MIT AeroAstro

Grad student Anushka Tahiliani led the propulsion-system modeling effort for Electra.aero’s team in the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 initiative, advancing a new framework that allows […] The post Anushka Tahiliani earns AIAA honor for propulsion modeling work with Electra.aero’s NASA AACES 2050 team appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Aimee Maurais PhD ’26 has received a SIAM Student Paper Prize from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics for her paper, “Multifidelity Covariance Estimation via Regression on the Manifold […] The post Aimee Maurais PhD ’26 receives SIAM Student Paper Prize for work on efficient uncertainty quantification appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Jasmine Jerry Aloor (DINaMo), Yuying Lin (necstlab), and Lanie McKinney (APG) have been named 2026 Amelia Earhart Fellows by Zonta International. The annual award includes a $10,000 fellowship, given to […] The post Three from AeroAstro awarded 2026 Amelia Earhart Fellowships appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

A physician and neuroscientist who studies how anesthesia affects the brain; a leader in aerospace engineering, policy, and education; and the founding head of MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering have […] The post Emery Brown, Daniel Hastings, and Douglas Lauffenburger named Institute Professors appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Artificial intelligence has rapidly transformed software engineering. Generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can create huge volumes of code and documentation; machine-learning algorithms can monitor performance and detect security […] The post Can AI build a jet engine? JARVIS Challenge tests role of AI copilots in tough-tech engineering appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Three teams comprising 35 students across eight different MIT departments and Wellesley College have been at work since fall 2025, designing critical early infrastructure elements that a moon base would […] The post MIT student teams win top honors in NASA competition appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Air taxis and autonomous aircraft are expected to fly in the skies above major cities in the coming years; far more aircraft than today’s air traffic controllers can handle directly. […] The post Decentralized autonomous traffic management through corridor networks appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Read the full article in English and French on the CentraleSupélec website. The winner of the Robert B. Guenassia Prize, awarded to CentraleSupélec students pursuing their studies at MIT, Evrard […] The post CentraleSupélec: Evrard Constant honored with Robert B. Guenassia Prize appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Imagine working at a warehouse or office sometime in the near future, and you’re asked to help a new trainee learn the basics of their job. The catch: It’s a […] The post LLMs help robots understand vague instructions and focus on key details appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

At the recent AI and Society Forum at MIT, experts from across the Institute discussed the potential benefits and dangers of technological innovation on labor, the nature of work, civil […] The post Exploring the societal impacts of AI appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

As humans consider long-duration exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, there are outstanding questions about how to design spacecraft habitats to support crew wellbeing. Researchers in the Engineering Systems […] The post Interactive causal diagram of habitat design impacts on behavioral health and performance in extreme environments appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

To search for life outside our solar system, NASA’s next space telescope, the Habitable Worlds Observatory, must completely block a host star’s blinding light with picometer-level precision to directly image […] The post Demonstration of a modal dark zone maintenance algorithm for high-contrast direct imaging appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Researchers in the Engineering Systems Lab, led by graduate student Daniel Gochenaur, present a detailed technical proposal to use 3D-aerocapture to deploy a GPS-like constellation upon hyperbolic arrival at Mars. […] The post Design and deployment of a Martian global navigation satellite system using aerocapture appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Researchers in the Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment address the need for more literature focused on electric aircraft propulsion systems by consolidating a range of low-fidelity design methods for […] The post Electrified aircraft design: A summary of best practices and design methods for practitioners and engineering students appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

MIT has again been named the world’s top university by the QS World University Rankings, which were announced today. This is the 15th year in a row MIT has received […] The post QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2026-27 appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

MIT engineers are testing a new propulsion system that combines the power and speed of conventional chemical thrusters with the precision and fuel-efficiency of electrical thrusters.  The system could enable […] The post New propulsion system could make tiny satellites both fast and fuel-efficient appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Researchers in the Aerospace Plasma Group along with European collaborators conducted experiments involving lightning sweeping across an airplane’s surface in the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel, using diagnostics to better understand […] The post Wind tunnel experiments of long arcs in crossflow: Cathodic roots and scaling appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Engineering Systems Lab researcher Yana Charoenboonvivat and Prof. Olivier de Weck developed a method to estimate the extraterrestrial power needed to support human missions on the Moon and Mars.  Authors: […] The post Surface power demand modeling for human martian and lunar missions appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

In alphabetical order: In alphabetical order: The post Congratulations to the Course XVI Class of 2026! appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .

Spring once again marked a season of recognizing accomplishments for Course XVI, as students, faculty, staff, and researchers were honored for not only their achievements in mentorship, leadership, and research, […] The post AeroAstro 2026 Community Awards appeared first on MIT AeroAstro .