1 00:00:04,370 --> 00:00:02,690 hi I'm Raquel Villanueva coming to you 2 00:00:07,070 --> 00:00:04,380 live from NASA's jet propulsion 3 00:00:09,890 --> 00:00:07,080 laboratory in Southern California today 4 00:00:13,610 --> 00:00:09,900 we have a very special guest the 5 00:00:16,790 --> 00:00:13,620 director of JPL Lori leschen not only is 6 00:00:18,650 --> 00:00:16,800 she the first woman to lead JPL she's 7 00:00:21,529 --> 00:00:18,660 also known for her barrier-breaking 8 00:00:24,290 --> 00:00:21,539 leadership in the space industry and 9 00:00:27,589 --> 00:00:24,300 Academia she's also an accomplished 10 00:00:29,870 --> 00:00:27,599 geochemist and space scientist we'll 11 00:00:32,990 --> 00:00:29,880 talk about her first 10 months here at 12 00:00:35,270 --> 00:00:33,000 JPL and also talk about some of the 13 00:00:38,270 --> 00:00:35,280 questions you've asked over the past 14 00:00:40,130 --> 00:00:38,280 couple days on Instagram so we're gonna 15 00:00:43,369 --> 00:00:40,140 get started here in a second and I'm 16 00:00:45,709 --> 00:00:43,379 going to connect with Lori and while we 17 00:00:48,229 --> 00:00:45,719 get connected where is everyone joining 18 00:00:51,350 --> 00:00:48,239 us from today 19 00:00:54,049 --> 00:00:51,360 Let's see we are connecting with her 20 00:00:56,990 --> 00:00:54,059 right now 21 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:02,569 there we go 22 00:01:07,190 --> 00:01:04,189 someone's coming in from Chile hello 23 00:01:12,230 --> 00:01:10,130 yeah and we say Lori Hi how are you 24 00:01:14,390 --> 00:01:12,240 welcome 25 00:01:16,490 --> 00:01:14,400 good how are you doing and it looks like 26 00:01:23,270 --> 00:01:16,500 you're joining us today where are you 27 00:01:30,050 --> 00:01:27,890 fantastic so you started last May can 28 00:01:31,550 --> 00:01:30,060 you believe it's almost in a year 10 29 00:01:34,010 --> 00:01:31,560 months have gone like the fastest 10 30 00:01:37,510 --> 00:01:34,020 months of my life and and some of the 31 00:01:43,969 --> 00:01:41,990 like what stands out most people of JPL 32 00:01:46,130 --> 00:01:43,979 just the incredible team here first of 33 00:01:48,890 --> 00:01:46,140 all everybody's just been so 34 00:01:51,350 --> 00:01:48,900 extraordinarily welcoming to me and 35 00:01:53,149 --> 00:01:51,360 supportive as I've gotten to know the 36 00:01:54,889 --> 00:01:53,159 place better I knew JPL well before 37 00:01:57,830 --> 00:01:54,899 because I've worked with JPL for decades 38 00:02:02,149 --> 00:01:57,840 but being here every single day is just 39 00:02:07,069 --> 00:02:04,190 that's fantastic stick and we love 40 00:02:10,490 --> 00:02:07,079 having you here also you know it is 41 00:02:13,130 --> 00:02:10,500 women's history month and what does it 42 00:02:16,309 --> 00:02:13,140 mean to you to be the first woman to 43 00:02:18,190 --> 00:02:16,319 lead JPL and then what are you doing to 44 00:02:20,270 --> 00:02:18,200 help women at JPL 45 00:02:21,830 --> 00:02:20,280 it's a thrill first of all to be doing 46 00:02:24,290 --> 00:02:21,840 this during women's history month so 47 00:02:25,729 --> 00:02:24,300 thanks to everybody who's watching but 48 00:02:28,550 --> 00:02:25,739 um you know for me being the first woman 49 00:02:31,490 --> 00:02:28,560 in the now almost 87 year history of JPL 50 00:02:33,710 --> 00:02:31,500 it's a huge honor and I definitely feel 51 00:02:36,410 --> 00:02:33,720 that it's a responsibility as well I'm 52 00:02:38,570 --> 00:02:36,420 as a leader as a woman leader we hold 53 00:02:40,430 --> 00:02:38,580 space for other women you know we really 54 00:02:42,290 --> 00:02:40,440 work to help make our organizations 55 00:02:45,770 --> 00:02:42,300 places where everyone can Thrive not 56 00:02:49,369 --> 00:02:45,780 just women but but men too uh all folks 57 00:02:53,390 --> 00:02:49,379 everyone can Thrive and so I just have 58 00:02:55,970 --> 00:02:53,400 focused on again trying to continue a 59 00:02:58,130 --> 00:02:55,980 great legacy of JPL of having diverse 60 00:03:00,229 --> 00:02:58,140 teams we we recently crossed the 61 00:03:02,930 --> 00:03:00,239 threshold of having more than 2 000 62 00:03:05,509 --> 00:03:02,940 women on our team at JPL which is is a 63 00:03:08,449 --> 00:03:05,519 incredibly exciting so a lot more work 64 00:03:10,490 --> 00:03:08,459 to do always to make our organizations 65 00:03:12,050 --> 00:03:10,500 um as inclusive as they can be and 66 00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:12,060 that's certainly our goal here at JPL 67 00:03:15,530 --> 00:03:13,560 one of the things we're really working 68 00:03:17,270 --> 00:03:15,540 towards is having more women in 69 00:03:19,430 --> 00:03:17,280 technical leadership roles right we have 70 00:03:21,170 --> 00:03:19,440 these two thousand incredible women many 71 00:03:22,729 --> 00:03:21,180 of them are extraordinary I have 72 00:03:24,350 --> 00:03:22,739 extraordinary technical backgrounds and 73 00:03:26,270 --> 00:03:24,360 we want the to make sure they're 74 00:03:29,270 --> 00:03:26,280 reaching leadership potential here as 75 00:03:34,130 --> 00:03:31,790 well I can tell through the comments so 76 00:03:36,830 --> 00:03:34,140 many people are inspired by you right 77 00:03:38,690 --> 00:03:36,840 now and I'd also like to know is there a 78 00:03:40,430 --> 00:03:38,700 specific woman that has inspired you 79 00:03:42,530 --> 00:03:40,440 throughout your life well I would say 80 00:03:45,470 --> 00:03:42,540 there are two that I would name so first 81 00:03:47,449 --> 00:03:45,480 is my own mom my mom Jerry Lerner lesson 82 00:03:49,190 --> 00:03:47,459 was her name she passed away about 18 83 00:03:52,190 --> 00:03:49,200 months ago 84 00:03:53,990 --> 00:03:52,200 um and uh she was really the light of my 85 00:03:55,910 --> 00:03:54,000 life in so many ways but mostly she was 86 00:03:58,009 --> 00:03:55,920 the person who always told me I could do 87 00:04:01,369 --> 00:03:58,019 anything and I learned by watching her 88 00:04:03,830 --> 00:04:01,379 uh she you know raised a family she had 89 00:04:06,530 --> 00:04:03,840 a great career she was 90 00:04:07,670 --> 00:04:06,540 um just a special human being and so she 91 00:04:09,830 --> 00:04:07,680 certainly won 92 00:04:12,190 --> 00:04:09,840 um in terms of professional women uh 93 00:04:15,050 --> 00:04:12,200 Sally Ride was a huge inspiration to me 94 00:04:16,729 --> 00:04:15,060 I was fortunate enough to become friends 95 00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:16,739 with her and colleagues with her and 96 00:04:22,129 --> 00:04:19,260 I've learned so much on how to 97 00:04:24,350 --> 00:04:22,139 take the opportunities that we are given 98 00:04:28,670 --> 00:04:24,360 but also the responsibility that comes 99 00:04:34,070 --> 00:04:31,969 now those are two great tributes and it 100 00:04:36,110 --> 00:04:34,080 was great to hear from you on those we 101 00:04:37,310 --> 00:04:36,120 also have some Instagram questions that 102 00:04:38,890 --> 00:04:37,320 came in from people who've been 103 00:04:42,350 --> 00:04:38,900 submitting them for the past couple days 104 00:04:45,170 --> 00:04:42,360 uh Ethan wants to know what is a typical 105 00:04:46,550 --> 00:04:45,180 day is there's no typical day uh so 106 00:04:49,249 --> 00:04:46,560 that's except that's one of the most 107 00:04:51,050 --> 00:04:49,259 exciting things is every week There's 108 00:04:53,510 --> 00:04:51,060 incredible things happening so it might 109 00:04:55,249 --> 00:04:53,520 be that oh hey we just got a new sensor 110 00:04:57,409 --> 00:04:55,259 delivered to be integrated onto our 111 00:05:00,050 --> 00:04:57,419 Europa Clipper spacecraft over here and 112 00:05:02,150 --> 00:05:00,060 oh on on Friday we got first light from 113 00:05:04,969 --> 00:05:02,160 our new Earth Science Mission studying 114 00:05:07,310 --> 00:05:04,979 Earth's water so every single week there 115 00:05:09,590 --> 00:05:07,320 are a number of incredible things 116 00:05:11,990 --> 00:05:09,600 happening because we're working on we're 117 00:05:13,850 --> 00:05:12,000 flying about 40 missions we're working 118 00:05:16,249 --> 00:05:13,860 on another couple of dozen missions in 119 00:05:18,350 --> 00:05:16,259 different stages of going from like the 120 00:05:20,510 --> 00:05:18,360 kernel of an idea all the way to getting 121 00:05:22,010 --> 00:05:20,520 ready to be launched so there's always 122 00:05:25,189 --> 00:05:22,020 something different each and every day 123 00:05:26,810 --> 00:05:25,199 and for me my day is about trying to 124 00:05:28,909 --> 00:05:26,820 support our teens so that they can 125 00:05:31,990 --> 00:05:28,919 succeed in exploring the frontiers of 126 00:05:37,969 --> 00:05:35,090 fantastic and Katie would actually like 127 00:05:40,370 --> 00:05:37,979 to know what steps did you take to get 128 00:05:42,230 --> 00:05:40,380 where yeah is 129 00:05:45,830 --> 00:05:42,240 um I was actually on a fairly 130 00:05:47,510 --> 00:05:45,840 traditional academic path I realized in 131 00:05:49,370 --> 00:05:47,520 college it's a longer story but I won't 132 00:05:51,469 --> 00:05:49,380 tell you the long story I realized in 133 00:05:53,570 --> 00:05:51,479 college that I I by fascination with 134 00:05:55,310 --> 00:05:53,580 space could also potentially be a career 135 00:05:58,010 --> 00:05:55,320 and so 136 00:06:00,110 --> 00:05:58,020 um I studied hard and got a PhD at 137 00:06:02,029 --> 00:06:00,120 Caltech actually which is which operates 138 00:06:04,490 --> 00:06:02,039 JPL for NASA so now it's great to be 139 00:06:07,790 --> 00:06:04,500 back part of the Caltech family 140 00:06:09,650 --> 00:06:07,800 um and then I was a professor and got 141 00:06:11,689 --> 00:06:09,660 tenure and we had students and was 142 00:06:13,969 --> 00:06:11,699 teaching and doing research and I was on 143 00:06:15,650 --> 00:06:13,979 a pretty traditional path and then for 144 00:06:18,290 --> 00:06:15,660 lots of reasons that again I don't have 145 00:06:20,090 --> 00:06:18,300 time to to go into I actually ditched my 146 00:06:22,309 --> 00:06:20,100 tenure and went and joined NASA for a 147 00:06:24,110 --> 00:06:22,319 while moved to the east coast 148 00:06:26,390 --> 00:06:24,120 um kind of uprooted my whole life and 149 00:06:28,010 --> 00:06:26,400 went and worked at Nasa for six years in 150 00:06:30,170 --> 00:06:28,020 three different jobs and then I went 151 00:06:32,689 --> 00:06:30,180 back to Academia for a while and so my 152 00:06:34,610 --> 00:06:32,699 last job right before coming to APL was 153 00:06:36,350 --> 00:06:34,620 I was president of a university in 154 00:06:38,390 --> 00:06:36,360 Massachusetts called WPI Worcester 155 00:06:40,969 --> 00:06:38,400 Polytechnic Institute 156 00:06:44,090 --> 00:06:40,979 go Nation go goats 157 00:06:46,309 --> 00:06:44,100 um and uh and so being able to kind of 158 00:06:48,230 --> 00:06:46,319 broaden my experience do more than one 159 00:06:51,770 --> 00:06:48,240 type of job in my career was a really 160 00:06:54,890 --> 00:06:51,780 important part of what has enabled me 161 00:06:58,550 --> 00:06:54,900 now to be ready to come and and lead a 162 00:07:03,110 --> 00:07:00,890 fantastic and it's great to hear that 163 00:07:05,510 --> 00:07:03,120 there wasn't one linear path for you 164 00:07:07,730 --> 00:07:05,520 that you did exactly definitely not a 165 00:07:10,490 --> 00:07:07,740 linear path and and in fact so much of 166 00:07:12,350 --> 00:07:10,500 it I really feel is about learning to 167 00:07:13,969 --> 00:07:12,360 recognize good opportunities not every 168 00:07:16,249 --> 00:07:13,979 opportunity is a good opportunity but 169 00:07:17,809 --> 00:07:16,259 learning to recognize those and then 170 00:07:19,430 --> 00:07:17,819 um and then grabbing some of them and 171 00:07:20,749 --> 00:07:19,440 and perhaps taking a little bit of a 172 00:07:23,089 --> 00:07:20,759 right turn from where you might have 173 00:07:24,650 --> 00:07:23,099 expected your career to go it's often 174 00:07:27,290 --> 00:07:24,660 those experiences that can be really 175 00:07:31,909 --> 00:07:27,300 broadening that can help us then make an 176 00:07:36,770 --> 00:07:34,189 Ed this next question Lori is going to 177 00:07:39,290 --> 00:07:36,780 test your movie knowledge here so Singh 178 00:07:40,969 --> 00:07:39,300 is wanting to know Interstellar or the 179 00:07:44,510 --> 00:07:40,979 Marshall both Mac movies right 180 00:07:46,850 --> 00:07:44,520 McConaughey and Damon how to choose how 181 00:07:48,950 --> 00:07:46,860 to choose okay no actually it's easy the 182 00:07:50,350 --> 00:07:48,960 Martian sorry like I'm married to an 183 00:07:53,150 --> 00:07:50,360 astronomer who you might say 184 00:07:55,850 --> 00:07:53,160 Interstellar for me I'm a planet girl 185 00:07:57,350 --> 00:07:55,860 and I say the Martian I the the book is 186 00:07:59,270 --> 00:07:57,360 even better than the movie if you can 187 00:08:01,189 --> 00:07:59,280 believe it and a lot more stuff happens 188 00:08:03,409 --> 00:08:01,199 to them in the in the book that happens 189 00:08:05,029 --> 00:08:03,419 in the movie but the thing I love about 190 00:08:08,290 --> 00:08:05,039 it is it's 191 00:08:11,270 --> 00:08:08,300 you know it's close enough to reality 192 00:08:13,430 --> 00:08:11,280 that uh technically that even people 193 00:08:16,969 --> 00:08:13,440 here in a place like JPL we're pretty 194 00:08:20,270 --> 00:08:16,979 into it so and and just the idea of 195 00:08:21,950 --> 00:08:20,280 being able to sit on a on a edge of a 196 00:08:23,629 --> 00:08:21,960 cliff on Mars and look out over that 197 00:08:26,930 --> 00:08:23,639 landscape that's a dream I've had since 198 00:08:32,029 --> 00:08:29,809 and making that kind of dream visualized 199 00:08:33,350 --> 00:08:32,039 into reality through a movie 200 00:08:36,529 --> 00:08:33,360 and 201 00:08:38,810 --> 00:08:36,539 heading back to JPL what do you think 202 00:08:40,850 --> 00:08:38,820 the future holds I think our future is 203 00:08:43,190 --> 00:08:40,860 really really exciting so we have a lot 204 00:08:46,250 --> 00:08:43,200 of really really cool missions coming up 205 00:08:47,630 --> 00:08:46,260 so in uh solar system exploration which 206 00:08:49,370 --> 00:08:47,640 is kind of our bread and butter here 207 00:08:51,410 --> 00:08:49,380 people kind of know us as the Mars rover 208 00:08:53,090 --> 00:08:51,420 people but we also send missions to 209 00:08:55,190 --> 00:08:53,100 other parts of the solar system so just 210 00:08:57,290 --> 00:08:55,200 this year later this year we're going to 211 00:08:59,509 --> 00:08:57,300 launch a mission called psyche which is 212 00:09:02,150 --> 00:08:59,519 going to explore for the first time ever 213 00:09:04,310 --> 00:09:02,160 a metal world it's a metal asteroid 214 00:09:05,750 --> 00:09:04,320 called psyche we've never been to a 215 00:09:09,050 --> 00:09:05,760 metal world before it's going to go into 216 00:09:10,910 --> 00:09:09,060 orbit around uh this asteroid and and 217 00:09:13,670 --> 00:09:10,920 try and understand it from lots of 218 00:09:17,090 --> 00:09:13,680 different aspects so that's our next big 219 00:09:19,190 --> 00:09:17,100 launch is psyche in October then a year 220 00:09:21,410 --> 00:09:19,200 after that our next launch to the outer 221 00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:21,420 solar system Europa Clipper a mission 222 00:09:27,050 --> 00:09:24,240 that's going to explore the icy Moon 223 00:09:29,810 --> 00:09:27,060 that's orbiting Jupiter that we think 224 00:09:32,690 --> 00:09:29,820 has a liquid water ocean beneath the icy 225 00:09:35,990 --> 00:09:32,700 moon it's so exciting this is a 226 00:09:37,790 --> 00:09:36,000 potential whole new type of habitable 227 00:09:39,650 --> 00:09:37,800 environment in our solar system ocean 228 00:09:41,210 --> 00:09:39,660 worlds in the outer solar system and 229 00:09:43,550 --> 00:09:41,220 this is the first mission truly 230 00:09:45,829 --> 00:09:43,560 dedicated to fully exploring one of 231 00:09:47,570 --> 00:09:45,839 those ocean worlds so it's being built 232 00:09:50,150 --> 00:09:47,580 right now in our clean room and actually 233 00:09:52,850 --> 00:09:50,160 for everyone watching you should go out 234 00:09:55,970 --> 00:09:52,860 and look up on YouTube you can find live 235 00:09:58,070 --> 00:09:55,980 camera feed of the engineers and 236 00:10:00,170 --> 00:09:58,080 technicians actually building the Europa 237 00:10:02,630 --> 00:10:00,180 Clipper spacecraft right now if you go 238 00:10:05,210 --> 00:10:02,640 search for Europa Clipper Live on 239 00:10:06,949 --> 00:10:05,220 YouTube you will find 240 00:10:08,630 --> 00:10:06,959 um our our folks at JPL actually 241 00:10:11,030 --> 00:10:08,640 building that mission so that launches 242 00:10:14,329 --> 00:10:11,040 next October and then I'm giving a long 243 00:10:15,829 --> 00:10:14,339 answer but and then we've got 244 00:10:17,870 --> 00:10:15,839 um the next big missions in our solar 245 00:10:19,430 --> 00:10:17,880 system actually the the biggest one the 246 00:10:21,350 --> 00:10:19,440 biggest solar system Mission we will 247 00:10:23,690 --> 00:10:21,360 have ever attempted is something called 248 00:10:25,790 --> 00:10:23,700 Mars sample return where we want to go 249 00:10:28,670 --> 00:10:25,800 to Mars and pick up 250 00:10:30,410 --> 00:10:28,680 30 bits of rock that perseverance the 251 00:10:32,030 --> 00:10:30,420 Rover that's there right now is driving 252 00:10:33,470 --> 00:10:32,040 around and collecting drilling little 253 00:10:37,250 --> 00:10:33,480 pieces of rock that are about the size 254 00:10:38,930 --> 00:10:37,260 of your pinky and collecting them really 255 00:10:40,250 --> 00:10:38,940 fascinating rocks that could answer the 256 00:10:42,290 --> 00:10:40,260 question about whether we're alone in 257 00:10:44,389 --> 00:10:42,300 the universe we're going to send a 258 00:10:46,610 --> 00:10:44,399 mission to go get those rocks and bring 259 00:10:50,150 --> 00:10:46,620 them back to Earth about a decade from 260 00:10:52,069 --> 00:10:50,160 now that is the hardest thing we've ever 261 00:10:53,690 --> 00:10:52,079 tried to do it is that one of the most 262 00:10:55,250 --> 00:10:53,700 exciting scientific things we've ever 263 00:10:57,530 --> 00:10:55,260 tried to do so we're doing all of those 264 00:10:59,630 --> 00:10:57,540 things and we're doing a bunch of cool 265 00:11:01,310 --> 00:10:59,640 things in astrophysics and in earth 266 00:11:03,170 --> 00:11:01,320 science as well which I would also love 267 00:11:04,850 --> 00:11:03,180 to talk about but I feel like I should 268 00:11:07,190 --> 00:11:04,860 stop and let you ask me another question 269 00:11:09,769 --> 00:11:07,200 if you want keep going 270 00:11:11,269 --> 00:11:09,779 oh well I think that's gonna be my next 271 00:11:14,210 --> 00:11:11,279 question for you but as you were 272 00:11:15,610 --> 00:11:14,220 mentioning with Europa the website is 273 00:11:18,290 --> 00:11:15,620 youtube.com 274 00:11:20,389 --> 00:11:18,300 NASA JPL and it's going to be that first 275 00:11:21,829 --> 00:11:20,399 box that you see that says live for 276 00:11:23,870 --> 00:11:21,839 anyone that wants to watch Lord do you 277 00:11:26,389 --> 00:11:23,880 catch yourself sometimes just watching 278 00:11:28,069 --> 00:11:26,399 that it's so fun it's cool to see like 279 00:11:29,870 --> 00:11:28,079 how people are just working it's great 280 00:11:31,850 --> 00:11:29,880 because it gives you a simple scale of 281 00:11:33,650 --> 00:11:31,860 the spacecraft because you can see 282 00:11:35,210 --> 00:11:33,660 people on it and the people are like 283 00:11:36,650 --> 00:11:35,220 this and the spacecraft's like this and 284 00:11:38,810 --> 00:11:36,660 it's really big 285 00:11:40,730 --> 00:11:38,820 um it's it's quite impressive um Mission 286 00:11:42,470 --> 00:11:40,740 that's gonna fly all the way out to 287 00:11:44,449 --> 00:11:42,480 Jupiter which is five times further from 288 00:11:46,670 --> 00:11:44,459 the Sun than the Earth and as big as the 289 00:11:48,590 --> 00:11:46,680 spacecraft itself is the solar panels 290 00:11:50,870 --> 00:11:48,600 that are needed to power it out at 291 00:11:52,850 --> 00:11:50,880 Jupiter are the size of a basketball 292 00:11:54,290 --> 00:11:52,860 court and they're gigantic they're 293 00:11:57,290 --> 00:11:54,300 they're the length of a basketball court 294 00:11:58,490 --> 00:11:57,300 so it's it's really a huge thing it's I 295 00:12:01,310 --> 00:11:58,500 think it's probably the biggest thing 296 00:12:02,630 --> 00:12:01,320 we've built our sample return will be a 297 00:12:05,750 --> 00:12:02,640 little bit bigger even which is if you 298 00:12:08,750 --> 00:12:07,490 believe it it's great to talk about that 299 00:12:10,430 --> 00:12:08,760 sense of scale because you can't really 300 00:12:11,569 --> 00:12:10,440 see it inanimate so go check out the 301 00:12:13,550 --> 00:12:11,579 live camera and then you can see it 302 00:12:16,610 --> 00:12:13,560 compared to people right so you can see 303 00:12:19,910 --> 00:12:17,810 perfect and you know what I'm going to 304 00:12:22,610 --> 00:12:19,920 ask you a continuation of what you were 305 00:12:24,170 --> 00:12:22,620 talking about what yeah so you know 306 00:12:26,449 --> 00:12:24,180 again people know us for solar system 307 00:12:29,389 --> 00:12:26,459 exploration planets 308 00:12:31,430 --> 00:12:29,399 in some ways what animates us really is 309 00:12:33,829 --> 00:12:31,440 is these questions about life on Earth 310 00:12:35,449 --> 00:12:33,839 and life in the universe and so we are 311 00:12:37,370 --> 00:12:35,459 exploring Mars we are exploring moons of 312 00:12:39,110 --> 00:12:37,380 Jupiter but but the other place to think 313 00:12:42,110 --> 00:12:39,120 about life elsewhere is on planets 314 00:12:44,210 --> 00:12:42,120 around other stars and so we are 315 00:12:46,550 --> 00:12:44,220 building you know we just launched the 316 00:12:48,829 --> 00:12:46,560 amazing um we NASA just launched the 317 00:12:51,110 --> 00:12:48,839 amazing James Webb Space Telescope and 318 00:12:53,870 --> 00:12:51,120 we JPL had an instrument on board that 319 00:12:56,210 --> 00:12:53,880 Space Telescope the next Space Telescope 320 00:12:58,190 --> 00:12:56,220 that's going to launch in about 2027 is 321 00:13:00,110 --> 00:12:58,200 called the Nancy Grace Romans face 322 00:13:02,750 --> 00:13:00,120 telescope named after an awesome woman 323 00:13:04,730 --> 00:13:02,760 she was amazing and 324 00:13:06,110 --> 00:13:04,740 um and we're building a sensor and 325 00:13:09,530 --> 00:13:06,120 instrument for that called the 326 00:13:11,990 --> 00:13:09,540 chronograph instrument its job is to if 327 00:13:13,850 --> 00:13:12,000 you want to take a family portrait of 328 00:13:15,769 --> 00:13:13,860 another solar system like lots of 329 00:13:17,930 --> 00:13:15,779 pictures of of the planets around the 330 00:13:20,269 --> 00:13:17,940 other stars it's hard to do because the 331 00:13:22,250 --> 00:13:20,279 light of the star is so bright that you 332 00:13:24,710 --> 00:13:22,260 can't see the planets so this instrument 333 00:13:27,889 --> 00:13:24,720 actually really really effectively 334 00:13:30,829 --> 00:13:27,899 blocks the light of the star are so that 335 00:13:31,910 --> 00:13:30,839 we can see the planets themselves and 336 00:13:33,889 --> 00:13:31,920 that's what this instrument is going to 337 00:13:36,290 --> 00:13:33,899 do and so we're going to take dozens 338 00:13:39,530 --> 00:13:36,300 hundreds even maybe even more family 339 00:13:43,069 --> 00:13:39,540 portraits of other solar systems and 340 00:13:44,810 --> 00:13:43,079 that is the first step to sort of trying 341 00:13:47,509 --> 00:13:44,820 to sense whether life could have gotten 342 00:13:49,850 --> 00:13:47,519 started on some of those planets and so 343 00:13:51,110 --> 00:13:49,860 it's a huge technology Leap Forward and 344 00:13:53,389 --> 00:13:51,120 I think it's going to blow people's 345 00:13:55,730 --> 00:13:53,399 minds when it flies the other big thing 346 00:13:59,030 --> 00:13:55,740 that we do here at JPL is try and 347 00:14:00,829 --> 00:13:59,040 protect life here on Earth and so we 348 00:14:03,050 --> 00:14:00,839 haven't this is sort of a best kept 349 00:14:04,550 --> 00:14:03,060 secret I would say about JPL is we have 350 00:14:06,350 --> 00:14:04,560 a ton of our science missions here 351 00:14:08,389 --> 00:14:06,360 missions that we launched that look back 352 00:14:09,710 --> 00:14:08,399 down at Earth to try and understand our 353 00:14:12,470 --> 00:14:09,720 own Planet how it's changing and 354 00:14:14,449 --> 00:14:12,480 evolving and try and put you know 355 00:14:15,829 --> 00:14:14,459 actionable information in the hands of 356 00:14:17,389 --> 00:14:15,839 people who need it as they're making 357 00:14:19,370 --> 00:14:17,399 decisions about the future of our planet 358 00:14:20,990 --> 00:14:19,380 so not only understanding it better from 359 00:14:23,090 --> 00:14:21,000 a science point of view but really 360 00:14:24,350 --> 00:14:23,100 making a difference in people's lives I 361 00:14:26,329 --> 00:14:24,360 just saw a presentation this morning 362 00:14:28,190 --> 00:14:26,339 about a sensor that we have flying on 363 00:14:31,610 --> 00:14:28,200 the International Space Station right 364 00:14:34,550 --> 00:14:31,620 now which is learning about heat the 365 00:14:36,170 --> 00:14:34,560 heat effects in cities and and cities 366 00:14:39,110 --> 00:14:36,180 are actually doing things to try and 367 00:14:41,569 --> 00:14:39,120 reduce the say the heat that's released 368 00:14:43,730 --> 00:14:41,579 from roadways by painting them different 369 00:14:45,769 --> 00:14:43,740 colors and we're actually sensing what 370 00:14:48,590 --> 00:14:45,779 kind of difference that's making heat 371 00:14:51,769 --> 00:14:48,600 waves are the biggest natural killers of 372 00:14:53,930 --> 00:14:51,779 people in in our country and to be able 373 00:14:56,509 --> 00:14:53,940 to help cities manage heat more 374 00:14:57,590 --> 00:14:56,519 effectively it's amazing so those are 375 00:14:59,389 --> 00:14:57,600 the kind of things we do with our earth 376 00:15:01,850 --> 00:14:59,399 science missions we just launched SWAT 377 00:15:03,530 --> 00:15:01,860 which is looking at Earth's water and 378 00:15:04,730 --> 00:15:03,540 next we have a mission called nysar 379 00:15:06,290 --> 00:15:04,740 which is going to under help us 380 00:15:08,050 --> 00:15:06,300 understand all these kind of things 381 00:15:11,750 --> 00:15:08,060 happening on land whether it's 382 00:15:13,850 --> 00:15:11,760 ecosystems and biomass earthquakes and 383 00:15:16,009 --> 00:15:13,860 volcanoes and also just how the ice 384 00:15:18,769 --> 00:15:16,019 sheets are changing so that was a lot 385 00:15:20,329 --> 00:15:18,779 there's a lot happening here it's so 386 00:15:22,970 --> 00:15:20,339 exciting any given day it could be Earth 387 00:15:27,949 --> 00:15:22,980 it could be Mars it could be Jupiter uh 388 00:15:32,150 --> 00:15:30,230 it was a really nice comprehensive list 389 00:15:33,790 --> 00:15:32,160 and great to bring up all the Earth 390 00:15:35,569 --> 00:15:33,800 missions 391 00:15:37,310 --> 00:15:35,579 this is something that people don't 392 00:15:40,310 --> 00:15:37,320 realize how much you can learn about our 393 00:15:42,050 --> 00:15:40,320 own planet from space it's uh it's a 394 00:15:44,329 --> 00:15:42,060 really critical part of of understanding 395 00:15:47,449 --> 00:15:44,339 how Earth is changing and and what we 396 00:15:49,550 --> 00:15:47,459 can do to um to mitigate that change to 397 00:15:51,590 --> 00:15:49,560 to manage it better like 398 00:15:54,350 --> 00:15:51,600 um managing greenhouse gas emissions but 399 00:15:56,509 --> 00:15:54,360 also to adapt to our changing plan to 400 00:15:58,370 --> 00:15:56,519 really understand how coastlines are 401 00:15:59,509 --> 00:15:58,380 changing and flood risk and things like 402 00:16:00,949 --> 00:15:59,519 this 403 00:16:05,689 --> 00:16:00,959 um so we're working on all of those 404 00:16:09,710 --> 00:16:07,910 and I'm again reading some of these 405 00:16:11,629 --> 00:16:09,720 comments that are coming in Lori and 406 00:16:14,689 --> 00:16:11,639 this is kind of the question to wrap it 407 00:16:16,250 --> 00:16:14,699 up people want some advice for young 408 00:16:18,710 --> 00:16:16,260 professionals 409 00:16:21,470 --> 00:16:18,720 um young women specifically who want to 410 00:16:22,970 --> 00:16:21,480 enter a career and pursue stem what what 411 00:16:24,889 --> 00:16:22,980 kind of advice do you have just go for 412 00:16:26,689 --> 00:16:24,899 it because there is a place for you 413 00:16:29,329 --> 00:16:26,699 there's a place for you at JPL there's a 414 00:16:30,949 --> 00:16:29,339 place for you in stem Fields they are we 415 00:16:33,290 --> 00:16:30,959 are getting better and better all the 416 00:16:35,569 --> 00:16:33,300 time at making stem a place for everyone 417 00:16:38,569 --> 00:16:35,579 is it perfect is any 418 00:16:41,509 --> 00:16:38,579 um institution perfect it is not but but 419 00:16:44,090 --> 00:16:41,519 the only way that we continue to make 420 00:16:46,670 --> 00:16:44,100 space the place for everyone is to have 421 00:16:49,490 --> 00:16:46,680 people continue to to come in and and 422 00:16:50,930 --> 00:16:49,500 work on space with us so for women who 423 00:16:53,090 --> 00:16:50,940 are interested for anyone who's 424 00:16:55,850 --> 00:16:53,100 interested in exploring a career in 425 00:16:58,249 --> 00:16:55,860 space you know studying science as or 426 00:17:01,310 --> 00:16:58,259 engineering is a great way to uh to 427 00:17:03,230 --> 00:17:01,320 pursue that there are so many 428 00:17:05,390 --> 00:17:03,240 um exciting ways that you can get 429 00:17:07,549 --> 00:17:05,400 involved whether you're basically any 430 00:17:09,949 --> 00:17:07,559 kind of of scientists or almost any kind 431 00:17:11,569 --> 00:17:09,959 of engineer there's a an aspect of what 432 00:17:14,150 --> 00:17:11,579 we do in space exploration that you can 433 00:17:16,010 --> 00:17:14,160 participate in but I'll tell you what we 434 00:17:19,610 --> 00:17:16,020 have communications professionals like 435 00:17:22,069 --> 00:17:19,620 yourself at JPL we have attorneys we 436 00:17:23,870 --> 00:17:22,079 have all kind business people who help 437 00:17:25,909 --> 00:17:23,880 us with the finances and the scheduling 438 00:17:27,110 --> 00:17:25,919 and making sure that we understand what 439 00:17:29,810 --> 00:17:27,120 it's going to take to achieve our 440 00:17:32,630 --> 00:17:29,820 missions you know facilities folks we 441 00:17:34,730 --> 00:17:32,640 have all kinds of people involved in in 442 00:17:36,890 --> 00:17:34,740 sending our missions to space when when 443 00:17:38,450 --> 00:17:36,900 we launch something into space it's not 444 00:17:40,730 --> 00:17:38,460 only scientists and Engineers that make 445 00:17:43,310 --> 00:17:40,740 it happen it's it's a huge diverse team 446 00:17:44,930 --> 00:17:43,320 and so there are a lot of different ways 447 00:17:46,070 --> 00:17:44,940 to get involved in the space business so 448 00:17:48,409 --> 00:17:46,080 that's the other thing I would say and 449 00:17:49,970 --> 00:17:48,419 if you dream about it you know keep that 450 00:17:51,710 --> 00:17:49,980 dream alive and keep working towards it 451 00:17:53,810 --> 00:17:51,720 there are a lot of ways for young people 452 00:17:56,029 --> 00:17:53,820 to get involved with NASA you can NASA 453 00:17:57,890 --> 00:17:56,039 has education programs that start you 454 00:18:00,470 --> 00:17:57,900 know early in your in your educational 455 00:18:02,210 --> 00:18:00,480 time and then go through internships and 456 00:18:05,090 --> 00:18:02,220 things in college those are really 457 00:18:06,770 --> 00:18:05,100 important to to go for if you want to be 458 00:18:08,750 --> 00:18:06,780 a part of the space industry it's great 459 00:18:10,610 --> 00:18:08,760 to start young and get that experience 460 00:18:12,169 --> 00:18:10,620 that's where we meet a lot of our future 461 00:18:14,270 --> 00:18:12,179 employees is through our internship 462 00:18:16,909 --> 00:18:14,280 programs so definitely encourage people 463 00:18:19,789 --> 00:18:16,919 to go on our website and look at those 464 00:18:22,610 --> 00:18:19,799 um and and and apply and become a part 465 00:18:25,430 --> 00:18:22,620 of a part of our team and if you're an 466 00:18:27,110 --> 00:18:25,440 engineer out there now who's looking for 467 00:18:28,970 --> 00:18:27,120 work or thinking about making a career 468 00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:28,980 change hey check out our jobs website 469 00:18:33,770 --> 00:18:31,260 because we have positions open so we're 470 00:18:37,310 --> 00:18:33,780 always happy to uh to have folks join us 471 00:18:43,310 --> 00:18:41,510 and that website is jpl.jobs and a 472 00:18:45,830 --> 00:18:43,320 little tiny add-on to that question too 473 00:18:47,690 --> 00:18:45,840 is people wanted to know what you did 474 00:18:50,690 --> 00:18:47,700 and what you studied specifically yeah 475 00:18:52,789 --> 00:18:50,700 so I started in college I start out in 476 00:18:55,250 --> 00:18:52,799 chemistry I was I had a lot of interest 477 00:18:57,110 --> 00:18:55,260 as a young person I was you know I was 478 00:18:58,730 --> 00:18:57,120 editor of my high school yearbook so I 479 00:19:01,430 --> 00:18:58,740 was thinking about journalism actually 480 00:19:03,289 --> 00:19:01,440 and then I was also sort of a geek uh in 481 00:19:05,210 --> 00:19:03,299 a good way I think Geeks are awesome but 482 00:19:06,830 --> 00:19:05,220 uh so I was maybe going to study math 483 00:19:08,690 --> 00:19:06,840 but I actually had a really really good 484 00:19:10,730 --> 00:19:08,700 chemistry professor as a freshman and 485 00:19:12,890 --> 00:19:10,740 got excited about chemistry so I 486 00:19:14,690 --> 00:19:12,900 declared a chemistry major I'm not a 487 00:19:16,549 --> 00:19:14,700 person who like knew from the age of 10 488 00:19:18,710 --> 00:19:16,559 exactly what I wanted to do that's not 489 00:19:20,570 --> 00:19:18,720 the case for me I really sort of 490 00:19:23,090 --> 00:19:20,580 followed things as they came along and 491 00:19:24,770 --> 00:19:23,100 learned to take advantage of them so I I 492 00:19:26,450 --> 00:19:24,780 was a chemistry major but then I I 493 00:19:29,090 --> 00:19:26,460 managed to get the summer internship at 494 00:19:31,010 --> 00:19:29,100 Nasa when I was 19 and again it's a 495 00:19:32,150 --> 00:19:31,020 longer story but I realized that most of 496 00:19:33,950 --> 00:19:32,160 the people I was working with they were 497 00:19:35,870 --> 00:19:33,960 doing research on 498 00:19:39,169 --> 00:19:35,880 um on different planets in the solar 499 00:19:42,590 --> 00:19:39,179 system they were mostly geologists I had 500 00:19:44,750 --> 00:19:42,600 never taken any geology so I went back 501 00:19:47,270 --> 00:19:44,760 to school as a junior in college and 502 00:19:49,190 --> 00:19:47,280 took a geology course and it turned out 503 00:19:51,289 --> 00:19:49,200 to be with a professor who was working 504 00:19:52,789 --> 00:19:51,299 on Mars and so I ended up starting to do 505 00:19:54,169 --> 00:19:52,799 research with him but then pretty 506 00:19:55,850 --> 00:19:54,179 quickly discovered that there was 507 00:19:57,409 --> 00:19:55,860 interesting science to be done at the 508 00:19:59,510 --> 00:19:57,419 intersection of chemistry and geology 509 00:20:01,430 --> 00:19:59,520 and so many of the questions we're 510 00:20:04,130 --> 00:20:01,440 asking whether it's about you know life 511 00:20:07,669 --> 00:20:04,140 on mars or oceans on Europa 512 00:20:09,590 --> 00:20:07,679 take an interdisciplinary approach it's 513 00:20:11,090 --> 00:20:09,600 not just about physics or chemistry or 514 00:20:13,549 --> 00:20:11,100 biology it's a little bit of everything 515 00:20:14,690 --> 00:20:13,559 the planets to understand a planet you 516 00:20:17,690 --> 00:20:14,700 have to understand lots of different 517 00:20:20,270 --> 00:20:17,700 kinds of science a bit and so I enjoyed 518 00:20:21,770 --> 00:20:20,280 that interdisciplinary approach so I I 519 00:20:23,450 --> 00:20:21,780 started thinking about working in 520 00:20:25,490 --> 00:20:23,460 geochemistry at the intersection of the 521 00:20:27,470 --> 00:20:25,500 two things I was interested in and it 522 00:20:30,049 --> 00:20:27,480 turned out that Caltech had a great PhD 523 00:20:33,350 --> 00:20:30,059 program in geochemistry and so I was 524 00:20:36,049 --> 00:20:33,360 able to to come here to it to Pasadena 525 00:20:39,230 --> 00:20:36,059 to Caltech for grad school and study 526 00:20:41,990 --> 00:20:39,240 meteorites so I I worked on meteorites 527 00:20:46,370 --> 00:20:42,000 for my doctorate and that's kind of yeah 528 00:20:51,289 --> 00:20:49,250 it's always really fascinating to hear 529 00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:51,299 just these Pathways too because 530 00:20:54,590 --> 00:20:53,220 sometimes when you you don't know it 531 00:20:56,450 --> 00:20:54,600 exists until you hear it and it was 532 00:20:58,490 --> 00:20:56,460 great and look I just people think like 533 00:21:00,770 --> 00:20:58,500 I have to figure out the perfect path to 534 00:21:02,990 --> 00:21:00,780 get to my goal my message to you is 535 00:21:04,850 --> 00:21:03,000 there is no one path that will either 536 00:21:06,770 --> 00:21:04,860 get you there or not get you there there 537 00:21:09,409 --> 00:21:06,780 are many many paths that can get you 538 00:21:11,450 --> 00:21:09,419 there so you know if you're interested 539 00:21:13,610 --> 00:21:11,460 in working in space probably the easiest 540 00:21:15,350 --> 00:21:13,620 way to get involved is to you know do 541 00:21:16,970 --> 00:21:15,360 that science and engineering or science 542 00:21:18,590 --> 00:21:16,980 or engineering actually science and 543 00:21:20,810 --> 00:21:18,600 engineering is really powerful when you 544 00:21:22,789 --> 00:21:20,820 bring those two together so you know 545 00:21:24,169 --> 00:21:22,799 continue to think about 546 00:21:26,210 --> 00:21:24,179 um you know don't opt out of those 547 00:21:29,210 --> 00:21:26,220 science and math courses lead into them 548 00:21:31,549 --> 00:21:29,220 and and uh and try and get that hands-on 549 00:21:33,710 --> 00:21:31,559 experience whether that's you know first 550 00:21:35,630 --> 00:21:33,720 robotics I love first robotics you know 551 00:21:38,149 --> 00:21:35,640 outside the classroom getting hands-on 552 00:21:39,710 --> 00:21:38,159 experience building robots or you know 553 00:21:42,049 --> 00:21:39,720 internship opportunities or whatever 554 00:21:43,669 --> 00:21:42,059 they might be because that's also what 555 00:21:45,890 --> 00:21:43,679 brings stem to life it's not about 556 00:21:50,390 --> 00:21:45,900 what's in the textbooks it's about how 557 00:21:54,830 --> 00:21:53,090 that is a fantastic message to wrap all 558 00:21:56,510 --> 00:21:54,840 of this up thank you so much thank you 559 00:21:58,070 --> 00:21:56,520 it was great to be with you and thanks 560 00:22:00,409 --> 00:21:58,080 again to everyone for watching this was 561 00:22:04,250 --> 00:22:02,810 of course and I'm just gonna let viewers 562 00:22:06,470 --> 00:22:04,260 know that if they want to know more 563 00:22:08,990 --> 00:22:06,480 about our missions and our projects they 564 00:22:10,970 --> 00:22:09,000 can follow at NASA JPL and to learn 565 00:22:13,370 --> 00:22:10,980 about life at JPL like you were talking 566 00:22:16,190 --> 00:22:13,380 about and career opportunities there's 567 00:22:18,049 --> 00:22:16,200 also at NASA JPL careers that's where 568 00:22:20,990 --> 00:22:18,059 you're coming live to us now right now 569 00:22:23,510 --> 00:22:21,000 and jpl.jobs for those career 570 00:22:25,490 --> 00:22:23,520 opportunities thank you again as we