Small Steps, Giant Leaps

Dr. Marian Nemec, chief of the Computational Physics Branch at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, takes us inside the world of NASA Advanced Supercomputing.

The Flight Dynamics Facility provides tracking data on spacecraft including the Orion crew capsule and the Roman Space Telescope. The facility’s history stretches back to the earliest days of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.

NASA, through the Office of STEM Engagement, has launched the State Hubs Initiative, awarding $10.5 million to seven institutions with the goal of getting more students into highly skilled manufacturing jobs in the aerospace industry.

Dr. Cynthia Null, NASA Technical Fellow for Human Factors, discusses the myths of human limitations and how she got involved in the scientific discipline of human factors.

Dr. Cynthia Null, NASA Technical Fellow for Human Factors, discusses how understanding human capabilities and limitations can help engineers reduce risk and design safer, more successful missions from the start. 

Heather Koehler, NASA Technical Fellow for Flight Mechanics, explains how knowledge at NASA is passed from person to person, program to program.

NASA’s experimental X-59 airplane went supersonic for the first time on June 5, 2026. What's next for the mission that aims to reopen the skies to quiet commercial supersonic flight?

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station depend on life support systems that provide clean air, drinkable water, and a safe, livable environment. These systems are what make long-duration spaceflight not only possible, but comfortable. Today, some of these space station technologies have been adapted for Artemis – specifically, aboard the Orion crew capsule.

Ground teams connect with astronauts aboard the International Space Station to help them carry out research and experiments. Kassandra Stephens, payload communications manager at the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall Space Flight Center, works with space station crews to get science done.

A NASA research program collaborates with universities to revolutionize the way we design, build, and operate aircraft. Angela Surgenor, deputy program director of the Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program, explains.