Small Steps, Giant Leaps

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.

In this episode, Dr. Chelle Gentemann, Open Science Program Scientist for the Office of the Chief Science Data Officer, explains NASA’s initiative to make science more collaborative, accessible, and inclusive. Known as Transform to Open Science, or TOPS, the program encourages increased access to research and data.

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