On Episode 112 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with Rob Manning, Chief Engineer Emeritus of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about Mars exploration and, in particular, Mars Sample Return. As we discussed in episode 107, that project is in a bit of trouble. Rob was the Chief Engineer of every Mars rover up through Perseverance and the overall Chief Engineer on Perseverance, and he has some unique insights on how we have explored Mars, why it matters, and what the future holds… especially with regard to returning…
Read MoreMonth: May 2024
Towel Day 2024: What’s the deal with towels in ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?’
Today is Towel Day, that officially recognized revelry of rags that breaks out each year on May 25 amid the quirky fandom of author Douglas Adams and his satirical 1979 sci-fi masterpiece, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” If you don’t understand all this fuss about towels, don’t panic! We’ve got you covered. This special occasion is meant to honor Adams’ life and the legacy of laughs he left behind in the wake of that most irreverent of all interstellar reference materials, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The 1979…
Read MoreA billionaire hopes to upgrade the Hubble Telescope on a private SpaceX mission, but could it really happen?
NASA’s iconic Hubble observatory still has years of life left in it, and there are ideas in the works to perhaps keep it going for longer — but those proposals may be facing uphill battles. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, has been serviced five times by astronauts and remains in good health. But the telescope is aging and slowly falling toward Earth through natural drag from the atmosphere, so billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman helped spearhead a proposal to send a maintenance mission to the telescope…
Read MoreNASA TACP Team Visits with UCF Students, Faculty
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Representatives of NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program (TACP) pose with students and faculty from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando who are participating in the agency’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI). From left: Ramees Khaleel Rahman; John Cavolowsky, NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program director; Marc Heinrich; Andrew Provenza, NASA’s University Innovation deputy project manager for tchnology; Connor Wall; Lucas Cavalcante; Andrew Menendez; Jayanta Kapat, principal investigator of UCF’s ULI project; Claire-Phonie Silaire; Koushik Datta, NASA’s University Innovation project…
Read MoreHiCAM 2024 Spring Review
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Composites Consortium team members gathered during May 2024 at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia for a technical review of all tasks in progress for the Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing project. NASA and its partners in the Advanced Composites Consortium gathered at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, May 7-9. Team members from 20 organizations across the country recently discussed progress on all technology development tasks underway in NASA’s Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project. The project…
Read MoreNASA Engages in Artemis Accords Workshop to Advance Exploration
Representatives from 24 of the Artemis Accords signatories met May 21-23, 2024, for a workshop hosted at the John H. Chapman Space Centre (CSA Headquarters) in Longueuil, Quebec. CSA (Canadian Space Agency) NASA participated in the second international face-to-face workshop this week among Artemis Accords signatories, which featured space officials from two dozen nations focused on advancing the principles for the safe, peaceful, and responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. This year’s workshop was hosted by CSA (Canadian Space Agency) at their headquarters in Montreal May 21-23. Since…
Read MoreJennifer Scott Williams: Leading the Next Giant Leap in Space Exploration and Championing STEM Advocacy
Jennifer Scott Williams embodies leadership, innovation, and excitement for life. Her career has been a testament to her unwavering passion and versatility, navigating through various roles and significantly contributing to the agency’s milestones and evolution. In her 23 years at NASA, she has combined engineering, business, science communications, and leadership all into one. Currently in the Center Director’s Office, Williams serves as NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche’s assistant for technical integration, supporting meetings such as readiness reviews for the International Space Station and Commercial Crew Programs.…
Read MoreClare Luckey: Shaping the Future of Mars Missions and Inspiring the Artemis Generation
As a member of the Mars Architecture Team, Clare Luckey is one of the people at the forefront of designing the first crewed mission to the Red Planet. Her current work involves helping to develop the vision for the initial segment of Mars exploration missions. She also has been named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Class of 2024 in the Science category. Her commitment extends beyond the cosmos as she is deeply involved in community outreach, inspiring students to aim for the stars in space careers and encouraging diversity…
Read MoreHelen Ling, Changemaker
Helen Ling was a supervisor for the computing group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1960s. She was influential in the inclusion of women in STEM positions at JPL. Ling encouraged women within the computing group to attend night school in order to obtain degrees that would allow them more professional opportunities within JPL. A pioneer for women’s rights in the workplace, Helen Ling was so admired in the computing group that those who worked under her lovingly referred to themselves as “Helen’s girls.” Many of them went on…
Read MoreFacility Systems Safety Engineer and Fall Protection Program Administrator Thu Nguyen
“I went back to school in 2016. So I had two kids that were three and five, and I was working full time, and I was doing the master’s program, taking two classes online. It took two years to get it done, and it was like a balancing act, and my kids had to watch the sacrifice in a sense. There were times when I had to take tests, and I was like, ‘OK, you’ve got to sit in the living room with your dad, or you’ve got to go…
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