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The 40th Anniversary of the NASA Space Shuttle

The birth of the space shuttle in 1981 marked a new era of space travel. For the first time ever, NASA had a spacecraft that could launch into space and come back to earth and land like an airplane. While the shuttle had many successful flights, there were also some big catastrophes that ultimately led the program to cease operations in 2011. Former chief historian of NASA Roger Launius joins Viewpoints this week to tell the story of this era of American space history.

ListenThe 40th Anniversary of the NASA Space Shuttle

The Path To Europa

The Jupiter moon, Europa is 390 million miles away from Earth. In 2025, the NASA Europa Clipper mission launches and is estimated to arrive in Jupiter’s orbit by 2031. Why Europa? Underneath its radiated surface, the icy moon is believed to host a vast ocean similar to Earth’s that has ample conditions for complex life. Author David W. Brown joins Viewpoints this week to shed some light on the Jovian moon and some of the challenges that came with the lengthy approval of this deep space mission.

ListenThe Path To Europa