Houston We Have a Podcast

Expert scientists and researchers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center gather to highlight the scientific breakthroughs aboard the International Space Station during a recent panel discussion celebrating 20 years of continuous human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory. HWHAP Episode 189.

Bill Paloski, former director of the Human Research Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, explores the idea of artificial gravity within a spacecraft for long-duration missions and explains how it may affect the human body from what we have learned through Earth-based studies. HWHAP Episode 188.

Experts of NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston recount what it has taken to support 20 years of continuous presence on the International Space Station. HWHAP Episode 187.

Cherie Oubre, Steve Platts, and Nikki Schwanbeck, expert human researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, discuss CIPHER, a complement of research protocols that investigates multiple aspects of the human body over varied durations of human space missions. HWHAP Episode 186.

Experts from NASA’s Mars Architecture Team gather to discuss the mechanics of returning the first astronauts from the surface of Mars back home to Earth on the final episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 185.

George Abbey, former center director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, former Expedition 1 training integrator Ginger Kerrick, and Expedition 1 crew members Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev gather to relive the first long-duration mission aboard the International Space Center. HWHAP Episode 184.

Mark Fernandez, principal investigator for the Spaceborne Computer-2, details the experiment on the International Space Station that will further test the capabilities of in-space computing which may help humans explore deeper into space. HWHAP Episode 183.

Chloe Sackier, entry, descent, and landing communications systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, illustrates the shortest and most intense phase of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission. HWHAP Episode 182

Natalie Mary, spacesuit systems engineer, explains what needs to be considered in the design and operation of a spacesuit that will be used to explore the surface of the Red Planet on the tenth episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 181.

Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, breaks down the intricate planning and integrated teams that are preparing the next missions to the Moon. Sarafin details the mission profile for Artemis I. HWHAP Episode 180.

Brock Howe, Bishop Airlock program manager at Nanoracks, details the history, design, and capabilities of the permanent commercial module that is now attached to the International Space Station. HWHAP Episode 179.

Sergei Krikalev, cosmonaut and flight engineer of Expedition 1, the first long-duration mission to the International Space Station, recounts the 20th anniversary of this mission and a career of fostering international collaboration. HWHAP Episode 178.

Paul Niles, planetary geologist and analytical geochemist, describes the Mars environment, terrain, weather, atmosphere, and more that humans will face while living on the Red Planet on this ninth episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 177.

Dr. Siobhan Malany, president of Micro-gRx and associate professor at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, brings her expertise to discuss tissue chips containing human muscle cells that recently made their way to the International Space Station for investigation. HWHAP Episode 176.

Team science experts Noshir Contractor, Suzanne Bell, and Leslie DeChurch discuss team composition research at NASA and the role teams play in human spaceflight and space exploration. HWHAP Episode 175.

Alicia Dwyer-Cianciolo and Doug Trent, entry, descent, and landing experts at NASA, unfold the intricacies of accomplishing a successful landing for humans visiting the Red Planet on this eighth episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 174.

NASA SUITS activity manager Brandon Hargis and technical lead Paromita Mitra talk about the opportunity for students and teachers to design and create spacesuit information displays in augmented reality environments. HWHAP Episode 173.

Botany experts Gioia Massa and Anna-Lisa Paul discuss how plants in space and the research being conducted on the International Space Station are key to the future of sustainable human space exploration. HWHAP Episode 172.

Howard Hu, Orion deputy program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, gives an update on Orion, the spacecraft that will take the next generation of space explorers to the Moon and beyond. HWHAP Episode 171.

Sharmila Watkins, Jennifer Fogarty, and Serena Aunon-Chancellor, scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, share what it takes for humans to live on a multi-year journey to, on, and from Mars on this seventh episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 170.

Joel Montalbano, the International Space Station program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, commemorates 20 years of continuous human presence on the orbiting laboratory, highlighting the program’s milestones, its assembly, and the ground-breaking research. HWHAP Episode 169.

Bill Shepherd, former NASA astronaut and commander of Expedition 1, recounts the historic mission that started the International Space Station’s unbroken streak of continuous human presence in space. HWHAP Episode 168.

Anthony Vareha, the lead flight director at NASA's Johnson Space Center for NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission, details the first crew rotation flight on a U.S. commercial spacecraft. HWHAP Episode 167.

Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi are NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts headed to the International Space Station for the first crew rotation flight on a U.S. commercial spacecraft. They share stories of their families, careers, training, and their upcoming mission. HWHAP Episode 166.

Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut and flight engineer for the upcoming Expedition 64 mission on the International Space Station, details her passion for science, and her previous experience on the station, and her anticipation of conducting more research in microgravity. HWHAP Episode 165.

Dr. Grace Douglas, lead scientist for NASA's Advanced Food Technology at the Johnson Space Center, shares the challenges of supplying food for a trip to Mars. Douglas describes the importance of variety, preservation, and farming on this sixth episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 164.

Jamie Semple and Mike McGlone, education specialist and coordinator, respectively, based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, share how students and teachers get involved in the form of student programs and challenges that contribute to missions across the agency. HWHAP Episode 163.

Dr. Tom Williams, element scientist for human factors and behavioral performance in the Human Research Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, details a reminder called CONNECT and how it not only benefits astronauts in space but those on terra firma here on Earth. HWHAP Episode 162.

Joel Walker and Linda Spuler, NASA’s Johnson Space Center director of center operations and emergency manager, respectively, describe the daily tasks involved in running a space center and how we prepare for and respond to scenarios like hurricanes or pandemics. HWHAP Episode 161.

Chel Stromgren, Chief Scientist of Binera, Inc. and part of NASA’s Mars Integration Group, lays out the complexities and the innovative strategies needed to pack for a human mission to Mars on this fifth episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 160.

Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley recount their return to Earth at their welcome home ceremony and crew news conference in Houston. The NASA astronauts made history in August as the first to splash down in an American spacecraft in 45 years, thus completing NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission. HWHAP Episode 159.

Chris Culbert and Camille Alleyne, project manager and deputy project manager, respectively, for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative explain how NASA will use commercially built and operated landers from American companies to send payloads to the surface of the Moon. HWHAP Episode 158.

Dan Hartman and Lara Kearney, Gateway Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager, respectively, detail the plans for our orbiting lunar outpost and how Gateway will serve as a docking and service station for Artemis missions as we prepare for sustainable human presence on the Moon. HWHAP Episode 157.

Paul Kessler, aerospace engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, discusses what to consider for designing a vehicle – with humans on board – that will enter deep space and make the long journey to Mars on this fourth episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 156.

Trevor Graff and Adam Naids, Project Manager for exploration science and Deputy Project Manager for Artemis geology tools, respectively, share their expertise on the tools needed for the Moon’s unique terrain when we visit our neighboring satellite during Artemis missions. HWHAP Episode 155.

Richard Danne, designer and creator of NASA’s “worm”, details the origins of the iconic logo, the inspiration, the design process with the agency and his firm, Danne and Blackburn, and its reception once being introduced. Retired in 1992, NASA reinstated the “worm” in May 2020 during the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. HWHAP Episode 154.

Luther Beegle, Deputy Division Manager for Science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, takes us through the history of previous landers we have sent to Mars and highlights Perseverance, the most sophisticated rover NASA has ever sent to the Red Planet. HWHAP Episode 153.

The entire Houston We Have a Podcast team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (virtually) gets together for their third anniversary to reflect on another year, highlighting their favorite episodes and moments working together on the podcast. HWHAP Episode 152.

Patrick Chai, aerospace engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, covers the challenges and needs for getting humans to Mars and the options for propulsion, duration, time, staging, and more that will be considered on this third episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 151.

Wesley Gordon, program manager at Alpha Space, highlights the facility aboard the International Space Station that provides the capability to test materials and technologies in the harsh environment of space. HWHAP Episode 150.

James Blair, Robert Markowitz, and Josh Valcarcel are among the NASA photographers who find themselves in the second seat of a T-38 jet, or taking studio portraits, and everywhere in between, documenting history and the many facets of human spaceflight. HWHAP Episode 149.

Felix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael, co-founders and creative directors of Felix & Paul Studios and the International Space Station Experience Virtual Reality film, go into the details of how they are working alongside NASA to create a 360-degree, virtual experience with immersive views of space station life and research. HWHAP Episode 148.

Jason Derleth, Program Executive for NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington, breaks down concepts near science fiction and explains how some find their way into how we plan for missions to deep space on this second episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 147.

Kristie Melass and Jim Fuderer, Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory divers, describe life as part of the underwater diving teams that help astronauts train for spacewalks. HWHAP Episode 146.

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken test their knowledge about each other, plus flight director Zebulon Scoville gives us a glimpse of the mission profile for this test flight before Doug and Bob’s launch aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 27. HWHAP Episode 145.

Elisca Hicks and Mike Berrill, crew systems operations instructors, answer top questions about space hygiene that NASA receives and help us understand how astronauts are trained to shower, shave, and go to the bathroom in space. HWHAP Episode 144.

Dr. Dorit Donoviel and Dr. Kristin Fabre, Director of TRISH and Senior Innovation Scientist, are helping NASA solve challenges and prepare for deep space travel through the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) by connecting with the most innovative technology, companies and researchers all over the world. HWHAP Episode 143.

Michelle Rucker, Mars Integration Lead at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, discusses how we are building on our current knowledge and capabilities and breaks down the considerations for getting to, living on, and getting back from Mars on this first episode of our Mars Monthly series. HWHAP Episode 142.

Dr. William Stefanov, manager of the Exploration Science Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, shares his expertise in observing the third rock from the sun on this Earth Day 50th anniversary episode. HWHAP Episode 141.

Hear a behind-the-scenes narrative into the operational intricacies of a 2018 Soyuz landing and the choreography of personnel, vehicles, and more when recovering the astronauts and cosmonauts returning to Earth from the International Space Station. HWHAP Episode 140.