Dr. Cheng Li, an assistant professor at U-M Climate and Space, was featured in “The Seven Most Interesting Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Saturn” for Smithsonian Magazine. Li unveiled the cause of Saturn’s giant storms that sometimes last for months. | September 16, 2024
“USSF Announces Selections for Advanced Space Power, Propulsion Research”
The University of Michigan was featured in “USSF Announces Selections for Advanced Space Power, Propulsion Research” for United States Space Force News. The United States Space Force, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory, selected Rochester Institute of Technology and University of Michigan to lead the USSF University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute Continue Reading »
Leinweber Innovation Lab Celebrates Grand Opening
A new, revolutionary space celebrated a grand opening on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, as project leaders cut the ribbon to present the Leinweber Innovation Laboratory to the University of Michigan and the greater science community.
“Awaiting their Return from Space”
Dr. Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, an assistant research scientist at U-M Climate and Space, discussed the challenges of a “space rescue” for stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, as well as the risks involved with the Boeing Crew Flight Test in the episode “Awaiting their Return from Space” published on The Continue Reading »
In Six New Rogue Worlds, Webb Telescope Finds More Star Birth Clues
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
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
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
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.
Power Grant Awarded to Marion Anderson
Marion Anderson, a graduate student in the BIRDS Lab, was awarded a U-M Space Institute Power Grant in the amount of $4,235, for his project “Development of an Open-Source, Low-Cost Gravity Compensation System for Legged Robots Using Rapid-Fabrication Techniques” in July 2024.
“Marion is working to develop a low-cost gravity compensation system for walking Continue Reading »
Pathfinder Grant Awarded to Xiaonan Huang
Xiaonan Huang, Assistant Professor at Michigan Robotics, was awarded a U-M Space Institute Pathfinder Grant in the amount of $5,000, for his project “Developing a Soft Vine Robot for Comet Surface and Subsurface Exploration” in July 2024.
“The investigation of cometary bodies offers fundamental insight into the primordial materials and processes, contributing critical knowledge Continue Reading »