Nidhi Subbaraman reports for BetaBoston on new jetpack technology being developed by a team from MIT, Draper, and NASA. “The team has tested the technology in a virtual reality simulator, where astronauts were challenged to tackle a Martian landscape obstacle course dotted with orange pylons while wearing jetpacks,” writes Subbaraman.
Forbes reporter Bruce Dorminey writes about a new MIT study showing that refueling at the moon would make Mars missions more efficient. Prof. Olivier de Weck explains that this strategy could “represent a savings of $5.8 billion per mission.”
Robert McMillan writes for Wired about Margaret Hamilton, whose work as an MIT computer scientist on the Apollo program helped to lay the foundations for modern software. “Software engineering, a concept Hamilton pioneered, has found its way from the moon landing to nearly every human endeavor,” McMillan explains.
In an article for New Scientist, Lisa Grossman writes that Prof. Paulo Lozano is developing a miniature propulsion system for steering CubeSats, a type of tiny satellite, around in space. “We want to offer space access to people who don’t currently have space access,” explains Lozano.
Graduate student Sydney Do speaks with Huffington Post Live about the technological shortfalls that currently make the Mars One plan for colonizing the Red Planet unrealistic. “Our finding is the Mars One plan is inherently unsustainable and is hence infeasible,” explains Do. “The technology that’s required is just not there yet.”
Graduate students Sydney Do and Andrew Owens will debate Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp at a convention celebrating the red planet this month, writes Steve Annear for The Boston Globe: “Do, Owens, and other MIT researchers released a paper in October questioning the Mars One mission design and practicality.”
Justine Hofherr writes for Boston.com about Prof. Dava Newman, highlighting her new role as deputy administrator of NASA, her work planning for a manned mission to Mars and her goal to encourage more young girls to pursue careers in STEM. “I’m motivated every single day because my passion is exploration,” says Newman.
MIT researchers have developed lightweight, inflatable tents that could allow astronauts to spend more time exploring the moon, reports Charles Choi for Popular Science. Choi explains that the “mobile overnight habitat, designed to fit aboard a no-frills lunar rover” would only take up “roughly half as much space as an average refrigerator” when packed.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Professor Dava Newman as the NASA deputy administrator, writes Janelle Nanos for BetaBoston. “It’s an enormous honor to serve at NASA in times when our country is extending humanity’s reach into space while strengthening American leadership here on Earth,” says Newman.
Jordain Carney writes for The Hill that the Senate has approved Professor Dava Newman to be NASA’s next deputy administrator.
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Sara Seager imagines what space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life will be like in 2045. Seager writes that, “Data has been flooding in from the nation’s latest space telescope, one with a 30-meter-diameter mirror (the Hubble’s, for comparison, was 2.4 meters).”
Professor Sara Seager describes her favorite photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows newborn stars surrounded by raw planetary materials, in an article for The New York Times. “This image is my favorite because even more astonishing than the beauty is the implication,” writes Seager.
Mary Bowerman writes for USA Today that while the Mars One Project has narrowed its applicants to the top 100, MIT researchers question whether the technology exists to accomplish the mission. "A lot of the technologies you need to sustain life on Mars are very much in development,” says Ph.D. candidate Sydney Do.
Following the announcement of the shortlist for participants for the Mars One project, Michael Rundle of The Huffington Post reports on an MIT study indicating that current technology makes the mission infeasible. Even with additional technology “the Mars One mission would become exceedingly expensive and unsustainable” over time, explains Ph.D candidate Sydney Do.
The Huffington Post reports on an analysis of the Mars One project led by Professor Olivier de Weck. “We’re not saying, black and white, Mars One is infeasible,” explains de Weck. “But we do think it’s not really feasible under the assumptions they’ve made.”