, and the ethics of sending humans to live and work away from Earth.
The EPS minor fosters interdisciplinary expertise across science, engineering, politics, policy, business, the economy and law. Neal noted that the new minor aligns with the University’s recent strategic framework, Notre Dame 2033, encouraging curricula that address questions of national and international concern.
Ethics play a critical role in the EPS minor. In courses such as Space Ethics: Creation, Commerce, Colonization, students will examine how different religious traditions understand the origin and meaning of the cosmos, the value of human presence in space, and the ethical issues associated with space commerce and colonization.
Students interested in pursuing the EPS minor can begin the application process during the fall 2026 semester.
In addition to Neal, engineering faculty participating in the design and approval of the minor include Meenal Datta, Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; William Goodwine, professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering; Matthew Morrison, associate teaching professor of computer science and engineering; and Hirotaka Sakaue, associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering.
Participating faculty from the College of Arts & Letters are David Clairmont, associate professor of theology, and Heather Foucault-Kamm, program director in the McGrath Institute for Church Life; Lauren Weiss, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is in the College of Science.
—Mary Hendriksen, Notre Dame Engineering. Hero photo courtesy of NASA.