Eyes on the stars: The story of alum/astronaut Ronald McNair

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 20:25:45 GMT

MIT alum and physicist Ronald E. McNair, who was the second African American to enter space, was first a kid with big dreams in Lake City, S.C.

Highlights of Endeavour's fifth flight

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:30:18 GMT

STS-61 was the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and launched on Dec. 2, 1993.

Awards

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Guidance from the Outside

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Chair: Steve Robinson

Co-Chair: Sasha Efremov

Panelists: Judith Burki-Cohen, Jim Lackner, Paul DiZio, John Tylko, Jay Buckey, Conrad Wall

Some Current Student Research

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Chair: Aaron Johnson

Co-Chair: Torin Clark

Panelists: Current MVL Students, introducing their posters to be shown at the reception

The '10s

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Chair: Jeff Hoffman

Co-Chair: Julie Shah

Panelists: Roedolph Opperman, Alex Stimpson, Jaime Mateus, Thaddeus Fulford-Jones, Victor Wang

The '60s

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Chair: Larry Young

Co-Chair: Greg Zacharias

Panelists: Ken Li or Wendy Spector, Philip Kilpatrick, Lew Nashner, Peter Benjamin, Howard Hermann

The '70s

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Chair: Chuck Oman

Co-Chair: Eli Gai

Panelists: Chas Burr, John Tole, Susan Riedel, Elazer Edelman, Sasha Efremov, Bob Renshaw

The '80s

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Chair: Steve Bussolari

Co-Chair: Bob Kenyon

Panelists: Mark Kulbaski, Divya Chandra, Keoki Jackson, Mark Shelhamer, Ed Marcus

The '90s

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:09:04 GMT

Chair: Dava Newman

Co-Chair: Dan Merfeld

Panelists: Peter Diamandis (video), Ted Liefeld, Chris Carr, Jason Richards, Mindy Gallo Eckman, Erika Wagner, Corinna Lathan

Introduction and Welcome

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 07:11:16 GMT

Jaime Peraire, Head, Department AeroAstro

MIT-designed microthrusters can propel small satellites

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 07:09:58 GMT

A penny-sized rocket thruster, designed by MIT's Paulo Lozano, may soon power the smallest satellites in space.

Mapping the Moon's Shackleton Crater

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:30:10 GMT

Scientists from MIT, Brown University, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and other institutions have mapped the moon's Shackleton crater with unprecedented detail, and found possible evidence for small amounts of ice on the crater's floor.

The Earth as You've Never Seen it Before: Atmosphere, Airglow and Aurora

Thu, 31 May 2012 19:58:31 GMT

This time-lapse video focuses on the atmospheric line and 'airglow', which is a chemiluminescent process by which the atmosphere gives off its own light.

Read more about the science behind 'airglow': http://auroranightglow.blogspot.com/

Video by Alex Rivest, PhD.

High Resolution images courtesy of The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. The Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center:

eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos/

Music: "JLTF" by Moby. Permission from MobyGratis.com

The Stars as Viewed from the International Space Station

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:42:48 GMT

Time-lapse videos depicting the stars from low earth orbit, as viewed from the International Space Station.

The Best View in the Solar System

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:43:31 GMT

Earth from the International Space Station, as assembled by NASA's Johnson Space Center and MIT's Alex Rivest.

Spheres: Zero Robotics Competition Awards

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:17:41 GMT

Recorded on 1/23/12

Profile: EAPS Graduate Student Yodit Tewelde

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:50:42 GMT

Yodit Tewelde is a graduate student in the Planetary Science Program in EAPS. Childhood planetarium visits and a love of reading science fiction novels, meant Yodit always suspected space or space exploration was somewhere in a her future. In High School, while she was trying to decide whether to go into science or engineering, she became involved in MITES (the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science program, http://web.mit.edu/mites), coming to MIT for a summer to find out what life at MIT was like. There she fell in love with the engineering class and decided to come to AeroAstro to do her undergrad. It was following a UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, http://web.mit.edu/urop) in EAPS that she decided to switch back towards science, returning to EAPS for grad. school. In this interview, Yodit recounts the research she has been doing during the first 2 years of her Ph.D. studies. The first project concerns mapping the "Ghost Craters of Mars". The northern lowlands of Mars, which make up about a third of its surface, are 4 to 5 kms lower than the southern highlands and are thought to have been created by a giant impact. Within that impact however there are numerous smaller "ghost craters" or craters that, over time, have become filled in. Yodit's work involves trying to figure out the volume of fill and what it is made out of, enabling her to infer what the surface might have looked like in the past: to learn about such things as ancient shorelines and the evolution of Mars as a whole. The second project, with EAPS assistant professor Taylor Perron, concerns Titan (the 6th moon of Saturn) chosen, as Yodit explains, because, other than Earth, it is the only place we know of in our Solar System with a dense nitrogen atmosphere. It is also the only place (other than Earth) within the solar system currently known to hold liquid on its surface, although on Titan that liquid is methane not water and instead of cutting through rock like it does on Earth, on Titan the liquid methane cuts through water ice. Yodit studies surface drainage patterns created in such an environment, comparing them with similar patterns on Earth, to provide new insights into surface conditions on Titan.

Life in the Universe: Why Mars Matters

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:26:33 GMT

Take a Spin on the Centrifuge (MIT Engineering K-12 Video Pilot)

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:33:46 GMT

This video uses Man-Vehicle Lab's human centrifuge to discuss centripetal force and countermeasures for astronaut bone and muscle loss in space. It shows the mathematics required to calculate centripetal force, and performs an experiment on the centrifuge with an "astronaut."

Space Shuttle Endeavour Lifts Off

Tue, 17 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT

The youngest of the space shuttles blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:56 AM EDT on May 16. It is headed to the International Space Station for its final 16-day mission.

Sampling MIT at the MIT Museum: The Future of Human Spaceflight

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:01:03 GMT

Research by the MIT Space Policy and Society group has the possibility of shaping the most important human space policy decisions in a generation. On view in this exhibit is the space suit designed by Professor Dava Newman, as well as other artifacts relating to exploration of outer space.

Future of Human Spaceflight: The Augustine Report

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:21:52 GMT

In June 2009, NASA created the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee and charged it with conducting "an independent review of ongoing U.S. human space flight plans and programs, as well as alternatives, to ensure the Nation is pursuing the best trajectory for the future of human space flight - one that is safe, innovative, affordable, and sustainable." Retired aerospace executive Norman Augustine was named committee chairman. The committee presented its report in October 2009. The report found that "The U.S. human spaceflight program appears to be on an unsustainable trajectory. It is perpetuating the perilous practice of pursuing goals that do not match allocated resources." Among its recommendations: extend the life of the international space station until 2020, look to commercial spaceflight for placing astronauts in low-Earth orbit, and consider flights to asteroids and other locations as part of a long-term plan to get to Mars. The report is available at http://www.nasa.gov/offices/hsf/home/index.html

MIT students send a balloon to near space for $150

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:32:18 GMT

Two students sent a camera-dangling balloon to near space and took stunning photography of Earth: all for $150.

Giant Leaps: The Legacy of the Apollo Program

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:15:57 GMT

What is the legacy of the Apollo program, and what can we learn from it to help us confront the scientific and engineering challenges of our own time?

Plasma Rocket (coke bottle)

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:29:57 GMT

The testing of a prototype plasma rocket being developed at MIT that is much smaller than other rockets of its kind.

Plasma rocket

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:28:02 GMT

The testing of a prototype plasma rocket being developed at MIT that is much smaller than other rockets of its kind.

The Power of Revolutionary Thinking: What Today's Scientists Can Teach You About Driving Innovation In Your Organization

Thu, 22 Sep 2005 04:00:00 GMT

"You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights."

While Dr. Seuss may not have been a direct inspiration, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" seems especially suited to these four "brainy and footsy people" with exceptional reach.

Take Bradley Carl Edwards, who is designing a space elevator 62 thousand miles long, made out of a three-foot wide ribbon of carbon nanotubes, with one end attached to earth and the other sticking out in space. Send up solar panel satellites and you've got a constant, inexpensive supply of power for the world.

And there's Dava Newman, who is working on a spacesuit made out of liquefied polymers and electro active materials. Her "shrink-wrapped" Biosuit system is intended for "extreme explorers" on multi-year missions to the moon and beyond, who need second skins to augment human performance and minimize bone and muscle loss typical in low gravity environments.

Or Penelope Boston, whose investigation of our planet's harshest caves is leading to models for human habitation in subterranean lava tubes on Mars. Deploy "microbots" to reconnoiter for danger and signs of life in these deep and dangerous places, suggests Boston, then develop life support mechanisms in preparation for human colonies on other worlds.

Are these merely flights of fancy? Robert Cassanova thinks not. His NIAC serves as incubator to these "really good revolutionary ideas," which he believes stretch the imagination but that will also end up as credible technologies. Participants: Alf Nucifora, Chairman, Nucifora Consulting Group; Marketing c; Robert Cassanova, Director, NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC); Dava Newman, Sm '89, PhD '92, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems; Bradley Carl Edwards, President and Founder, Carbon Designs Host(s): Alumni Association, MIT Enterprise Forum Event date: 9/22/2005

Recent Videos tagged 'Spaceflight' on MIT Video

Eyes on the stars: The story of alum/astronaut Ronald McNair

Highlights of Endeavour's fifth flight

Awards

Guidance from the Outside

Some Current Student Research

The '10s

The '60s

The '70s

The '80s

The '90s

Introduction and Welcome

MIT-designed microthrusters can propel small satellites

Mapping the Moon's Shackleton Crater

The Earth as You've Never Seen it Before: Atmosphere, Airglow and Aurora

The Stars as Viewed from the International Space Station

The Best View in the Solar System

Spheres: Zero Robotics Competition Awards

Profile: EAPS Graduate Student Yodit Tewelde

Life in the Universe: Why Mars Matters

Take a Spin on the Centrifuge (MIT Engineering K-12 Video Pilot)

Space Shuttle Endeavour Lifts Off

Sampling MIT at the MIT Museum: The Future of Human Spaceflight

Future of Human Spaceflight: The Augustine Report

MIT students send a balloon to near space for $150

Giant Leaps: The Legacy of the Apollo Program

Plasma Rocket (coke bottle)

Plasma rocket

The Power of Revolutionary Thinking: What Today's Scientists Can Teach You About Driving Innovation In Your Organization