3 Questions: How a new mission to Uranus could be just around the corner
PhD student Chloe Gentgen discusses why the ice giant is such a high-priority solar system target, and how the Starship launch vehicle may hasten our explorations there.
The first animals on Earth may have been sea sponges, study suggests
MIT researchers traced chemical fossils in ancient rocks to the ancestors of modern-day demosponges.
Lincoln Laboratory technologies win seven R&D 100 Awards for 2025
Inventions that protect US service members, advance computing, and enhance communications are recognized among the year's most significant new products.
Study finds exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e is unlikely to have a Venus- or Mars-like atmosphere
Astronomers led by EAPS postdoc Ana Glidden ruled out several atmospheric scenarios for the planet, narrowing ideas of what habitability there might look like.
Engineering fantasy into reality
PhD student Erik Ballesteros is building “Doc Ock” arms for future astronauts.
Astronomers discover star-shredding black holes hiding in dusty galaxies
Unlike active galaxies that constantly pull in surrounding material, these black holes lie dormant, waking briefly to feast on a passing star.
Supporting mission-driven space innovation, for Earth and beyond
Aurelia Institute, founded by a team from MIT, serves as a research lab, an education and outreach center, and a policy hub for the space industry.
MIT students and postdoc explore the inner workings of Capitol Hill
In an annual tradition, MIT affiliates embarked on a trip to Washington to explore federal lawmaking and advocate for science policy.
Why are some rocks on the moon highly magnetic? MIT scientists may have an answer
A large impact could have briefly amplified the moon’s weak magnetic field, creating a momentary spike that was recorded in some lunar rocks.
Learning how to predict rare kinds of failures
Researchers are developing algorithms to predict failures when automation meets the real world in areas like air traffic scheduling or autonomous vehicles.
Astronomers discover a planet that’s rapidly disintegrating, producing a comet-like tail
The small and rocky lava world sheds an amount of material equivalent to the mass of Mount Everest every 30.5 hours.
Lincoln Laboratory honored for technology transfer of hurricane-tracking satellites
Federal Laboratory Consortium award recognizes excellence in commercializing small microwave sounders expected to improve weather forecasts.
At the core of problem-solving
Stuart Levine ’97, director of MIT’s BioMicro Center, keeps departmental researchers at the forefront of systems biology.
Study: Tuberculosis relies on protective genes during airborne transmission
The findings provide new drug targets for stopping the infection’s spread.
MIT engineers prepare to send three payloads to the moon
Data from the devices will help future astronauts navigate the moon’s south polar region and search for frozen water.