Space Exploration Initiative

The outermost skin of a space-based structure is designed using materials known to protect against the harsh elements of space. Simultane...

An astronaut's ability to leverage the sense of touch is substantially reduced when wearing a protective, pressurized spacesuit. We imagi...

A major concern for manned missions is space radiation. Ionizing radiation is known to pose both acute and chronic risks to many organism...

The rapid advancement of electronic devices and fabrication technologies has further promoted the field of wearables and smart textiles. ...

Microbial monitoring plays a critical role in informing governments, researchers, and locals on the health of their ecosystem.  Unfo...

Wearables are being widely researched for monitoring individual's health and wellbeing. Current generation wearable devices sense an indi...

Climate CubeSat Co-Building (C3) The Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative is driven by an effort to democratize the futu...

In 2015, the director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), Jan Wörner, introduced the concept of the “Moon Village.” Inspired by t...

When contemplating the future of life in space, we dream not only of rockets and off-world societies, but also of art, of leisure, and fr...

The Lut Desert of Iran is one of the most similar regions to Mars. Close to that area, there are vernacular adobe architectures that are ...

How might zero gravity space affect silk spinning, and what benefits might such material properties provide for digital fabrication and a...

SpaceHuman is a soft robotics device designed to facilitate the exploration of environments with reduced gravity in a view of democratiza...

 A multi-course tasting menu was flown on a zero gravity flight in August 2019.  Five specially crafted dishes were consum...

Space/Craft explores sculpting in zero gravity. Making artistic works by hand is a fundamentally human act, but how will it transfor...

Wax-based hybrid rocket propellants, including paraffin (common candlewax) and beeswax show promise as high-performing hybrid rocket prop...

The MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative is pushing the boundaries of space exploration innovation across the Media Lab’s many heal...

Fermentation in Space: From the Microbiome to the Envirome This research highlights the many opportunities to bring our rich culture...

A molecular gastronomy experiment was flown on a zero gravity flight in August 2019, using spherification techniques to create recipes in...

Maiden Flight is an autonomous biological laboratory environment designed for studying the impact of space flight on the sole reproductiv...

Living Distance is a mission and a fantasy realized, in which a wisdom tooth is sent to outer space and back down to Earth again. Carried...

This project asks, how can we transmit experiences across space and time? The launching point of the project is to create a drawing that ...

Overview: How will we build the coming generations of Space Architecture—the modules, space ships, and space stations that will ensc...

Maggie Coblentz is developing “The Interplanetary Cookbook”—a collection of speculative recipes, tools for eating, and sensory experience...

Maggie Coblentz leads research and design on interplanetary gastronomy at the Space Exploration Initiative, where she is developing ...

Games are a uniquely human endeavour, reducing stress and supporting mental well-being. Astronauts aboard the ISS have created their own ...

The widespread synthesis of common organic building blocks in space could have biased life beyond Earth towards chemical similarities to ...

We study textiles and nets as a base form for growing infrastructure and allowing reconfigurable sensing on low gravity bodies (for insta...

Gravity anchors all existence on Earth.It pulls a chaotic world to one single point in every moment of life. Even though gravity is every...

Structurally, zero gravity means that we do not have to contend with architecture's greatest arch-nemesis, gravity. This opens up a new w...

Expansion microscopy (ExM) is a new imaging modality developed by MIT Media Lab's Synthetic Neurobiology group. ExM allows biomolecules t...

​​​​​​​​​The Orbit Weaver Suit for zero gravity was designed by Media Lab Director's Fellow Andrea Lauer in collaboration with ...

The Scratch Team invited young people from around the world to create Scratch projects designed specifically to be played in zero gr...

The brain uses space to index, organize, and retrieve memories. However, our sense of space depends on our perception of gravity. We...

This project seeks to examine the effects of altered gravity on an individual’s physiology during parabolic flight. Specifically, we will...

Today, the environments that humans occupy in space are designed for survival. Humans are carefully shuttled to and from space, and durin...

Each new technology forces us to confront who we are as humans.  As technological innovations in deep space exploration keep advanci...