MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics

09/03/2026

Mounting evidence suggests that the ingredients for life may exist in the highly acidic clouds that blanket Venus. In a new paper published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have shown that short peptides can not only remain stable in these conditions, they can also fold into shapes that may allow them to have biological functions.

“Before this, people thought that peptides couldn’t survive in sulfuric acid, so showing peptides are not only stable, but also fold, is a really big deal,” says Prof. Sara Seager, one senior author of the study.

Read more on MIT News:

MIT researchers found that in extremely acidic conditions, such as those in Venus’ clouds, short peptides can remain stable and fold into shapes that may allow them to have biological functions.

08/26/2026

A former MIT class project is becoming an $850 million effort to manufacture a new kind of aircraft in Ohio. Electra’s next-generation fixed-wing uSTOL aircraft is designed to make travel easier for people who don’t live in the immediate vicinity of a major airport, and began as a project in 16.886 (Air Transportation Systems Architecting).

Founded by John Langford ’79, SM ’83, SM ’85, PhD ’87, with Director of Technology Development Chris Courtin SM ’19, PhD ’24 helping develop the concept from its early days of testing in the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel, and Profs. Mark Drela and John Hansman serving as founding technical advisors, Electra is now scaling up production of its hybrid-electric aircraft

Learn more on MIT News:

Electra’s hybrid, fixed-wing aircraft, which began as an MIT class project, has minimal runway needs and is much quieter than traditional planes. The company has announced an $850 million investment to manufacture its nine-passenger aircraft at a facility in Ohio.

08/17/2026

As humans plan for longer journeys to the Moon and eventually Mars, designing habitats where crews can not only survive but also thrive will be essential to a mission’s success. Research led by PhD candidate Mich Lin is exploring how habitat features can support mental, emotional, and social wellbeing – and the team has created an interactive platform to visualize these connections.

“The awareness has been there for some time that living in space is difficult,” says Lin. “We’ve come a long way from the human in a tin can. As our priorities shift toward long-duration exploration missions, making sure a crew is safe, healthy, happy, and productive becomes even more important.”

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The Human-Environment Connection and Interaction Atlas (HECIA) is a tool for designing habitats in space and other extreme environments, where crews can not just survive but thrive. Users can explore the relationships between aspects of a habitat’s design and an inhabitant’s mental, emotional, a...

08/13/2026

Astronaut, alum, and retired Air Force Colonel E. Michael Fincke (SB ‘89) is returning home to MIT as Professor of the Practice in AeroAstro.

Following a 30-year NASA career that included four spaceflights and nine spacewalks, Col. Fincke will contribute his considerable expertise to research and education in human spaceflight, flight software, integrated testing, system safety, and spacecraft and habitat design. He brings an operational spaceflight perspective to the department, connecting engineering design with human performance, mission operations, leadership, and decision-making in high-consequence environments.

“NASA and MIT share a belief that knowledge carries a responsibility to serve,” Fincke says. “This is an extraordinary moment in aerospace, with difficult engineering challenges ahead and remarkable possibilities within reach. I believe deeply in humanity’s future—that we will return to the Moon, travel to Mars, explore farther across our solar system, and someday reach for the stars…I look forward to working alongside our students and faculty: to learn together, to build and test boldly, and to help prepare the teams who will carry human exploration forward while caring for the most beautiful planet in our solar system.”

Full announcement: https://ow.ly/Hn9z50Zzoy5

07/30/2026

Why is being physically near people such a problem in robotics? Grad student Alex Cuellar answers this – and 32(ish) other questions about research, AI, and MIT – for CSAIL - MIT
Watch the full video: https://ow.ly/7s0k50Zutfo

07/21/2026

We are proud to announce that Prof. Daniel Hastings SM ’78 has been awarded the title of Institute Professor, MIT’s highest faculty honor.

In over four decades at MIT, Prof. Hastings has pioneered research in space plasma environment interactions, electric propulsion, and space systems architecture, while serving in leadership roles across the Institute, aerospace community, and U.S. government. His career is defined by both technical innovation and a commitment to building stronger institutions.

Prof. Hastings established the modern engineering discipline of spacecraft environment interactions, work that has enabled technological advances to the International Space Station and to mainstream spacecraft propulsion. At MIT, he has served as dean for undergraduate education, led the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, chaired the MIT Values Statement Committee, and most recently as interim vice chancellor for undergraduate and graduate education. He also served a two-year term as president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and now chairs the AIAA Foundation, and served as chief scientist of the US Air Force.

And through it all, he still made time to watch every episode and movie in the “Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” and “Stargate” franchises.

Read more about Prof Hastings, as well as new Institute Professors Emery Brown and Douglas Lauffenburger, on MIT News:

Emery Brown, Douglas Lauffenburger, and Daniel Hastings have been awarded MIT’s highest faculty honor: the title of Institute Professor.

07/20/2026

Fifty-seven years ago today, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the moon. Behind the mission was a full stack of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers and new technologies that helped make it possible.

📸 Highlights:
- NASA astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, ScD ‘63, lunar module pilot of the first moon landing mission, poses with the American flag mounted in the “Sea of Tranquility” region of the lunar surface. (Credit: NASA)
- At MIT's Instrumentation Laboratory, engineers developed the guidance, navigation, and control software that helped guide Apollo to the lunar surface and safely back home. (Credit: MIT Museum)
- Margaret Hamilton, lead software engineer for the on-board flight software team for the Apollo Program at the Instrumentation Lab. (Credit: MIT Museum)
- Charles Stark Draper, former AeroAstro Department head and head of the MIT Instrumentation Lab. (Credit: MIT Museum)
- On July 17, 1969, MIT announced that the Institute would close on July 21, 1969 to celebrate the historic moment and campus contributions – “Yippee!” (Credit: Bill Litant)

07/15/2026

Can AI build a jet engine? MIT student teams designed, built, and tested a jet engine with AI copilots, assessing AI’s usefulness in developing high-performance aerospace systems.

The JARVIS Challenge (Jet-engine AI Research and Validation Intensive Sprint) gave undergraduates four weeks to design, fabricate, assemble, and test a small gas turbine aero engine, using AI as their primary engineering partner.

Read the full story on MIT News:

MIT's JARVIS Challenge (Jet-engine AI Research and Validation Intensive Sprint) is a new academic competition asking MIT students to explore whether AI can compress the design-build-test cycle so engineers can build faster and better.

07/01/2026

To help robots do chores in places like homes and factories, a new approach from CLEAR Lab and CSAIL - MIT researchers led by Prof. Andreea Bobu uses one language model to clarify users’ instructions, then another to ignore irrelevant info.

Their “Masked Inverse Reinforcement Learning” (Masked IRL) approach uses a large language model to elaborate on ambiguous prompts based on the data collected from a user’s demo. Another LLM then narrows down which details an algorithm should incorporate into a motion plan, so that a robot can safely complete chores in homes, offices, and factories.

Read more on MIT News:

MIT CSAIL's “Masked IRL” algorithm helps a robot understand ambiguous instructions so it does chores safely. An LLM first elaborates on users' prompts based on demonstration data, then another narrows down which details an algorithm should incorporate into a motion plan.

06/26/2026

A new chip developed by MIT researchers allows small autonomous robots to construct detailed 3D maps of their environments using only about as much power as a single LED. The chip could help tiny, low-power UAVs avoid obstacles as they zip around tight corners, such as inside an industrial HVAC system to check for gas leaks.

The paper is co-authored by graduate students Zih-Sing Fu and Peter Zhi Xuan Li as well as LIDS Director + AeroAstro Prof. Sertac Karaman and EECS Prof. Vivienne Sze.

Read more on MIT News:

Gleanmer is a new system that can construct detailed 3D maps of a robot’s environment at high speed while operating at extremely low power. The advance could enable tiny devices to avoid obstacles and safely navigate in the real world.