Published Work

Central Florida Public Media •

Central Floridians remember civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson

The Rev. Jesse Jackson died Tuesday at age 84. His slogan “I am somebody” echoes in Central Floridian’s minds.Jackson advocated for decades for a number of issues surrounding the lives of African Americans, including voting rights, education, economic equality and healthcare.Jackson’s civil rights work spanned six decades, including work with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rainbow coalition, and two presidential campaigns.Despite health challenges, he continued his activism into his eighti...
The Charge •

Student-designed experiment to be sent to the International Space Station

Three UCF students will send an experiment up to the International Space Station to study kidney stone development in a microgravity environment.It will launch on Mission 21 to the space station in mid-August on a SpaceX rocket.
The experiment is part of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education’s Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. The project’s team consists of sophomore electrical engineering major Sammi Jones, senior biomedical sciences major Andrei Nesterenko an...
The Charge •

ICE looking to lease office in Research Park near UCF, documents show

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be looking to lease an office building less than three miles from UCF's main campus.According to documents obtained in a recent WIRED article, the Research Commons building at 12249 Science Drive is a part of several leases requested by ICE. It is unclear how the agency intends to utilize the space.The office is in proximity to apartment complexes where students reside, including The Village at Science Drive, The Nine at UCF and Knights Landing. The s...
Central Florida Public Media •

Moon science, a deeper look at one of Jupiter’s moons and our own

Millions of miles from our planet, scientists think that one planetary body could harbor life.Europa is an icy moon, with an ocean underneath its surface. It’s one of Jupiter’s 95 moons, and it’s slightly smaller than Earth’s.Within Europa’s icy waters is where scientists think they may find habitable conditions, or even signs that life once existed there.That’s why NASA launched the Europa Clipper mission back in 2024. The probe will reach Europa in 2030, hoping to observe and find potential ev...
Central Florida Public Media •

Artemis II on the cover of TIME and Pandora on the hunt for other worlds

The Artemis II crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be launched on a mission to the moon and back no earlier than March. This will be the first time humans have been to the moon since 1972.Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large at TIME, called Artemis II a landmark for humanity, and believes the crew feels the weight of the mission.“None of these crew members were alive the last time we walked on the moon....
Central Florida Public Media •

Artemis II, lunar lessons and Canadian contributions

Col. Jeremy Hansen, an astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist, will be the first Canadian sent to the moon.He was a part of the Canadian Space Agency’s third round of astronaut recruitment in 2009. Given the Canadian Space Agency’s relatively small size, the milestone pleasantly surprised fellow Canadian Jake Robbins, the co-host of Off Nominal.“It's only been American astronauts who have ever left low-Earth orbit, and if you knew nothing about this mission, and you'd asked yourself in the...
Central Florida Public Media •

Artemis II readies for flight and a look at tardigrades, a microscopic marvel

Artemis II is one step closer to launching. The Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft are now on the launch pad awaiting take-off, which could happen as early as next month.We’ll speak Seminole State College’s Derek Demeter, who photographed the launch for us here at Central Florida Public Media, about what it was like watching the rollout.Plus, we will also take a look at the motivations behind this mission with Florida Tech’s Don Platt.Then, did you know we have sent bears into...
Central Florida Public Media •

NASA’s next budget and the search for habitable worlds

Last year, NASA was facing a proposal that would substantially cut the agency’s budget, especially its science divisions.But now, Congress has largely ignored the proposed White House budget plan and is moving forward with its own, one that is just slightly less than the budget approved for last fiscal year.We’ll speak with the planetary society’s Casey Drier about what this new budget actually funds and how it will affect the space agency.Then, scientists are trying to answer the age-old questi...
Central Florida Public Media •

Space 2026 and a plan to rescue a dying space telescope

2025 was a busy year for space exploration, and 2026 promises to bring some exciting missions like sending a crew on a trip around the moon and back.We’ll take a look back at the year in space news and what’s ahead with Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica, and Anthony Colangelo, host of the podcast Main Engine Cutoff.Then, a dying space telescope could get a new change on life.The SWIFT observatory is slowly falling out of orbit and might come crashing down through the atmosphere by...
Central Florida Public Media •

One astronaut's guide for greatness and the prospect of space pirates

Dr. Bernard Harris, a former NASA astronaut, spent over 400 hours in space during two missions and made history as the first African American to walk in space. Now, he's sharing the mindset that helped him break barriers.In his new book, Embracing Infinite Possibilities: Letting Go of Fear to Find Your Highest Potential, Harris encouraged readers to move beyond fear and strive for greatness.“On my second mission, I had the opportunity to do a spacewalk,” Harris said. “Wearing a 350-pound spacesu...
Central Florida Public Media •

Celebrating holidays in space and a new telescope aims to bring a fresh perspective of our galaxy

From makeshift costumes to freeze-dried thanksgiving meals, space travelers at the International Space Station have come up with unique ways to celebrate the holidays over the years.The astronauts of Apollo 8 celebrated Christmas as they circled the moon in 1968. They famously read passages from the Bible, which were broadcast back to Earth.Now decades later, astronauts continue to find fun ways to celebrate the holidays. From presents to unique “pumpkin” carvings, the celebrations continue in o...
Central Florida Public Media •

A fresh look at the Outer Space Treaty

The Outer Space Treaty was negotiated during the Cold War at a time when space suddenly became a strategic war frontier.The treaty states that space is the province of all humankind and no one country can claim sovereignty over it, or any celestial body. It requires the peaceful usage of space – no weapons of mass destruction. The treaty outlines provisions for nations to help save astronauts should they be in distress in space.The treaty, now signed by over 100 signatories, is the backbone of c...
Central Florida Public Media •

Starship in Florida, lightning on Mars

Starship is one step closer to launching from Cape Canaveral following a key Air Force approval.The new complex will provide easier, wider access to launch than its facility on the southern tip of Texas in Boca Chica.Anthony Colangelo, host of the podcast Main Engine Cutoff, said that the Cape is an ideal location for the high number of flights SpaceX needs for its Starship program.“Getting a spot where they can fly so many times is really important, especially for a vehicle like Starship that n...
Central Florida Public Media •

Starliner’s next move and a deep dive into Gemini program

After last year's Starliner Crew mission – which returned without a crew--Boeing’s human spacecraft will fly again, but without people. NASA has reviewed its contract with the space company, which includes a third uncrewed test flight.We’ll speak with Ars Technica’s Eric Berger about Starliner plus a look at some of the recent space news.Then, before Apollo took humans to the moon, there was the Gemini program.The program was crucial to helping humans land on the moon – mastering key things like...
Central Florida Public Media •

“Rocket Dreams” chronicles trillion-dollar commercial space race

Two of the richest men in the world are trying to send Americans back to the moon.The commercial space industry has exploded over the past decades. But heavy hitters like SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos want to go beyond launching things to space – they want to send the next astronauts to the lunar surface.Christian Davenport, staff writer at The Washington Post, said that the growth of the commercial space sector started to feel “real” slowly, but surely, overtime.“T...
Central Florida Public Media •

The politics of space and the latest night sky observations

Budget cuts are hitting NASA hard, including the outlook at sending Americans back to the moon.The Trump Administration’s proposed budget would cut NASA’s funding by 24% overall, including a 47% cut to its science budget.Chris Carberry, CEO and co-founder of Explore Mars, wrote in a recent op-ed, “Let's not allow the golden age of space exploration to turn itself into fool's gold.”He wrote about how political changes and budget cuts could change the course of U.S. space exploration and urged Con...
Central Florida Public Media •

A NASA nominee’s second shot and mimicking space environments here on Earth

Jared Isaacman has been renominated as NASA administrator after having his initial nomination withdrawn in May.In the interim, NASA has been headed by Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. During this time, human space travel has been championed by Duffy, including plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon. Most recently, the contract for Artemis III has been reopened by Duffy after an overall slow year in development for SpaceX, the original awardee.Anthony Colangelo, host of the podcast M...
Central Florida Public Media •

Launching a new mission to Mars

For Blue Origin’s second New Glenn rocket launch, there’s a lot at stake.The first New Glenn rocket was launched successfully in Jan. after a decade of development. A second rocket launch is planned for no earlier than Nov. 9 from Cape Canaveral. The ship will carry ESCAPADE, a NASA mission tasked with studying Mars’ magnetosphere and weather.Blue Origin plans for New Glenn’s first stage to be reusable for at least 25 flights once functioning properly. Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Tec...
The Charge •

UCF students to lose free transportation after LYNX Route 434 closure

LYNX Route 434, one of the three routes with a stop on the UCF campus, will end service Jan. 11, 2026.The decision was finalized Thursday at the Lynx October Board of Directors meeting in a unanimous vote. This is part of a larger plan in Seminole County to switch to Scout, a microtransit option similar to Uber. Scout can stop at the UCF SuperStop, but costs $4 to $14 per ride.“It forces me to pay more for the new transportation system than the buses. It would just inflate the prices,” said Apol...
Central Florida Public Media •

Federal funding and the future of space science missions

Whether the Juno probe will continue to study Jupiter is unclear amidst a U.S. government shutdown.The spacecraft has orbited Jupiter since its arrival in 2016. It was a planned 20-month mission but was given the green light to explore longer. Its last extension placed the next mission deadline on Sept. 30th, but science journalist Emilee Speck said Juno’s mission is unlikely to continue.“It completed its first round of mission of orbits, and then it got extended, and that extension ended on Sep...
Central Florida Public Media •

Keeping space clean and developing a green thumb off planet

Over 100 million pieces of space junk orbit Earth, sparking concern from some engineers and scientists.Space junk is any object in orbit that no longer functions. The most common removal method for defunct equipment is to set it on a course to burn up in the atmosphere. Otherwise, it is moved into a “graveyard orbit” where it is unlikely to collide with anything. Very few are removed from orbit manually.Moriba Jah, professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the co-founder and chief scien...
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