astronaut

Read Science! Episode 24 : “Sally Ride” Edition, with Lynn Sherr

Today we had a lively discussion with Lynn Sherr about her outstanding biography, “Sally Ride : America’s First Woman in Space”. We talked quite a bit about the sexist barriers that Sally (and Lynn Sherr, herself) help to break down in the early 1980s, listened to stories, and tried to understand what a different time it was when Sally joined NASA in 1978, and what a different place the USA was back then.

10 years ago Read Science!, Space, Space Read Science!, Video, Women in STEM • Tags: astronaut, biography, Google Hangout on Air, Jeff Shaumeyer, Joanne Manaster, Lynn Sherr, Read Science!, Sally Ride, video

Read Science! Episode 17 : Astronaut Chris Hadfield

Our conversation today was out of this world (go on, try to avoid that pun) when our very special guest was Canadian Astronaut, recent Commander of an ISS Expedition, Twitter phenomenon, and Space Rock-Star Chris Hadfield. We talked about his new book, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth : What Going to Space Taught Me about Ingenuity, Determination and Being Prepared for Anything”. As is our habit, we talked about science, and science outreach, and being prepared for life and everything that might come along, space toilets, and the fact that “it’s all going to be on the quiz” sooner or later.

11 years ago Books, Read Science!, Space, Space Read Science!, Video • Tags: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, astronaut, Chris Hadfield, Commander Hadfield, Google Hangout on Air, ISS, Jeff Shaumeyer, Joanne Manaster, Read Science!, video

8 Space Travel Books Worth Reading, A Video Primer

This article originally appeared at my Scientific American blog.

Today, the 44th anniversary of the first moon landing with Neil Armstrong’s and Buzz Aldrin’s first steps on the moon, I present to you some great books to read about space travel, each with their own video, whether it is a trailer for a movie made based on the book or a proper book trailer, a more recent phenomenon.

11 years ago Books, psivid, Space, STEM, Video • Tags: Apollo 11, Apollo 13, astronaut, books, Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Shaumeyer, Jim Lovell, Joanne Manaster, Lost Moon, Magnificent Desolation, Mary Roach, Michael Collins, Mike Mullane, NASA, Neil Armstrong, Packing for Mars, Read Science!, Riding Rockets, Scientific American, space travel, The Astronaut Wives Club, The Right Stuff, video

Read Science! Episode 6: “Mission to Mars” edition

In this RS! episode we talked with famed moon-walker and space visionary, Buzz Aldrin, about his book, “Mission to Mars”, and his vision for establishing a permanent human presence on Mars. Later in the episode we were joined by Leonard David, Buzz’s co-author on the book, to talk some about their experiences with spreading the idea and engaging the public with the excitement of space exploration.

11 years ago Books, Read Science!, Space, Space Read Science!, STEM, Video • Tags: astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Shaumeyer, Joanne Manaster, Leonard David, Mars, Mission to Mars, Read Science!, video

Top 10 (+1) Commander Chris Hadfield Videos from the ISS!

I first put this post up at Scientific American on May 12, 2013

Colonel Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut, a former mission specialist on STS-74 who also performed multiple EVAs on STS-100, and, for a few hours longer, the well-loved commander of the International Space Station mission 35.

He has been a great inspiration for space travel via every type of social media (with the assistance of his son, Evan), giving those of us down on Earth some of the best peeks at what it is like to live and work in space, plus has entertained us with his guitar playing as well! He tweets constantly, sharing photos of his view from above and has made nearly 70 informative videos to quench our curiosity about day to day space living. He has captured our imagination for space travel again!

12 years ago Engineering, Science, Social Media, Space, STEM, Video • Tags: astronaut, brushing teeth in space, Canadian Space Agency, Chris Hadfield, Commander Chris Hadfield, eating in space, Evan Hadfield, eyesight in space, Google Hangout on Air, gravity, International Space Station, ISS, mixed nuts, nail clipping in space, NASA, sleeping in space, space, space kitchen, space sandwich, tears in space, video, washing hands in space, wringing out water in space, zero gravity

At the #NASAtweetup for the Last Shuttle Launch

I originally posted this article at Scientific American on July 13, 2011.

The above Pecha Kucha talk was presented at the Staerkel Planetarium in November 2011.

Imagine a dark haired little girl of not quite four years old, playing outside in a cotton dress in the warm dusk of July 30, 1969, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Me and my little sister, Geri, in New Mexico, where I recall being called in to witness man’s first steps on the moon. Photo: Joanne Manaster

13 years ago Space, Travel, Video • Tags: #NASAtweetup, astronaut, Astrovan, Atlantis, ISS, Kennedy Space Center, Last shuttle launch, NASA, Pecha Kucha, Space Shuttle, STEM, STS-135, video