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Sep 2024
21m 34s

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 138: T...

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
About this episode
The Sun is the ultimate source of life in our solar system, a radiant powerhouse that bathes Earth in the energy necessary for everything from photosynthesis to weather patterns. Its warmth and light sustain us. However, the Sun’s influence isn't always benign. Its solar wind—a stream of charged particles—can disrupt our technology, causing communications bl ... Show More
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Nov 19
NASA's Centennial Challenges Prize Program
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 founde ... Show More
20m 37s
Sep 18
6,000 Exoplanets and Counting
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, astrono ... Show More
22m 12s
Sep 3
NASA's Zero Gravity Research Facility
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. 
19m 7s
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