9. Leading NASA’s Science Mission Directorate – DR THOMAS ZURBUCHEN

03/05/20 • 24 min

How a child looking up to the stars in Switzerland became a NASA science leader
In this interview we go onsite at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. for an in-depth conversation with Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen. As NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Zurbuchen is tasked with helping us answer some of humanity’s biggest questions: Where did we come from? Are we alone? How does the universe work? Dr. Zurbuchen is well versed in the practice of asking difficult questions that help us seek interconnected answers leading to real world impacts.
Zurbuchen is an award-winning astrophysicist, with honors including receiving the National Science and Technology Council Presidential Early Career for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) Award in 2004 and three NASA Group Achievement awards.
Since day one at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington, DC, Zurbuchen has focused on inspiring learners of all ages and fostering an inclusive team of science leaders. Encouraging people to dive deeper and earn the future by striving for excellence today are key factors to the integrated approach he has adopted. Zurbuchen has created an environment where teams work together to achieve ambitious goals, excel well beyond the intended result and have the resources and support to achieve things they never thought were possible.
During his career, Zurbuchen has authored or coauthored more than 200 articles in refereed journals in solar and heliospheric phenomena. He has also been involved with several NASA science missions involving Mercury, the Sun and more. His experience here has driven his passion of cultivating leaders and highlighting talent throughout the agency. He has also been an advocate of sharing NASA’s messages on social media and can be found on Twitter at the handle @Dr_ThomasZ.
Special thanks to photographer Francis Murphy (https://fxmphotography.com) for sharing his space journey in this episode!
Interview with Dr. Zurbuchen recorded March 25, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C.

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8. Searching for Life Beyond the Pale Blue Dot

In this episode we feature Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, a French American astrobiologist specializing in planetary science. She has been a Principal Investigator (PI) at the SETI Institute since 1998 and is also the Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research. She leads projects in planetary science and astrobiology, develops science exploration strategies for Mars, Titan, and the Outer Solar System icy moons, and designs robotic field experiments. Nathalie has received several NASA & other research awards. Her work is featured in the US and international media, including the Discovery Channel, NOVA, National Geographic, Scientific American, Ted talks, and much more.
For this interview I spoke with Nathalie just before her most recent research trip to the Andes, where she explores high altitude lakes where environmental conditions are analogous to early Mars. During the interview she describes her amazing work in astrobiology plus her incredible story of how she first met Carl Sagan while she was a student working on her thesis.
For more info, visit https://www.seti.org/
Pale Blue Dot photo source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Voyager 1 illustration: NASA/JPL-Caltech, NASA/JPL-Caltech Photojournal
Special thanks to Melisande from Space Coast Florida Launches for sharing her space journey! https://www.facebook.com/groups/Space.Coast.Florida.Launches/

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10. Astronaut Scott Kelly: A Year in Space

Captain Scott Kelly is a veteran of four space flights, he commanded three expeditions to the International Space Station, and he’s spent 520 days living in space, including 340 consecutive days, the single longest space mission by an American astronaut. However, recently astronaut Christina Koch spend 328 days in space, just shy of Scott’s record by 12 days, but Christina did set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.
Since Scott’s return to Earth he’s released his memoir entitled “Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery” and also “Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut’s photographs from a year in space.” In this interview Scott joins us by phone to discuss his amazing experience and his inspiration for achieving goals that are literally out of this world.
For more information about Astronaut Scott Kelly, visit https://www.scottkelly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stationcdrkelly/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StationCDRKelly/
Tumbler: https://stationcdrkelly.tumblr.com/
Phone interview conducted with Scott Kelly in February 2018.
Special thanks to Dr. Ken Kremer (https://www.spaceupclose.com) for sharing his space journey!
Music: Cylinder Eight (http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/) by Chris Zabriskie (http://chriszabriskie.com/); licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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