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Podcast episode graphic showing the name of the podcast Small Steps Giant Leaps on the left, plus a computer-generated image of Earth. Orbital paths in different colors surround the planet. Credit: NASA
Podcast Episode 151: Designing Missions
April 16, 2025 // by

NASA’s design labs are where engineers develop concepts for missions and ideas for scientific instruments.

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NASA astronaut F. Story Musgrave, STS-6 mission specialist, performs the first Extra Vehicular Activity of the Space Shuttle era in the payload bay of Challenger. Also on the EVA, but out of the frame here, was Donald Peterson. NASA astronaut Karol J. Bobko, pilot, took photographs through the aft flight deck windows. Credit: NASA
This Month in NASA History: STS-6 was a Mission of Firsts
April 10, 2025 // by

First flight of Challenger includes the first spacewalk of the shuttle program and an important test of a new generation of spacesuits.

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Illustration showing a flying vehicle, resembling a car with wings and propellers, flying over a cityscape. White text above it shows the episode title and on the left quarter of the image is the podcast title, graphic which features an astronaut leaping from the Moon to Mars, and text that reads Listen Now. Credit: NASA
Podcast Episode 150: Urban Air Taxis
April 2, 2025 // by

Flying air taxis? NASA is working on it with the Air Mobility Pathfinders Project.

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March 2025 INSIGHT Now Available
March 31, 2025 // by

Don’t miss the latest issue of INSIGHT, APPEL Knowledge Services’ online publication featuring our new podcast episodes, columns, articles, lessons learned and more. We invite you to read it today on our website.

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Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, seen here encapsulated inside a SpaceX rocket fairing before launch, landed on the Moon on March 2, and returned high-definition images of the lunar surface, an eclipse, and a lunar sunset. The images could help find the cause of an unusual glow observed by NASA’s Apollo astronauts. Credit: SpaceX
Scientists Examine New Data on Unusual Glow
March 31, 2025 // by

CLPS Blue Ghost mission delivers high-definition images of sunset from the lunar surface.

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NASA’s SPHEREx observatory, shown here in a clean room after environmental testing at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in late 2024, launched on March 11, 2025. The team is preparing the telescope to begin gathering sweeping data that could help answer fundamental questions about the history of the Universe. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/BAE Systems
SPHEREx Will Map Night Sky on Grand Scale
March 26, 2025 // by

Compact infrared telescope will look for evidence of cosmic inflation and ice in the Milky Way. 

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Podcast Episode 149: Spacecraft Thermal Blankets
March 19, 2025 // by

Every spacecraft needs a good blanket — one that can withstand the extreme cold, the Sun’s intense radiation, and impacts from micrometeoroids. At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Paula Cain is one of the skilled hands behind these essential layers of protection.

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A Mercury capsule is mounted inside the Altitude Wind Tunnel for a test of its escape tower rockets at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. Credit: NASA
This Month in NASA History: The X-Plane that Became a Capsule
March 14, 2025 // by

Maxime Faget built on groundbreaking work by H. Julian Allen to shape the future of NASA space exploration.  

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Podcast Episode 148: Celebrating NASA’s Engineers
March 5, 2025 // by

NASA engineers turn dreams into reality, solving complex challenges to push exploration forward. From landing rovers on Mars to advancing deep space missions, their ingenuity makes it all possible. This episode with Chief Engineer Joe Pellicciotti and Deputy Chief Engineer Katherine Van Hooser celebrates the innovation, dedication, and impact of NASA’s engineering community.

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