Aeronautical and astronautical engineering

A new study by Prof. Daniel Varon and his colleagues has found that “parts of the U.S. may be emitting much more of one of the most potent greenhouse gases than previously thought,” reports Julia Jacobo for ABC News. “Satellite observations suggest that methane emissions in urban areas may be ‘widely underestimated’ – up to 80% higher than noted in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Inventory,” explains Jacobo. 

Prof. Dava Newman speaks with USA Today reporter Sara D. Wire about NASA’s plans to return to the moon and, hopefully, Mars in the 2030s.  The “moon is a three-day trip," Newman explains. "Mars, you need eight months. Those are very different targets.” 

Prof. Danielle Wood speaks with CNBC reporter Laya Neelakandan about NASA’s Artemis III, the United States’ first venture back to the moon in over 50 years, which will carry the first female and first Black astronaut to the Moon. “NASA’s been thinking through this whole process, two decades’ worth, of what we’re going to do is prepare the government to focus on these harder, next-generation missions and be able to do things that are not already demonstrated,” says Wood. 

A study by researchers at MIT has found that high levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere is impacting the satellite orbits that typically force objects back to Earth, leading to an increased amount of space junk, reports Sachi Kitajima Mulkey for The New York Times. “[W]e’re losing this cleaning force that we rely on” says William Parker PhD '25. 

A new study by Prof. Sara Seager and her colleagues has found a solar system that contradicts the patterns commonly “seen across the galaxy and in our own solar system,” reports Jacopo Prisco for CNN. The study offers “some of the first evidence for flipping the script on how planets form around the most common stars in our galaxy,” says Seager. “Even in a maturing field, new discoveries can remind us that we still have a long way to go in understanding how planetary systems are built.”  

Prof. Olivier de Weck speaks with Forbes reporter Alex Knapp about the challenges and opportunities posed by building data centers in space. Data centers are “physically secure from intrusion and environmentally friendly once operational,” says de Weck. “Essentially, the three primary resources required on Earth—land, power, and cooling—are available ‘for free’ in space after the initial launch and deployment costs are covered.”

Prof. Kevin Chen and his colleagues have developed a bee-like robot that can assist with farming practices, such as artificial pollination without damaging crops, reports Claire Turrell for Offrange. “Chen’s robot bee, which is tethered to a power source, is currently limited to flying between plastic flowers in the lab, but the robot engineer can see its potential,” explains Turrell. “Bees are doing great in terms of open-field farming,” says Chen. “But there is one potential type of pollination I think we can consider in the longer term, which is indoor farming,” 

Prof. Jonathan How and graduate student Yi-Hsuan (Nemo) Hsiao speak with Tech Briefs reporter Andrew Corselli about their latest work developing an aerial microrobot that is “agile enough complete 10 consecutive somersaults in 11 seconds, even when wind disturbances threatened to push it off course.” Hsiao explains that: “This work demonstrates that soft and microrobots, traditionally limited in speed, can now leverage advanced control algorithms to achieve agility approaching that of natural insects and larger robots, opening up new opportunities for multimodal locomotion.” 

Prof. Lonnie Petersen speaks with Benjamin Rachlin, executive editor of MIT Horizon, about the future of space medicine in an article for The Boston Globe. “The next generation of flight surgeons might work from orbit. They might accompany a crew on a long-term mission, like a medic with a platoon,” writes Rachlin. “There is no standard yet for medical care in space. Doctors are inventing it.” Petersen notes that: “Space is like New York. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.”

A study by MIT researchers examining the carbon emissions of self-driving cars found that “the power required to run one billion driverless vehicles driving for one hour per day could consume as much energy as all existing data centers in the world,” reports Claire Brown for The New York Times. Graduate student Soumya Sudhakar explains that another big unknown is how autonomous vehicles could change the way people travel, adding to the uncertainty over the overall long-term emissions outlook for self-driving cars. 

A new report co-authored by Prof. Dava Newman and Lindy Elkins-Tanton '87, SM '87, PhD '02 explores the highest-priority science objectives for the first human missions to Mars, reports Eric Berger for Ars Technica. “We’re searching for life on Mars. The answer to the question ‘are we alone’ is always going to be ‘maybe,’ unless it becomes yes,” explains Newman. 

Prof. Kevin Chen and his colleagues have designed a tiny, insect-sized aerial microrobot that is “faster and more acrobatic than any of its predecessors,” reports Phie Jacobs for Science. The device, “which measures just 4 centimeters across and weighs less than a paperclip, flies almost five times faster and accelerates twice as quickly as existing microrobots,” explains Jacobs. “It can also execute sharp turns while enduring 160-centimeter-per-second wind gusts and—perhaps most impressively—can complete 10 consecutive somersaults in 11 seconds.” 

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Maggie Prosser spotlights senior Alice Hall, who was selected as one of the 2026 Rhodes Scholars. “Never stop trying to learn, especially from the people around you,” says Hall. “You don’t have to be a Rhodes scholar to change the world. Just be yourself.” 

Vivian Chinoda '25, Alice Hall, Sofia Lara, and Sophia Wang '24 have been named 2026 Rhodes Scholars, reports Michael Nietzel for Forbes. “This class of U.S .Rhodes Scholars will pursue studies across the social sciences, humanities, and biological and physical sciences,” writes Nietzel. 

Boston 25 spotlights Vivian Chinoda '25, Alice Hall, Sofia Lara, and Sophia Wang '24 who have been named 2026 Rhodes Scholars. “The students will attend the University of Oxford as part of the Rhodes scholar program, which awards more than 100 scholarships worldwide each year for students to pursue two to three years of graduate studies.”