MIT AeroAstro

🌎 Welcome home, astronauts! “Just take it slow, take it safe, we have them home – and they’re going to have to readapt to 1 G.” – Apollo Program Professor and MIT Media Lab director Dava Newman answered the question “What happens to the bodies of NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts returning to Earth?” for Newsbreak. Astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, and AeroAstro alum Nick Hague returned to earth with a soft splashdown off Florida's coast yesterday. “They’re gonna want their favorite food!” says Newman. “Tonight they’re gonna eat well.” Watch the interview: https://ow.ly/lbrL50VkIhK

Prof. Moe Z. Win and University of Ferrara researchers have developed a new framework leveraging non-Gaussian quantum states, overcoming limitations in quantum systems. Their findings pave the way for more accurate sensing and reliable communication, unlocking the full potential of quantum networks. “Quantum sensing and communication systems are expected to provide significant advantages with respect to their classical counterparts,” says Win. Read more on MIT News: https://lnkd.in/ehmkSBpw

I am thrilled to announce that, for the past few weeks, I have joined MIT AeroAstro as a Visiting Student Researcher within the Engineering Systems Laboratory (ESL) as part of Professor Daniel Hastings group. 🛰️ My research project explores the reentry of space debris into Earth's atmosphere and its growing environmental impact. ☄️ I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Hastings for this opportunity, as well as to the AeroAstro department and ESL students for their warm welcome. I look forward to continuing my research in such a stimulating environment, surrounded by inspiring people! ✨

Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.

Happy Pi Day! This year, Pi Day lands on a blood moon lunar eclipse. The Equatorial radius of the moon is about 1,738.1km. Can you use the radius to find the moon’s circumference? The answer is in the comments! Animation: Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT

MIT engineers are changing the world—be part of the impact! Support AeroAstro during the MIT 24-Hour Challenge today and invest in the future. Give now: giving.mit.edu/24hc-soe. #MIT24

I greatly look forward to moderating a panel on the emerging Cislunar Economy at the next New Space Age Conference on the 25th of April 2025, which will be the 10th anniversary edition at #MIT. #Sloan. #Cislunar #NewSpace

Profs. Danielle Wood and Kerri Cahoy explore the state of #satellite broadband tech and collision avoidance with IEEE Spectrum: “We can’t maintain the same pace of just adding new satellites in a way that’s going to guarantee safety,” Says Prof. Wood. “We all want to have great communication satellites and NASA science satellites and other satellites for weather, for example, that are all going to work together safely in space. And we’re not on a path toward doing that well.” Read the article: https://ow.ly/40oi50VfZJZ

In a new study published in Nature Sustainability, researchers in ARCLab have found that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can sustainably operate there. “The upper atmosphere is in a fragile state as climate change disrupts the status quo,” says grad student and lead author William Parker. “At the same time, there’s been a massive increase in the number of satellites launched, especially for delivering broadband internet from space. If we don’t manage this activity carefully and work to reduce our emissions, space could become too crowded, leading to more collisions and debris.” Read more on MIT News: https://ow.ly/qHfj50Vf3gE #climatechange #satellites

𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢, 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴. Phainoterra isn’t real, but it very well could be. Prof. Sara Seager and postdoctoral fellow Iaroslav Iakubivskyi imagined it as part of Proxima Kosmos, a new project that unites scientists, designers, and sci-fi writers to create a speculative solar system consistent with the laws of astronomy and physics. From Forbes: https://ow.ly/FcGv50VeQO7