Mini-satellite maker
In early February, Kerri Cahoy packed up her family and caravanned with students from her lab, driving eight hours south of Boston to Wallops Island, Virginia. There, the group watched a backpack-sized...
View ArticleLincoln Laboratory is designing a payload to integrate on Japanese satellites
According to Space-Track.org, approximately 21,000 objects of human origin are orbiting Earth, and about 1,500 of these objects are in or near geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Satellites in GEO support...
View ArticleNanosatellite thruster emits pure ions
A 3D-printed thruster that emits a stream of pure ions could be a low-cost, extremely efficient propulsion source for miniature satellites.The nanosatellite thruster created by MIT researchers is the...
View ArticleConnecting machines in remote regions
On Nov. 26, seven fishermen aboard a small fishing boat off the coast of Maharashtra in western India were struck with panic when their vessel was damaged and began to sink. The panic was warranted:...
View ArticleSaving the radome
Perched atop the MIT Cecil and Ida Green Building (Building 54), MIT’s tallest academic building, a large, golf ball-like structure protrudes from the roof, holding its own in the iconic MIT campus...
View ArticleProfessor Emeritus Gordon Pettengill, radio astronomy pioneer, dies at 95
Gordon Hemenway Pettengill ’48, MIT professor emeritus of planetary physics in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), former director of the MIT Center for Space Research,...
View ArticleMIT study compares the four largest internet meganetworks
In recent months, people have reported seeing a parade of star-like points passing across the night sky. The formation is not extraterrestrial, or even astrophysical in origin, but is in fact a line of...
View ArticleA new chapter for space sustainability
Each day, new and innovative space technologies are being developed in countries around the world, and with that, a steady stream of satellites, rockets, cargo ships, and crew vehicles are being...
View ArticlePathfinder satellite paves way for constellation of tropical-storm observers
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was one of the most brutal on record, producing an unprecedented 30 named storms. What’s more, a record-tying 10 of those storms were characterized as rapidly...
View ArticleTESS Science Conference II draws nearly 700 virtual attendees
On glowing screens in 41 countries across the world, over 680 people logged on to the second TESS Science Conference from Aug. 2-6. Experts not only in exoplanets, but also in extragalactic astronomy,...
View ArticleQ&A: Lucy mission launches to study ancient Trojan asteroids
On Saturday morning, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning a 12-year, nearly 4-billion-mile mission to explore some of the oldest objects in the...
View ArticleOne year on this giant, blistering hot planet is just 16 hours long
The hunt for planets beyond our solar system has turned up more than 4,000 far-flung worlds, orbiting stars thousands of light years from Earth. These extrasolar planets are a veritable menagerie,...
View ArticleTESS discovers a planet the size of Mars but with the makeup of Mercury
Ultra-short-period planets are small, compact worlds that whip around their stars at close range, completing an orbit — and a single, scorching year — in less than 24 hours. How these planets came to...
View ArticleMIT engineers test an idea for a new hovering rover
Aerospace engineers at MIT are testing a new concept for a hovering rover that levitates by harnessing the moon’s natural charge.Because they lack an atmosphere, the moon and other airless bodies such...
View ArticleUnderstanding air pollution from space
Climate change and air pollution are interlocking crises that threaten human health. Reducing emissions of some air pollutants can help achieve climate goals, and some climate mitigation efforts can in...
View ArticleTESS Science Office at MIT hits milestone of 5,000 exoplanet candidates
The catalog of planet candidates found with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) recently passed 5,000 TOIs, or TESS Objects of Interest.The catalog has been growing steadily since the...
View ArticleHow to reach a tumbling target in space
In 2002, the European Space Agency launched Envisat, the largest civilian satellite (at the time) to go to low Earth orbit (LEO). For a decade, it observed our planet and sent back valuable data on...
View ArticleStudy reveals chemical link between wildfire smoke and ozone depletion
The Australian wildfires in 2019 and 2020 were historic for how far and fast they spread, and for how long and powerfully they burned. All told, the devastating “Black Summer” fires blazed across more...
View ArticleNew maps show airplane contrails over the U.S. dropped steeply in 2020
As Covid-19’s initial wave crested around the world, travel restrictions and a drop in passengers led to a record number of grounded flights in 2020. The air travel reduction cleared the skies of not...
View ArticleLook! Up in the sky! Is it a planet? Nope, just a star
The first worlds beyond our solar system were discovered three decades ago. Since then, close to 5,000 exoplanets have been confirmed in our galaxy. Astronomers have detected another 5,000 planetary...
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