Lost amid the recruiting and Ward Churchill scandals, the problems with alcohol and Greek rushing, just off to the side of the spotlight that is always on CU, there are many things that are totally out of this world.

Boulder can be considered one of only a handful of cities in the country where there is a flourishing space industry. And CU has a lot to do with it.

There is LASP, or the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. There is also the Aerospace Engineering Department, with CCAR, the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research and BIO, Bioserve Space Technologies. These departments, among others, receive massive amounts of federal funding from NASA and the U.S. government. There is also the hugely popular JILA, or Joint Institute for Laboratory for Astrophysics, which toutsthree Nobel Prize winners.

They are also a source of pride for CU, pride that is badly needed after what seems like an eternity of negative press and bad circumstances.

In addition to touting 15 alums who were or are now astronauts, the departments have also been involved in many big name missions to go out into space, including the Cassini probe that is making its way aroundSaturn and the recently launched New Horizons mission that will be making a trip to Pluto (which is NOT a planet) and the Kuiper Belt.

Of course, what good would all of this be without a little healthy competition?

The Denver Post reported today that two teams from Boulder, one from CU's LASP and the other from the Southwest Research institute, were chosen to develop proposals for a mission to Mars that may launch as early as 2011.

The proposals, according to the article, are for a probe that would measure, among other things, the planet's atmosphere and climate.

The space programs at CU are perhaps the brightest spot that CU can (and should) be basing the rebranding of the university on.

While there are other areas that CU could spotlight, including our environmental programs which are consistently ranked among the best in the country or a rapidly-developing interest in where education and technology intersect, none of them have the built in potential for monetary reward that space technology has for CU.

It has never been too much of a stretch to see University of Colorado graduates in the stars. But those same people can help bring the rest of the university up there, as well.

What do you think about CU's research in space? Should they focus on developing other areas as much as they do these sciences? Or should those other programs be made to stand on their own? You can post your own story about these and other questions or why not start your own blog?

Events

What's going on around campus and in Boulder the final week of winter break? You can find out here!

-The College of Music will present a Master Class performance by Thomas Hampson, Baritone at 1 p.m. Jan. 12 in the Grusin Music Hall in the Imig Music Building. Who doesn't love to hear a student sing his or her heart out in front of an audience? This performance is free and open to the public.

-The CU Men's basketball team will take on nationally ranked Texas A&M at 5 p.m. Jan. 13. The Buffs continue to struggle against the Big 12 opposition, but can they pull it together against a very good Aggies team that seems to have it all? Tickets are $11.50-$33.50 and are available at www.cubuffs.com.

-This weekend, the 20 th annual MahlerFest will be going on at Macky Auditorium. From the CU Web site, "The Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra is a volunteer orchestra consisting of dedicated professional musicians who congregate in Boulder for a week each January purely for the love of this great symphonic literature." Tickets are $10-$40 and are available by visiting the Boulder Philharmonic Box Office at 2995 Wilderness Place, Ste. 100, at any King Soopers location, or by calling 303-449-1343.

-The Boulder Piano Quartet and guest violinist Elizabeth Kipper perform works by Beethoven and Fauré at 4 p.m. Jan .14 at the Boulder Public Library, 1000 Canyon Blvd. This show is free. For more information, call 303-441-4492.

-The Diary Center for the Arts will hold a free opening reception for their latest exhibits at 5 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Dairy, 2590 Walnut St. The reception will feature a political skit by Emma Hardy's Madhatter's Tea Party and guitar music by Jose Maria Ramos. There will also be a Martin Luther King Jr. day celebration after the reception. For more information, call 303-440-7826.

-Finally, the Boulder Theater, 2032 14 th St., will be hosting another taping of the nationally syndicated show e-Town at 5 p.m. Jan. 14. This show is their Bring the Family show with Dan Zanes and La Cumbiamba eNeye. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.bouldertheater.com.

News

- The Denver Post has a story about the increase that CU has seen in fundraising over the last few months.

- The Colorado Daily is reporting on the MLK Jr. torch that was set to arrive in Boulder today.

-And the Rocky has a brief about the man who was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer at a Ward Churchill meeting last year.