Stories From Space

Dr. Shawna Pandya is an aeromedical transport physician, a neurosurgery and emergency medic, leader of the an aquanaut with NASA's NEEMO analog missions, director of the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences' (IIAS) Space Medicine Group, and will be Canada's first female commercial astronaut. She's also a black belt martial artist in Taekwon-Do, an analog astronaut, and an explorer. During our interview, we discussed the path that brought her to medicine, space, and what the future holds for humans living and working offworld.

A few months ago, I had the honor of appearing on AADYA Geo Talks, the podcast series launched by Bharti Sharma and the organization she founded – AADYA, whose name means “origin” in Hindi. As a geologist and world-traveller, Sharma launched this organization to promote knowledge about planetary and geoscience and create opportunities for collaborative research to address critical global challenges. During the interview, we talked about how I got into science journalism, my podcast series, and my science fiction writing. The interview lasted for more than an hour because she asked great questions about a range of wonderful topics!

A few months ago, I had the honor of appearing on AADYA Geo Talks, the podcast series launched by Bharti Sharma and the organization she founded – AADYA, whose name means “origin” in Hindi. As a geologist and world-traveller, Sharma launched this organization to promote knowledge about planetary and geoscience and create opportunities for collaborative research to address critical global challenges. During the interview, we talked about how I got into science journalism, my podcast series, and my science fiction writing. The interview lasted for more than an hour because she asked great questions about a range of wonderful topics!

The White House recently released its budget for FY 2026, which has led to significant concerns at NASA as it recommends significant cuts to international programs, education, and research. In addition, many of these cuts call for the cancellation of key elements of NASA's Artemis Program and its plans for sending crewed missions to Mars. This includes the Space Launch System (SLS), the Orion spacecraft, and the Lunar Gateway.

The Kerbal Space Program is currently used as an educational tool to teach about spacecraft and mission design. But as Dr. Schmitt tells us, it should be used as a method for designing whole mission architectures. For years, Schmitt has relied on KSP and its realism mods to design and simulate missions, including those that will take astronauts back to the Moon!

In Earth's orbit, there are millions of debris objects that pose a collision risk for satellites and space stations. If left unchecked, the situation could lead to a cascading effect known as Kessler Syndrome. While space agencies worldwide track and monitor objects in orbit to prevent collisions, strategies for active debris removal are needed and many are being researched.

Guest | Dr. Moriba Jah, Professor, The University of Texas at Austin [@UTAustin]On Twitter | https://x.com/moribajahOn LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahniverse/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/moribajahWebsite | https://www.moriba.com/Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Keith Cowing, Creator / Editor, NASA Watch and Astrobiology.comOn Twitter | https://x.com/keithcowingOn LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-cowing-9b94076/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/keith.cowingHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Keith Cowing, Editor, NASA WatchOn Twitter | https://x.com/keithcowingOn LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-cowing-9b94076/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/keith.cowingHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Dr. Will Grundy, Astronomer, Lowell ObservatoryHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Kenneth Goodis-Gordon, Ph.D candidate and Graduate Research Assistant, University of Central FloridaOn LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-goodis-gordon-05217a130/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/kenny.gordon.18Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Sir Peter Beck, Founder & CEO, Rocket Lab [@RocketLab]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-beck-ab7b63b/On Twitter | https://x.com/Peter_J_BeckHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Dr. Slava Turyshev, Research Scientist NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory [@NASAJPL]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/slava-g-turyshev-62b88/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/turyshevHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Dr. Alan Stern, Associate Vice President Southwest Research Institute [@SwRI]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-stern-0786409/On Twitter | https://twitter.com/AlanSternOn Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/s.alan.sternHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Dr. Ryan Sprenger, Senior Research Scientist, Fauna Bio [@faunabio]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-sprenger-ph-d-66720a2a9/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/ryan.sprenger.77Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Marshall Eubanks, Chief Scientists, Space Initiatives Inc. [@AsteroidEnergy] On Twitter | https://twitter.com/tm_eubanks?On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmeubanks/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/tmeubanksHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Dr. Steve Vance, Deputy Manager Planetary Science Section NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory [@NASAJPL]On Twitter | https://twitter.com/Steven_D_VanceOn LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-vance-12780825/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/steve.vance1Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Ruvimbo Samanga, Space policy analyst, MILO Space Science Institute [@MILOInstitute]On Twitter | https://twitter.com/RueyAstraOn LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruvimbo-samanga-248212135/Website | https://ruvimbosamanga.com/Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Guest | Dr. Rebecca Charbonneau, Karl Jansky Fellow, National Radio Astronomy Observatory [@TheNRAO]On Twitter | https://twitter.com/StellarHistoryOn LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-charbonneau-31090aa1/On Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/rebeccaannecharbonneauHost | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine