Small Steps, Giant Leaps

For any crew returning to Earth from space, the journey home includes a carefully choreographed recovery effort to bring them safely back on dry land after splashing down in the ocean. Christine St. Germain, NASA recovery director for the Commercial Crew Program, tells us about this critical phase of flight.

NASA's Dragonfly spacecraft, a rotorcraft the size of a small car, is set to explore Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Rich in organic compounds, Titan offers a rare window into the kinds of chemical conditions that may have existed on Earth long before life began.

Nujoud Merancy, NASA's deputy associate administrator for the Strategy and Architecture Office, talks about how NASA is developing the roadmap for Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

From her experience working with the Commercial Crew Program, which sends astronauts to the International Space Station aboard commercial spacecraft, to the Artemis missions to the Moon, aerospace engineer Jennifer Lu shares how working with a variety of teams — including circus performers before coming to NASA — has helped her see the bigger picture.

Currently, flying faster than the speed of sound over land is prohibited for commercial flights because it creates disruptive sonic booms. NASA's experimental X-59 plane will research how to turn those booms into "sonic thumps," about as loud as a slamming car door. Lead pilot Nils Larson explains how the X-59 could usher in the next era of commercial supersonic flight.

A solar sail uses light particles from the Sun to move through space without needing a single drop of fuel. NASA is demonstrating the lightweight technology that could open doors to low-cost missions to deep space.

Dr. Jennifer Edmunson explains what it takes to simulate Moon and Mars dust on Earth, and lessons learned from preparing to build habitats on other worlds.

There’s a program at NASA that taps into the power of the public to solve some of the toughest problems in space exploration. It’s called Centennial Challenges, a prize competition that has awarded more than $24 million to hundreds of people ranging from academics, startup founders, small business owners, and independent inventors from across the U.S. and 86 countries.

On September 17, 2025, NASA announced that the number of exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, tracked by NASA has reached 6,000. In the three decades since the groundbreaking detection of exoplanet 51 Pegasi b, the first confirmed planet orbiting a Sun-like star, astronomers have concluded that exotic worlds are everywhere.

A steel vacuum chamber 50 stories deep at NASA’s Glenn Research Center lets researchers simulate near-weightlessness by letting test hardware freefall for 5.18 seconds.

From black holes to star clusters, scientists are turning space data into sound with a process called sonification. Dr. Kimberly Arcand, visual scientist with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, joins us to explore how data sonification lets more people experience the cosmos and give researchers a new way to interpret science one note at a time.

StarBurst, a satellite the size of a washing machine, aims to detect the initial blast of gamma-rays, the most powerful bursts of energy in the universe. These huge explosions can occur when dense neutron stars collide, forging metals like gold and platinum. These metals are some of the building blocks of planets — like Earth.

The Hubble Space Telescope has changed humanity’s understanding of the universe. Now in orbit for 35 years, it remains a remarkable feat of engineering.

Fighting wildland fires by air at night is especially hazardous. NASA’s ACERO Project aims to make firefighting safer, day or night, with drones and smarter airspace management.

IXPE, or the Infrared X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, is NASA’s first space telescope dedicated to studying X-ray polarization from extreme objects like black holes and quasars.

Big or small, we all take risks nearly every day. But how does NASA manage it? Dr. Mary Skow, NASA’s first agency risk management officer, explains.

NASA’s Air Traffic Management-eXploration Project aims to accommodate the growing demand of traditional and emerging aircraft that share the friendly skies.

NASA's SPHEREx mission will map 450 million galaxies like we’ve never seen before.

What can the auroras tell us about our planet’s relationship with the Sun? NASA’s EZIE mission looks into it.

NASA’s design labs are where engineers develop concepts for missions and scientific instruments.

Flying taxis? NASA is working on it.

Originally a fashion designer, Paula Cain is a NASA thermal blanket technician, working to protect spacecraft from the extremes of space.

NASA engineers turn dreams into reality, solving complex challenges to push exploration forward. From landing rovers on Mars to advancing deep space missions, their ingenuity makes it all possible. This episode with Chief Engineer Joe Pellicciotti and Deputy Chief Engineer Katherine Van Hooser celebrates the innovation, dedication, and impact of NASA’s engineering community.

Ever wondered what it takes to capture NASA’s most breathtaking moments? From rocket launches to behind-the-scenes astronaut training, Bill Ingalls, senior contract photographer for NASA Headquarters has spent decades framing history through his lens. In this episode, we dive into his journey, how he and his team prepare for assignments, and the importance of visual storytelling.

What if we could get rid of lengthy waitlists for organ transplants? Well, imagine 3-D printing a kidney from your own stem cells. That would reduce the chances your body rejects it. That’s the sort of groundbreaking medical research astronauts are conducting aboard the International Space Station. Other research includes understanding the stress spaceflight places on not just the body, but also the mind. There’s a plethora of human factors to consider as humanity prepares to embark on deep space missions. What we learn from spaceflight medicine could also transform lives here on Earth. Dr. J.D. Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, tells us what’s on the horizon in space medicine.

We’re kicking off 2025 with NASA’s deputy administrator Pam Melroy, who wraps up her tenure at NASA this month. As a former astronaut with three space shuttle flights under her belt – including one flight as commander – Pam has made lasting contributions to human spaceflight. She’s also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force as a retired colonel. In her most recent role, Pam helped shape the NASA’s focus on long-term strategies, including Moon to Mars exploration, space sustainability, and a long-term vision for NASA’s future as an organization. Now, as she prepares to pass the torch, Pam joins us to reflect on her NASA career and share insights from her time as a pilot, astronaut, and public servant.

What does it take to mine the Moon? Engineers behind NASA's ISRU Pilot Excavator, or IPEx are digging into the answers. The robotic excavator is designed to unearth lunar regolith and extract oxygen for fuel. In this episode, Jason Schuler, IPEx principal investigator, and Drew Smith, IPEx lead design engineer, explore the engineering challenges, innovative solutions, and the groundbreaking implications of IPEx for future lunar missions. Plus, they share what helped their idea go from paper to full-on demonstration.

Before leaving the ground, astronauts prepare for spaceflight by immersing themselves in life-like training simulators. This is done with the help of NASA’s Simulation and Graphics Branch. Branch Chief Michael McFarlane leads a team of experts who use cutting edge technology to create digital environments, tools and visualizations that support nearly every aspect of human spaceflight. In this episode, we discuss how simulations help us better understand how spacecraft behave in space, the role of immersive technology like virtual and augmented reality, and the importance of mentorship.

Europa Clipper is NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying an icy ocean world. Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on October 14, 2024, from Kennedy Space Center, the spacecraft is set to arrive at Jupiter in April of 2030 to conduct sweeping flybys of Europa. Europa is one of Jupiter’s four large Galilean moons. It’s roughly the size of our own moon, but what’s most is intriguing is that it may harbor the conditions for life in the massive ocean beneath its frozen surface. What we learn could open up the science floodgates to other ocean worlds across the solar system.

Ever wondered how NASA monitors asteroids? In our latest episode, we go behind the scenes with Dr. Kelly Fast, NASA’s acting planetary defense officer, to discuss efforts to detect, track, and mitigate threats from near-Earth objects, or NEOs. From asteroid early warning systems to a new spacecraft that will find and track NEOs, learn how NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office is at the forefront of keeping Earth safe from cosmic hazards.

NASA has a long history with AI, using it in various applications like autonomous Mars rover navigation and detecting planets in other solar systems. Today, NASA is embracing AI for more members of the workforce, enabling innovation.

NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program seeks to understand the origins of the universe, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planets. In this episode, Dr. Swara Ravindranath, deputy chief scientist, and Dr. Ron Gamble, a theoretical astrophysicist, discuss their research and the program's goals. They also highlight the importance of diverse perspectives and experiences.

The Sun is the ultimate source of life in our solar system, a radiant powerhouse that bathes Earth in the energy necessary for everything from photosynthesis to weather patterns. Its warmth and light sustain us. However, the Sun’s influence isn't always benign. Its solar wind—a stream of charged particles—can disrupt our technology, causing communications blackouts and GPS glitches. In this episode, Dr. Joseph Westlake, director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division, joins us to shed light on why the Sun is such a critical focus for space research.

We don’t yet know what dark matter is, yet it makes up 85% of all the matter in the universe. The Roman Space Telescope will aim to unravel the mystery. With a field of view 100 times wider than the Hubble Space Telescope’s, Roman will study in near-infrared light the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars, making other exoplanet discoveries along the way. The mission is named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief of astronomy and advocate for the development of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Robots inspired by nature? A novel realm of engineering called soft robotics is being studied at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Engineers are working to understand how soft robotics could one day support space exploration, including missions to the Moon’s surface.

Cleaning scum from bathtubs and pipes can be a costly chore. It’s even more challenging aboard spacecraft. NASA researchers are looking at ways to keep astronauts from having to deal with fungal or bacterial buildup, known as biofilm.

The Internet of Animals, a collaborative research project with the U.S. Geological Survey along with several universities and institutions is giving insight into the intersection of animal movement patterns and climate. By combining remote sensing data with wildlife tracking tags, experts can get a better idea of scientific needs to manage conservation at the federal level.

In this episode, Dr. Gioia Massa, senior Life Sciences project scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, outlines the systems and processes used for growing vegetables aboard the International Space Station. The technology could one day support astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space. What we learn can benefit agriculture on Earth as well.

A new NASA report titled "Cost and Benefit Analysis of Mitigating, Tracking, and Remediating Orbital Debris" compares the cost-effectiveness of several strategies that could reduce the risk of collisions between spacecraft, including the space station, and orbital debris.

In this episode, Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist, tells us about the science goals of the Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle and how NASA is collaborating with industry to explore more of the Moon’s surface than ever before.

Teddy Tzanetos shares his project management experiences and lessons learned from leading the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter demonstration mission, the first test of powered, controlled flight on another world.

How inflatable habitats moved from concept papers to the International Space Station, and what NASA is doing to eventually put one on the Moon.

Dave Mitchell brings extensive experience as an engineer and project manager to a new position leading a small team with the broad mandate of improving acquisitions and program and project management across NASA.

In this episode we’ll focus on Gateway, a small space station NASA is developing to place in orbit at the Moon. We’ll speak with Mark Wiese, who leads the team that will ensure Gateway will receive the cargo, equipment, and supplies it needs to support Artemis astronauts.

Janet Karika, who retired recently from NASA after 43 years in the aerospace industry, shares career highlights and her approach to leading the Artemis I Lessons Learned process.

Dive deep into the world of in-space manufacturing (ISM) with our guest, Zach Courtright, the In-Space Manufacturing Portfolio Manager at NASA. Zach shares his perspectives on cutting-edge advancements and collaborations in the field and the potential of the technology for game-changing impacts on space exploration and resource utilization.