Spaceflight

Five MIT Space Exploration Initiative payloads are enclosed within the Nanoracks BlackBox platform, further encased in a sample ISS experiment rack containment box, shown here in preflight testing for launch to the International Space Station in March.

Five MIT payloads deployed on the International Space Station

A cohort of transdisciplinary researchers will study the effects of sustained microgravity.

March 25, 2020

NASA's newest astronauts participate in a graduation ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Left to right: NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, CSA astronaut Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons, NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Kayla Barron, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara, Zena Cardman, Raja Chari, Matthew Dominick, Bob Hines, and W...

Three from MIT graduate from NASA astronaut training

Chari, Hoburg, and Moghbeli, all with ties to the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, among the first class to graduate under agency’s Artemis program.

January 22, 2020

Chris Carr and Maria Zuber of the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences have a little fun while monitoring their life-detection data experiment in microgravity.

Designing humanity’s future in space

The Space Exploration Initiative’s latest research flight explores work and play in microgravity.

November 26, 2019

The crew of HERA Campaign 5, Mission 2: (l-r) Barret Schlegelmilch SM ’18, MBA ’18, Christian Clark, Julie Mason, and Ana Mosquera.

Practicing for a voyage to Mars

Barret Schlegelmilch ’18 takes part in simulated NASA mission to the Martian moon Phobos.

October 29, 2019

Building on the legacy of the Apollo program, MIT faculty, staff, and students are working toward the next great advances in space flight — ones that could propel humans back to the moon, and to parts still unknown.

Taking the next giant leaps

Fifty years after the first moon landing with Apollo 11, the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics looks to the future of space exploration at MIT.

September 5, 2019

Microfluidic devices, like those shown here, could be 3-D printed in space and used to construct DNA for insertion into bacteria, reprogramming them to make specific products.

Scientists look to synthetic biology and 3-D printing for life support in space

Do-it-yourself bio and maker communities can help NASA meet needs of long-distance missions.

July 26, 2019

The computer system and software that controlled the Apollo 11 spacecraft — called the Apollo Guidance Computer and designed by the MIT Instrumentation Lab team — helped push technology forward in many ways. The computer itself was the first significant use of silicon integrated circuit chips.

Behind the scenes of the Apollo mission at MIT

From making the lunar landings possible to interpreting the meaning of the moon rocks, the Institute was a vital part of history.

July 18, 2019

Left to right: David Niño, senior lecturer in the MIT Gordon Engineering Leadership Program, moderated a discussion with Ellen Ochoa (center), former astronaut and current director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, and MIT Professor Dava Newman, former NASA deputy administrator, about their experiences as leaders with the U.S. space agency.

Lessons in NASA leadership

Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa and AeroAstro Professor Dava Newman share experiences as leaders of the U.S. space program.

April 5, 2018

NASA astronaut and former Whitehead Fellow Kathleen "Kate" Rubins returned to MIT for a public talk and engagement with local students.

Astronaut Kate Rubins returns to the Whitehead Institute to describe her experiences in low-Earth orbit

Former Whitehead Fellow and recent International Space Station resident gives public talk and engages with the next generation of scientists and engineers.

September 20, 2017

Three from MIT will train as NASA astronauts beginning in August: Raja Chari SM '01 (left), Jasmin Moghbeli '05 (center), and Assistant Professor Warren “Woody” Hoburg '08.

NASA selects three from MIT for astronaut training

Chari, Hoburg, and Moghbeli, all with ties to the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, represent a quarter of NASA's astronaut candidate Class of 2017.

June 13, 2017