NOVA

This NASA Scientist Helps Prevent Mars from Contamination

The spacecraft has to be extremely clean. The entire spacecraft—that includes the rover, the heat shield, the descent stage, and back shell—must contain less than 500,000 bacterial endospores, or spores. Just to give you an idea, a teaspoon of seawater has ten times more bacteria.

This NASA Scientist Helps Prevent Mars from Contamination

4m 58s

  • Interview: De-Extinction, Dire Wolves, and Jurassic Park with Beth Shapiro: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Interview: De-Extinction, Dire Wolves, and Jurassic Park with Beth Shapiro

    54m 49s

    Can we bring extinct species back to life? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro claims we just did. As Chief Science Officer at Colossal, her team made headlines in spring 2025 with the announcement of the de-extinction of the dire wolf. She takes us behind the headlines to explain how this is no “Jurassic Park” fantasy.

  • Operation Space Station: Science and Survival: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Operation Space Station: Science and Survival

    S52 E20 - 53m 41s

    Witness life-or-death decisions 250 miles above Earth, as astronauts and Mission Control work together to survive moments of high danger on board humanity’s remarkable orbiting laboratory, the International Space Station.

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