Small Steps, Giant Leaps

Small Steps, Giant Leaps

NASA’s technical workforce put boots on the Moon, tire tracks on Mars, and the first reusable spacecraft in orbit around the Earth. Learn what’s next as they build missions that redefine the future with amazing discoveries and remarkable innovations.

Episodes

NASA's Centennial Challenges Prize Program

November 19, 2025 • 20 mins
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.
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6,000 Exoplanets and Counting

September 18, 2025 • 22 mins
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.
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NASA's Zero Gravity Research Facility

September 3, 2025 • 19 mins
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.
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Turning Space Data Into Sound

August 20, 2025 • 26 mins
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.
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StarBurst: Gamma-ray Hunter

August 6, 2025 • 19 mins
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.
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Hubble: An Engineering Marvel

July 23, 2025 • 23 mins
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.
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Fighting Wildland Fires with Drones

July 9, 2025 • 11 mins
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.
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A New Era of X-ray Astronomy with IXPE

June 25, 2025 • 26 mins
IXPE, or the Infrared X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, is NASA’s first space telescope dedicated to studying X-ray polarization from extreme objects like black holes and quasars.
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Risk Management at NASA

June 11, 2025 • 33 mins
Big or small, we all take risks nearly every day. But how does NASA manage it? Dr. Mary Skow, NASA’s first agency risk management officer, explains.
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NASA's Air Traffic Management-eXploration Project

May 28, 2025 • 30 mins
NASA’s Air Traffic Management-eXploration Project aims to accommodate the growing demand of traditional and emerging aircraft that share the friendly skies. 
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The Universe in Living Color with SPHEREx

May 14, 2025 • 27 mins
NASA's SPHEREx mission will map 450 million galaxies like we’ve never seen before.
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Episode 152: EZIE Does It

April 30, 2025 • 15 mins
What can the auroras tell us about our planet’s relationship with the Sun? NASA’s EZIE mission looks into it.
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Episode 151: Designing Missions

April 16, 2025 • 16 mins
NASA’s design labs are where engineers develop concepts for missions and scientific instruments.
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Episode 150: Urban Air Taxis

April 4, 2025 • 18 mins
Flying taxis? NASA is working on it.
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Episode 149: Spacecraft Thermal Blankets

March 19, 2025 • 13 mins
Originally a fashion designer, Paula Cain is a NASA thermal blanket technician, working to protect spacecraft from the extremes of space.
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Episode 148: Celebrating NASA's Engineers

March 5, 2025 • 29 mins
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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Episode 147: NASA Photography - Visual Storytelling

February 19, 2025 • 16 mins
Ever wondered what it takes to capture NASA’s most breathtaking moments? From rocket launches to behind-the-scenes astronaut training, Bill Ingalls, senior contract photographer for NASA Headquarters has spent decades framing history through his lens. In this episode, we dive into his journey, how he and his team prepare for assignments, and the importance of visual storytelling.
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Episode 146: Space Medicine: Body and Mind

February 5, 2025 • 27 mins
What if we could get rid of lengthy waitlists for organ transplants? Well, imagine 3-D printing a kidney from your own stem cells. That would reduce the chances your body rejects it. That’s the sort of groundbreaking medical research astronauts are conducting aboard the International Space Station. Other research includes understanding the stress spaceflight places on not just the body, but also the mind. There’s a plethora of huma...
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Small Steps, Giant Leaps - Pam Melroy: Behind the Strategy

January 18, 2025 • 22 mins
We’re kicking off 2025 with NASA’s deputy administrator Pam Melroy, who wraps up her tenure at NASA this month. As a former astronaut with three space shuttle flights under her belt – including one flight as commander – Pam has made lasting contributions to human spaceflight. She’s also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force as a retired colonel. In her most recent role, Pam helped shape the NASA’s focus on long-term strategies, including...
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Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 144: Mining the Moon with NASA’s IPEx Robot

December 11, 2024 • 28 mins
What does it take to mine the Moon? Engineers behind NASA's ISRU Pilot Excavator, or IPEx are digging into the answers. The robotic excavator is designed to unearth lunar regolith and extract oxygen for fuel. In this episode, Jason Schuler, IPEx principal investigator, and Drew Smith, IPEx lead design engineer, explore the engineering challenges, innovative solutions, and the groundbreaking implications of IPEx for future lunar mis...
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