Aeronautics and Astronautics

Optimizing solar farms with smart drones

MIT spinoff Raptor Maps uses machine-learning software to improve the maintenance of solar panels.

January 30, 2019

Engineers program marine robots to take calculated risks

Algorithm could help autonomous underwater vehicles explore risky but scientifically-rewarding environments.

January 30, 2019

MIT’s REXIS and Bennu’s watery surface

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample-return spacecraft, carrying MIT instrument, arrived at asteroid in December; now begins the science to select a sampling location.

January 29, 2019

Learning to teach to speed up learning

An algorithm that teaches robot agents how to exchange advice to complete a task helps them learn faster.

January 29, 2019

Identifying artificial intelligence “blind spots”

Model identifies instances when autonomous systems have learned from examples that may cause dangerous errors in the real world.

January 24, 2019

3Q: On the significance of Ultima Thule

New Horizons Mission Team members Alissa Earle and Richard Binzel discuss the revelations the icy world provides about the formation of our solar system.

January 23, 2019

School of Engineering welcomes new faculty

Eleven new professors join the MIT community.

January 9, 2019

Tiny satellites could be “guide stars” for huge next-generation telescopes

Researchers design CubeSats with lasers to provide steady reference light for telescopes investigating distant planets.

January 4, 2019

MIT research honored with Physics World “Breakthrough of the Year” awards

"Magic-angle" graphene named 2018 Breakthrough of the Year; first ionic plane and earliest evidence of hydrogen gas named to top 10 breakthroughs.

December 27, 2018

Laser-pointing system could help tiny satellites transmit data to Earth

Platform offers the precision that shoebox-sized CubeSats need to beam down hefty data packets.

December 14, 2018

Jumping through life and his passions at MIT

Stewart Isaacs, a PhD student in AeroAstro and a world champion jump roper, credits his academic successes to his long career in competitive jump roping.

November 22, 2018

MIT engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts

The silent, lightweight aircraft doesn’t depend on fossil fuels.

November 21, 2018

Bridge to the future of engineering

The School of Engineering’s faculty leadership weigh in on what the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing will mean for their students and faculty.

November 11, 2018