Hardware Podcasts

S2E16 Deep Space Exploration, Earth-Like Planet Discoveries, & The Search for Life | Tracy Drain

Being an Engineer · 2 Apr 2021 · 55m · Episode 16

What this episode covers

Tracy Drain, Lead Flight Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), discusses her 20-year career designing and operating robotic spacecraft, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Kepler, and the upcoming Europa Clipper. She explains how her team uses fault trees and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to identify and mitigate risks in complex systems, such as solar array deployment and power management. Drain details how the Kepler mission revolutionized our understanding of exoplanets by detecting Earth-sized planets in habitable zones through transit photometry, and describes the Europa Clipper’s strategy of flying by Jupiter’s moon to search for signs of life in its subsurface ocean. She also reflects on the importance of systems engineering, career development, and maintaining mental fortitude during high-stakes mission reviews like the Critical Design Review.

Most relevant to

large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Products
Europa Clipper, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Kepler, Juno, Voyager
Also
Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Robot Talk · 25m

    Episode Thirty-Seven: Yang Gao

    Professor Yang Gao from the University of Surrey and the STAR Lab discusses space robotics, focusing on autonomous systems for planetary exploration and debris removal. She details the lab's work on biomimetic drilling mechanisms inspired by wood wasps for terrestrial utility applications and their contributions to ESA missions like VMMO and ExoMars. Gao also explains the development of visual navigation and capture technologies for the CLEAR mission to remove space debris, highlighting the synergy between extreme space environments and harsh terrestrial conditions.

    Robotics & autonomySensors & measurement in products
    5 chapters

  • Robot Talk · 32m

    Episode 127: Robots exploring other planets - Frances Zhu

    Frances Zhu, an Assistant Professor at the Colorado School of Mines leading the ROSE Lab, discusses intelligent robotic systems for space exploration, focusing on planetary rovers and the shift toward autonomy. She explains how AI and computer vision are being integrated into autonomy stacks to handle communication delays and terrain uncertainty, moving beyond traditional teleoperation. Zhu also addresses the critical challenge of 'trust' in AI-driven systems, emphasizing the need for transparency and explainability in high-stakes aerospace environments. The conversation covers testing on Earth analogs, the role of commercial entities like SpaceX and Astrobotic, and the competitive landscape of global space robotics.

    Robotics & autonomyAI & machine learning
    12 chapters

  • Moore's Lobby · 1h 04m

    Ep. 31 | NASA Astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins Talk Engineering at 17,000 mph

    NASA astronauts Colonel Mike Hopkins and Commander Victor Glover Jr. discuss their backgrounds as test pilots and engineers, detailing their historic SpaceX Crew Dragon mission and 167-day stay on the International Space Station. They describe the physical realities of microgravity, the engineering challenges of spacewalks, and specific in-orbit repairs, such as fixing a combustion sensor using rubber tubing from a plant growth system. The conversation also covers the upcoming NASA Artemis program, highlighting the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, while addressing the role of commercial spaceflight and the importance of inspiring the next generation of engineers.

    Careers & educationMechanical engineering
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Being an Engineer. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.