In Episode 117 of The Astro Ben Podcast, Ben sits down with Mamta Patel Nagaraja, former Associate Chief Scientist for Exploration and Applied Research at NASA, who recently left the agency amid its office closures in February 2025. Mamta reflects on her career leading biomedical and physical sciences for the ISS, Artemis, and commercial space missions, while sharing candid insights on NASA’s challenges and opportunities in 2025. From streamlining science communication to navigating a toxic work environment, her story is one of resilience and reinvention. Now a free agent in STEM, Mamta discusses her future plans and offers some advice to the new NASA administration.
OUTLINE:
Here’s approximate timestamps for the episode.
00:00 Intro to Mamta Patal Nagaraja
00:57 Mamta’s passion for Space
03:20 Working for NASA
06:12 How to/can you quantify “is a mission worth it?”
08:30 NASA cuts and how it was done - the timing of Manta’s departure from NASA
12:15 Jared Isaacmans involvement?
15:00 What is NASA’s mission?
17:45 How to predict/predict other committed programs?
22:17 Space science communication
24:52 Whats next post NASA?
27:54 Mamta’s advice to new leadership at NASA
33:49 Whats next for Mamta?
36:57 Wrap Ups and Socials
Follow Mamta on Social:
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@mamta02
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mamta2002
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamtapatelnagaraja/
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