Happy April Fools’ Day!

2026

By ASU Engineering Marketing and Communications
April 1, 2026

https://engineering.asu.edu/april-fools-day/2025/

A glimpse inside the future SPACE campus, where student researchers, robotic assistants and a few unusually confident pets are already adapting to zero gravity.

Thanks for joining us in SPACE!

If you clicked over from our story about the School of Planetary And Celestial Engineering, thank you for joining us on our brief journey beyond the atmosphere.

On behalf of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering Marketing and Communications team, we hope you have enjoyed our April Fools’ Day trip to low Earth orbit!

Scroll down for more out-of-this-world outtakes that didn’t make it in before we went to press.

Small colorful LEGO-style robots drive down a hallway toward the camera while a large cartoonish monster figure looms in the background.

Fulton Schools MarComm Minibots are trusted partners in creating our digital products and springing into action during unexpected creative challenges.

Read it again

ASU Engineering expands to SPACE

The School of Planetary And Celestial Engineering will welcome its inaugural cohort in fall 2027

Read about SPACE

Out-of-this-world outtakes

While SPACE is not actually launching in fall 2027, the shenanigans behind today’s joke were very real. We had a lot of fun imagining the improbabilities of living and learning at SPACE.

A futuristic space station dining area with a floating taco, pizza slice, soda and chips, while an astronaut reaches into the room from the foreground.

Dining in zero gravity

Two astronauts float in a clear domed pool on a rocky space landscape, with the Arizona flag and Earth visible in the background.

Of course we have a pool

A satirical, high-concept AI image showing a "Fulton Lift" space elevator connecting Earth to an orbital station. A classic yellow and white Winnebago motorhome is seen "driving" up the carbon nanotube tether toward a complex space station labeled with various sections like "Orbital Dock," "Galley," and "Rotating Wheel." Below, a map of the Southwestern United States is visible from orbit, with a base station in Arizona labeled "Arizona Anchor.

The Fulton Lift™ with retro RV car

A surreal, fantastical composite image of an ASU camp on the gray, cratered moon. A large glass dome in the center contains a lush green forest, a log cabin, and students playing football. In the foreground, a student is seen floating inside a clear "Zero-G Bubble," and a squirrel wearing a tiny space helmet looks into the camera. Other details include astronauts walking up a set of stairs into the dome, a sandcastle made of moon dust, and Earth visible in the black sky above.

“Space bubble” alternative E2 Camp

Two astronauts play golf on the moon beside an ASU Engineering flag, with Earth in the sky and a small alien figure visible in the background.

Astro-putting

A woman in a futuristic light-blue jumpsuit smiles as she pets a sleek, golden robotic dog. The robot dog holds a small, mechanical toy duck in its mouth. They are in a brightly lit, sterile hallway with white walls.

RoboLab with his favorite toy

A special shout-out

An astronaut on the lunar surface holds a professional camera, preparing to take a photo of a tall, slender alien standing directly in front of her. The Earth is visible in the dark, starry sky behind them.

We’d like to give a special thanks to our on-the-ground photographer and resident AI image expert, Erika Gronek!

A Dalmatian dog curiously looks at a four-legged robot on a tiled floor.

Do we really have a robot dog?
Yes, we do!

Explore what is possible in the Fulton Schools.

If you were dreaming about that master’s degree in celestial systems design, we can’t help you (yet!).

Although SPACE is a few years off, at the Fulton Schools you can do amazing things now like:

Meet our real robot dog, SPARK-E!
Learn from faculty like Hannah Kerner who uses AI and satellite data to better the lives of people on Earth.
Launch your career with internships in top aerospace companies.

Learn more about our real degree programs and find the one that fits your future.

Our degree programs on Earth

AI-generated kittens are shown having fun playing with small robotic vehicles in the ASU Drone Studio.

Want more April Fools’ Day fun?

This is not our first fictional breakthrough!

If you enjoyed the launch of the School of Planetary And Celestial Engineering, take a look back at last year’s April Fools’ Day page for more bold, improbable and entirely fictional engineering-inspired fun from the Fulton Schools.

See last year’s spoof