Dare to Explore

Episode 21: Chris Vrenna

October 28th, 2022  |  41 mins 5 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Chris Vrenna is a musician, producer, engineer, programmer, and songwriter best known as the drummer for Nine Inch Nails. He’s played with Marilyn Manson, Guns and Roses, Smashing Pumpkins, and more, and he’s composed music for video games in the Quake, Doom, Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Call of Duty game series. Today, he teaches music technology and is on the board of directors for the US Space and Rocket Center Foundation.

Episode 20: Penny Pettigrew

September 26th, 2022  |  30 mins 32 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Penny Pettigrew
is a payload communications manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, communicating with astronauts conducting scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station. She is a Space Camp alumni and a member of the Space Camp Hall of Fame.

Episode 19: Robert Pearlman

September 9th, 2022  |  34 mins 27 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Robert Pearlman is a space historian and the founder and editor of the website collectSPACE. He was the director of communications and the marketing director for Space Adventures, the first space tourism company to send private individuals to the ISS. Robert is a Space Camp Hall of Fame member and a contributing writer to Space.com.

Episode 18: Katie Berryhill

July 20th, 2022  |  32 mins 8 secs

Katie Berryhill is former intelligence officer for the United States Air Force. Today, she is an astronomy professor at multiple colleges and the CEO of Berryhill Computer Forensics, Incorporated. She is a Space Camp alumni, a science education researcher, and a NASA Solar System Ambassador.

Episode 17: Andrea Hanson

May 23rd, 2022  |  37 mins 3 secs

exploration, explore, kids science, nasa, science, science for kids, space, stem

Dr. Andrea Hanson is a bioastronautics and microgravity science aerospace engineer. She is currently working at NASA Johnson Space Center on Crew Health and Performance for the Human Landing System (HLS). She is a Space Camp alumni, Space Camp Hall of Fame member, and serves on the Space Camp Alumni Advancement Board.

Episode 16: David Hitt

April 19th, 2022  |  39 mins 58 secs

alabama, engineering, explore, explorers, florida, huntsville, launch, math, nasa, rocket, rocketry, science, scientist, sls, space, space camp, space exploration, space force, space shuttle, star trek, star wars, stem, technology

David Hitt is a contractor Communications Strategist with Marshall Space Flight Center's Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication. He began his career as a small town newspaper editor before joining NASA's Space Launch System as Communication Strategist. David is also the author of Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story and Bold They Rise: The Space Shuttle Early Years.

Episode 15: Marcia Lindstrom

March 24th, 2022  |  33 mins 33 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Marcia Lindstrom leads the Strategic Communications Team for NASA's Space Launch System, the rocket that will take humans to the Moon and eventually to Mars. In the past, she has served as manager for the External Relations Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and as Director of Operations for Space Camp.

Episode 14: Jim Allan

February 16th, 2022  |  27 mins 41 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Jim Allan is the accessibility coordinator for the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He served as their webmaster and as an assistive technology specialist. He has been coordinating and bringing Texas students to SCIVIS (Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students) for more than twenty years, and serves as a technical expert for the program. Jim's expertise supported Space Camp's development of mission software usable by blind and visibly impaired students.

Episode 13: Peter Marquez

January 18th, 2022  |  32 mins 43 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Peter Marquez is the Head of Space Policy at Amazon Web Services. He has consulted on television shows like "Space Force" as a space consultant, Director of Space Policy on the National Security Council, and served at Planetary Resources, Inc. as the Vice President for Global Engagement. His unique view of the space industry comes from a career of space policy and understanding the interconnected issues that come with advancing exploration.

Episode 12: Keri Bean

December 17th, 2021  |  29 mins 20 secs

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Keri Bean is a systems engineer for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is a deputy lead Rover Planner on the Curiosity rover. She is also a Helicopter Integration Engineer for the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter currently on Mars. 

Episode 11: Margrit von Braun

November 15th, 2021  |  38 mins 30 secs

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Margrit von Braun is an environmental engineer specializing in hazardous waste management and risk assessment. Her father was Dr. Wernher von Braun, the first director of the Marshall Space Flight Center and led the development of the Saturn V rocket that sent the Apollo astronauts to the moon. Margrit was one of the first women to join the University of Idaho College of Engineering faculty in 1980, and served as their Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Episode 10: Derek Hodgins

October 15th, 2021  |  30 mins 51 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Episode 9: Dan Oates

September 17th, 2021  |  29 mins 44 secs

science, space

Dan Oates is a member of the Space Camp Hall of Fame and a retired teacher from the West Virginia School for the Blind. For thirty years, Dan has been helping thousands of visually impaired and blind students and teachers experience Space Camp through a program called SCIVIS - Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students. In the past, he has served as Education Program Manager for Space Camp, and is currently the group coordinator for SCIVIS.

Episode 8: Mandy Vaughn

August 20th, 2021  |  32 mins 47 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Mandy Vaughn is the founder and past president and CEO of VOX Space, a subsidiary of Virgin Orbit providing satellite launch services to the US government and allied nations. She is an Air Force veteran who served as Chair of the Workforce Development efforts for the National Security Space Association and is currently a member of NASA's National Space Council User's Advisory Group.

Episode 7: Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger

July 16th, 2021  |  30 mins 44 secs

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Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger is a retired high school earth science and astronomy teacher. In 2004, she was selected as an Educator Mission Specialist by NASA, and flew on STS 131 Discovery to resupply the International Space Station. She is the first Space Camp alumni to go to space.

Episode 6: Michael and Denise Okuda

June 16th, 2021  |  30 mins 17 secs

deep space nine, engineering, enterprise, for all mankind, graphic design, nasa, rockets, science, space, space force, spacex, star, star trek, stem, trekkie, voyager

Husband and wife duo Michael and Denise Okuda have worked in science fiction television for more than three decades as graphic designers, artists and technical consultants. Together, they have worked on six Star Trek films, as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, even writing the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Michael has designed several NASA mission patches, and are currently consultants for the Netflix series Space Force and the Apple TV series For All Mankind.