NASA

Sequestration...In Space!

Virginia Prescott — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Sequestration cuts to the NASA budget will likely result in hundreds of millions of dollars lost to the Russian government. Joining us to discuss this "self-defeating cash transfusion to Moscow" is John Matson. John is an associate editor who writes about space, physics and mathematics for Scientific American.

The Science Of Peer Reviews: How Did The Controversial “Arseniclife” Study Get Such Glowing Reviews?

Virginia Prescott — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:04:55 +0000

Two years ago, a press conference was held at NASA headquarters, where it was declared that an alien life form had been discovered in Earth’s backyard. It wasn’t green and it didn’t say “take me to your leader”. But still, this tiny microbe dubbed “arsenic-life” caused quite a ruckus in the scientific community. Dan Vergano is a science correspondent for USA Today and he joins us to discuss his investigation into the study.

Five Reasons NOT to Take That Trip to Mars

Bill Barry — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:28:09 +0000

From the imagination of Ray Bradbury to the front pages of our newspapers, the prospect of traversing vast reaches of space and seeing Mars firsthand has long inhabited and excited the idealistic public consciousness. However, our recent talk with psychiatrist Mathias Basner revealed that the odyssey comes with a number of physiological costs. Here are some of the most prominent known bodily effects of long-term space travel:

1. “Puffy Face Syndrome”

The Mars500 Experiment: Sleeping in Space

Virginia Prescott — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:48:30 +0000

If you think it’s difficult to get enough sleep in an age of 24 hours news cycles and the allure of Facebook surfing, consider how hard it must be without the sun…or gravity. The first of many studies on the Mars500 Project have been released, and it documented the sleeping habits of five men isolated on earth for 520 days.

Germs...IN SPACE!

Virginia Prescott — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

NASA's Back in the Game

Virginia Prescott — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:54:53 +0000

Thanks to the popularity of the Mars rover, Curiosity, NASA is back in the public eye for something other than budget cuts or program terminations.

Shuttle Discovery To Make Final Flight, Atop A 747

Nell Greenfieldboyce — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:02:00 +0000

On Tuesday morning, space shuttle Discovery will become the first of NASA's three shuttles — plus a shuttle prototype — to travel to its new retirement home.

NASA flew its last shuttle flight in July. Since then, it's been prepping the spaceships to become museum displays. And even though the shuttles are headed to places like Los Angeles and New York rather than the space station, figuring out how to get them there has still been a major undertaking.

At daybreak, Discovery will leave Kennedy Space Center in Florida on top of a modified jumbo jet, headed for Washington, D.C.

Remembering Roger Boisjoly: He Tried To Stop Shuttle Challenger Launch

Howard Berkes — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:44:00 +0000

Roger Boisjoly was a booster rocket engineer at NASA contractor Morton Thiokol in Utah in January, 1986, when he and four colleagues became embroiled in the fatal decision to launch the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Boisjoly was also one of two confidential sources quoted by NPR three weeks later in the first detailed report about the Challenger launch decision, and the stiff resistance by Boisjoly and other Thiokol engineers.

The experience both haunted and inspired Boisjoly in the decades that followed.

Word of Mouth for 01.28.12

Virginia Prescott — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:16:24 +0000

Legislation prohibits a NASA-China coalition, film photography makes a comeback, microaggressions, Grammy award winning artist Wu Man.

A Wolf in Rocket Clothing

Virginia Prescott — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:05:59 +0000

While the United States is seemingly embracing the prospect of joint space missions with China, a lesser known bit of legislation is saying otherwise.