Dr. Ricardo Vinuesa, associate professor of aerospace engineering at Michigan Aerospace Engineering, was featured in The New York Post article “‘Catastrophic’ airplane turbulence is only getting worse — go inside the billion-dollar race to solve it.” The article discusses how AI can be used to design aircraft that can fly through turbulence Continue Reading »
Category: In the Media
“Radical Proposal Would Block Solar Storms with Orbital ‘Airbag'”
Dr. Dan Welling, Assistant Professor at U-M Climate and Space, was interviewed for the article “Radical proposal would block solar storms with orbital ‘airbag’: Gases released from satellites could slash the threat of severe space weather” in Science. | June 2, 2026
“Former Astronaut from Michigan Breaks Down Artemis II Re-entry Plan & Risks”
Jim Bagian, professor of engineering practice for U-M industrial and operations engineering, was featured on WXYZ Detroit in the article “Former Astronaut from Michigan Breaks Down Artemis II Re-entry Plan & Risks.” The article discusses the risks involved for the Artemis II crew. | April 10, 2026
“NASA is Testing an AI Model to Protect Artemis II Astronauts from Solar Radiation”
Lulu Zhao, assistant professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, and principal investigator of U-M’s CLEAR Center was featured on Earth.com in the article “NASA is Testing an AI Model to Protect Artemis II Astronauts from Solar Radiation.” The article discusses how the CLEAR Center is providing forecasts of dangerous solar radiation Continue Reading »
“Astronomers Discover Dozens of Stellar Streams in the Milky Way”
In an article for earth.com, Yingtian Chen, a graduate student at the University of Michigan Department of Astronomy, discusses his study on stellar streams and how they help astronomers reconstruct the Milky Way’s past and understand the galaxy’s gravitational structure. He was interviewed in the article “Astronomers discover dozens of stellar streams in the Continue Reading »
“Google’s Proposed Data Center in Orbit Will Face Issues With Space Debris in an Already Crowded Orbit”
Dr. Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, an Associate Research Scientist at University of Michigan Climate and Space, wrote a piece for The Conversation titled “Google’s proposed data center in orbit will face issues with space debris in an already crowded orbit.” | December 3, 2025
“NASA Rover Makes a Shocking Discovery: Lightning on Mars”
Christopher Ruf and Nilton Renno, professors of climate and space sciences and engineering, were featured in The New York Times in the article “NASA Rover Makes a Shocking Discovery: Lightning on Mars.” The article highlights how sixteen years ago they reported electrical discharges on Mars. | November 26, 2025
“The Future of Space Commerce is Uncertain Under Trump. Here’s Why.”
Dr. Michael Liemohn, professor at U-M Climate and Space, was featured in the article, “The Future of Space Commerce is Uncertain Under Trump. Here’s Why.” for The Conversation. The article highlights how The Office of Space Commerce has been under stress in 2025 due to budget cuts and regulation hurdles. | October 27,
“Solar Sail Probe Could Detect Space Tornadoes Earlier”
Dr. Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti and Dr. Chip Manchester, of the University of Michigan Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, were quoted in an article in Futurity with the headline “Solar sail probe could detect space tornadoes earlier.” | October 8, 2025
“Earth Has a Space Tornado Problem”
Dr. Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, a research faculty member at U-M Climate and Space, was featured in the article, “Earth has a space tornado problem” for Popular Science. The article highlights how solar storms can cause their own kinds of havoc, just like severe thunderstorms on Earth. | October 6, 2025