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Space Exploration Initiative director Ariel Ekblaw speaks with WIRED’s Ramin Skibba about the beginning and future of space tourism.
A conversation recently aired on Planetary Radio, hosted by Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society, featuring SEI director Ariel Ekblaw.
The LA Times talks to Fluid Interfaces alum Xin Liu about her art project Living Distance.
In recent years, there has been an increase in low-cost and open-source electronic and chemical sensors that hobbyists, concerned citizens,…
A FerroMagnetic Suit For Zero Gravity // Grounding Humans without Gravity
Gravity Proof is a performance and mission to prepare and cook bread in space. Inspired by ancient recipes and archaeological bread re…
Life Beyond Earth is a multidisciplinary project that explores advanced space architecture concepts to enable humankind to live on the Moon.
In 2015, the director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), Jan Wörner, introduced the concept of the “Moon Village.” Inspired by the…
Under Dr. Wood's leadership, the program will move forward with the NASA Astrobee robotic system as its new in-space robotic platform.
This research highlights opportunities to bring the rich culture of Earth-based fermentation practices to space to design beneficial applic…
The Interplanetary Gastronomy research aims to address the unique challenges and opportunities associated with eating in s…
Our journeys off-world have taught us just as much about humanity as the harsh environment of space. For the past 20 years, we have had a c…
Liu, Fangzheng. (2021). LunarWSN: A Wireless Sensor Network for In-Situ Lunar Water Ice Detection.
Explore Moon ArchitectureWorkshop @Digital FUTURESNASA’s Artemis Program is envisioning a plan to drive humanity to live on our closest cel…
Living in space could have significant physical and mental impacts on astronauts. Wearables have the potential to play a critical role in m…
The Space Exploration Initiative supports research across and beyond MIT in two microgravity flights this spring.
Ever wish you could toss your folded up tent and have it self-assemble mid-air? Well...you can. In a zero gravity environment.Self As…
By Larissa Zhou and Adam ZacharFood is crucial to maintaining the physical and psychological health of humans in space. Eating food pr…
By Nancy Valladares and Rae Yuping HsuThis project is an art performance that seeks to rethink imaginaries of multispecies surviv…
The Miniature Optical Steered Antenna for Intersatellite Communications (MOSAIC)By Shreeyam KackerThe Miniature Optical Steered Antenn…
Solid-state microfrabricated devices are in development to replace contemporary heavy mechanical components for use in spacecraft propellan…
How did life originate? Nobody knows. Life might not even be native to our Earth - it might have come from asteroids or the interstellar me…
By Somayajulu Dhulipala and Manwei ChanAs humanity explores deeper into space, long-duration missions will require horticulture activities …
By Po-Hao ChiHow could microgravity/hypergravity shape our perceptual experience of listening with weightlessness? How can we seek to explo…
Danielle Wood talks about the key role space technologies can play in advancing equity on Earth, if we design for sustainability.
Space Enabled director Danielle Wood talks about applying space technologies to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Ariel Ekblaw spoke at the Chautauqua Institution about her novel space architecture ideas and a call for more dialogue on space ethics.
Ekblaw, Ariel. "Into the Anthropocosmos: A Whole Space Catalog from the MIT Space Exploration Initiative." MIT Press, September 2021. ISBN: 9780262046374
MIT researchers are co-leading the design of a global Space Sustainability Rating system that will soon be operational.
The projects on board the Media Lab's first suborbital rocket flight
This mission included participation from several departments at MIT and outside collaborators from across the globe.
A team led by the Space Enabled group, ESA, and the World Economic Forum will address waste in Earth’s orbit
How might zero gravity space affect silk spinning, and what benefits might such material properties provide for digital fabrication and add…
Maiden Flight is an autonomous biological laboratory environment designed for studying the impact of space flight on the sole reproductive …
How can we design relationships between the most primitive and the most sophisticated life forms? Can we design wearables embedded with s…
Life on Mars, if it exists, could have been transferred between Earth and Mars due to meteorite impacts. The Search for Extra-Terrestrial G…
The Interplanetary Cookbook, developed by Maggie Coblentz, presents thought-provoking recipes and zero-g kitchenware for the future of life…
EBIFA (Everything Beautiful Is Far Away) is a crystalline robotic device that carried a tooth to outer space. EBIFA's form and fu…
The Space Exploration Initiative and Space Enabled research group are participating in this year's Virtual MIT Space Week.
The rapid advancement of electronic devices and fabrication technologies has further promoted the field of wearables and smart textiles. Ho…
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 hu…
Researchers + artists reflect on the partnerships that have created career opportunities and forged a deeper public understanding of science
Prof Dava Newman fields listeners' questions about climate change and introduces EarthDNA, a platform for climate advocacy and action.
Read the new MIT Space Policy Compendium led by Dava Newman with co-authors including Ariel Ekblaw and Danielle Wood.
Taking a taste of the sensory research of Space Exploration Initiative’s Maggie Coblentz
A multi-course tasting menu was flown on a zero gravity flight in August 2019. Five specially crafted dishes were consumed…
Ovienmhada, U (2020). Earth Observation Technology Applied to Environmental Management: A Case Study in Benin, Thesis for Master of Science in Media Arts & Sciences. MIT, Cambridge, MA.
Fabric samples are headed to the ISS for resiliency testing; possible applications include cosmic dust detectors or spacesuit smart skins.
Space research, led by a diverse team of women scientists, will be presented at this year's AIAA Ascend Conference.
Building an open, shared, and collaborative future of lunar exploration.Explore the Lunar Open Architecture (LOA) at loa.mit.edu. …
The MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative is pushing the boundaries of space exploration innovation across the Media Lab’s many health…
In December of 1968, the first human voyage to the moon catapulted the population of Earth into a new era of space exploration and self-ref…
Climate CubeSat Co-Building (C3) The Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative is driven by an effort to democratize the future…
Innovation dynamics of emerging co-creation practices: What are the impacts on inclusion?
Biological neuronal networks are highly complex and interconnected with superior information processing capabilities. Such networks have pr…
Tom Standage and Seth Stevenson talk to a range of experts about what Victorian-era polar exploration can teach us about space travel.
A collaboration between CAST visiting artist Thom Kubli, Hiroshi Ishii, and members of the Tangible Media group.
Listen to Danielle Wood speak in a new episode of the Stories of Transformation podcast.
If the space industry wants to become more diverse, it must come to terms with how racially motivated decisions shape the country, Wood said
The United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter is the Arab world’s first interplanetary spacecraft — and has jump-started science in the country.
Artists and scientists from MIT united to create "Orbiting," an aerial archive of objects that trace the history of humanity.
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 freq…
We study textiles and nets as a base form for growing infrastructure and allowing reconfigurable sensing on low gravity bodies (for instanc…
Like too many science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, the aerospace sector in the US is populated mainly by white people.
The future of human life outside of Earth will heavily depend on the ability to fabricate and manufacture things. Yet fabrication in space …
Developed by a team of Media Lab researchers, SpaceHuman is a seahorse-inspired additive prosthetic for use in microgravity environments.
Sumini, V., Muccillo, M., Milliken, J., Ekblaw, A. and Paradiso, J., 2020. SpaceHuman: A Soft Robotic Prosthetic For Space Exploration. [online] Dl.acm.org. Available at: <https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3334480.3383087> [Accessed: 11 May 2020]