Category: University of Michigan Space Institute

First Data from XRISM Space Mission Provides New Perspective on Supermassive Black Holes

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
black hole
Some of the first data from an international space mission is confirming decades worth of speculation about the galactic neighborhoods of supermassive black holes. More exciting than the data, though, is the fact that the long-awaited satellite behind it—the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission or XRISM—is just getting started providing such unparalleled insights.

In Six New Rogue Worlds, Webb Telescope Finds More Star Birth Clues

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
stars
An international collaboration that included the University of Michigan has spotted six likely rogue worlds—objects with planetlike masses but untethered from any star’s gravity—using the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST. The discovery includes the lightest rogue planet candidate ever identified with a dusty disk around it. The elusive objects offer new evidence that the same cosmic processes that give birth to stars may also play a common role in making objects only slightly bigger than Jupiter.

NASA Selects U-M Team to Develop Technologies to Enhance Artemis Missions

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
Xhab logo
NASA and the National Space Grant Foundation have selected several university teams to develop advanced and innovative design ideas that will help solve Artemis mission challenges, including the BLISS (Bioastronautics and Life Support System) team at the University of Michigan. The selections are part of the 2023-2024 Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge sponsored by NASA’s Artemis Campaign Development Division.

Enduring the Fireball of Spacecraft Re-entry through Improved Radiative Heating Prediction

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
earth
When we think about space missions, our minds often drift to unforgettable moments from the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle Orbiter, or blockbuster movies. Among the many lasting memories from these endeavors, the image of the spacecraft engulfed in fiery plasma before safely landing back on Earth may be the most significant, as it symbolizes a successful mission. At the University of Michigan Department of Aerospace Engineering, researchers are working to better understand the complex scientific and engineering efforts behind these awe-inspiring scenes to ensure our astronauts continue to get home safely.

MRover Brings Home Top Ten Finish in International Competition

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rover
The University of Michigan Mars Rover Team (MRover) team took home a ninth place win at this year’s University Rover Challenge (URC) which took place over the weekend of May 29 at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). The top ten finish was a cause for celebration for the team after a major setback last August, 2023, when the team lost all of their tools and equipment in a fire, forcing them to restart late into their design cycle. 

“One Giant Leap” Still Resonates Today

Posted on by U-M Space Institute
moon landing
July 20, 1969, just before 11 p.m. EDT, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. On Earth, families huddled around the television, glued to the grainy image that transcended life as they knew it. Joel Bregman, H.D. Curtis Professor of Astronomy at LSA, was 17. “Everyone had been focused on the space race for years. They’d stop school and stream video or audio of every milestone,” he says. “Landing on the Moon seemed like out of science fiction. We didn’t know if it could be done. That night, I watched with my family, including my grandmother, who was born in Ukraine in the last 1800s—she’d witnessed the first car, first airplane, and now the first Moon landing. It was absolutely astonishing. Like a dream.”

NASA Announces Winners of Inaugural Human Lander Challenge

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HULC winners
On June 27, 2024, NASA announced the University of Michigan team to be the winner of the inaugural Human Lander Challenge, a challenge designed to provide solutions for landing humans on the moon. NASA’s 2024 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) Forum brought 12 university teams from across the United States to Huntsville, Alabama, near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center, to showcase their innovative concepts for addressing the complex issue of managing lunar dust.