Small Steps, Giant Leaps

Epizode

• Calibrating Satellite Image Data 26.06.2026 19min

  Before scientists can use those satellite imagery for research, the data must be carefully calibrated to ensure measurements are accurate and consistent over time. Julia Barsi, NASA calibration scientist, explains.
• Space Nuclear Propulsion 15.06.2026 22min

  Space nuclear power and propulsion engineering could play a key role in sending robots and humans to deep space, enabling faster and farther journeys.
• Test Like You Fly 27.05.2026 23min

  The “test like you fly” approach is an engineering philosophy that means testing hardware, software, and flight operations as close to reality as possible. Erika Alvarez, deputy director of NASA's Space Systems Department, explains.
• Soft Skills for Tough Missions 13.05.2026 16min

  So-called “soft skills” like good teamwork and communication can become just as valuable as technical skills to advance exploration.
• Tracking Launches: Views from a NASA Pilot 29.04.2026 17min

  NASA pilots play a critical role in launch and recovery operations. Shannon Gregory, chief of flight operations at Kennedy Space Center, shares how his team supports crewed launches from the air, capturing real-time imagery, and staying ready for the unexpected.
• How NASA's Pandora Mission Unboxes Distant Worlds 19.04.2026 12min

  Studying planets in other solar systems isn’t easy, especially when their host stars keep stealing the spotlight. NASA’s Pandora mission will cut through the noise, revealing what the atmospheres of these distant worlds are really made of.
• Choreographing Astronaut Recovery 18.03.2026 14min

  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.
• Dragonfly: Mission to Titan 04.03.2026 20min

  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.
• Designing the Roadmap to Mars 04.03.2026 14min

  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.
• The Many Hats of NASA Engineer Jennifer Lu 04.02.2026 16min

  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. 
• Bringing Back Supersonic Flight 21.01.2026 25min

  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.
• Sailing the Solar System 17.12.2025 13min

  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.
• Simulating Moon and Mars Dust 03.12.2025 15min

  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.
• NASA's Centennial Challenges Prize Program 19.11.2025 20min

  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.
• 6,000 Exoplanets and Counting 18.09.2025 22min

  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.
• NASA's Zero Gravity Research Facility 03.09.2025 19min

  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.
• Turning Space Data Into Sound 20.08.2025 26min

  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: Gamma-ray Hunter 06.08.2025 19min

  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.
• Hubble: An Engineering Marvel 23.07.2025 23min

  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 with Drones 09.07.2025 11min

  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.