As the world watches the activities of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 what is life like, aboard the International Space Station?

NASA Astronaut and retired U.S. Navy Captain Stephen G. Bowen can certainly answer that question.

Steve has flown four separate missions aboard the International Space Station. Most recently, he served as commander aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the ISS, in 2023. Over the course of his career, he has conducted 10 spacewalks. In all, he's logged a cumulative total of 227 days in space.

And the best part of it, he says, is getting to work with his fellow astronauts towards the goals of each mission.

"There is no better feeling you'll have in life, than achieving something or succeeding as a team," he says.

In fact, those achievements included rebuilding parts of the ISS!

Steve says that his first three flights on the International Space Station included bringing up the galley for the U.S. side, a module for the Russian side and a new stowage module for equipment.

In addition, Steve and his crew members were involved in some very exciting research projects, from around the world, that could have some exciting implications for medical science in the future.

"What we learn on orbit really informs how we understand the world," he explains.

In this interview, recorded in early 2024, Steve talked about his background, offered a look at life aboard the International Space Station and explained some of the ways astronauts’ work in space can improve life on Earth.

As Air Rocket Works Co-Founders Rick Schertle and Keith Violette discuss their work, one word keeps coming up.

"Fun".

That's because Rick and Keith, both passionate makers, enjoy creating cool things that fly.

And so do the teachers, students, parents and various enthusiasts who get to build and launch their rockets--and learn engineering, hands-on, while having a great time!

Rick and Keith's small business, Air Rocket Works, came about almost by accident.

It all started when Rick, a middle-school teacher, dad and lifelong maker whose MAKE magazine bio says he "specialized in fun growing up", became intrigued with the idea of making a compressed air rocket launcher.

Rick came up with a project that, unlike other launchers available at the time, was inexpensive to create, as well as durable--and a lot of fun!

About a year after publishing his project in MAKE magazine, Rick and his family assembled a few rocket kits, and offered them through the magazine. When they sold out rapidly and customers wanted more, he began exhibiting his rockets and rocket launchers at maker fairs.

Meanwhile, Keith, who is an engineer by profession, as well as a dad and a maker who describes himself as a "big kid", saw Rick's projects in MAKE magazine and brainstormed ways to create a new working air rocket glider.

Keith and his son took videos and sent photos of their finished work to Rick--and the rest is history.

Today, Rick and Keith, who live in California and New Hampshire, respectively, have numerous rockets and launchers available on their website. They've developed rockets and launchers for educational programs all around the world. These include educational outreach programs by NASA, United Launch Alliance and The Tech Museum of Innovation.

Meanwhile, they continue to wow visitors at maker fairs--and may very well be coming to Maker Faire Bay Area this September!

(Like to get some hands-on experience before then? Here's a link to Rick's book "Planes, Gliders and Paper Rockets: Simple Flying Things Anyone Can Make" on Amazon!)

Rick and Keith shared the story of Air Rocket Works, discussed some of their favorite experiences and offered a preview of what's next!

This post and podcast are not, in any way, shape or form, affiliated with, nor endorsed by, NASA. We are not employed by, or otherwise connected with, NASA. We just find this very exciting stuff!

In honor of Anne C. McClain's return to space with NASA's Crew-10 mission, this week we're reposting our 2023 interview with her about her career and achieving her dreams. Safe journey to Anne and her crew, and we'll be watching and cheering!

NASA's Space-X Crew-10 mission, has a targeted launch time of 7:48 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 12th, according to NASA's website.

"It was a dream ever since I was little," says NASA Astronaut and U.S. Army Colonel Anne C. McClain, of her space career.

On March 12th, 2025, she's scheduled to experience the next chapter of that dream.

As the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket and Dragon spacecraft launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, Anne will be serving as commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station.

However, that's only one exciting aspect of her assignment.

Anne is one of eighteen astronauts selected for training for NASA's Artemis missions. Along with her colleagues, she is preparing, for NASA's return to the Moon and their ultimate goals: to establish a lunar outpost and prepare for human missions to Mars.

And there are no blueprints for the groundbreaking missions. Consequently, Anne and her colleagues are discovering what equipment and procedures will be needed for Artemis--which is very different from preparing to fly aboard the ISS.

"It's not just about training for space; it's figuring out what you need, to train for space," she explains.

The Crew-10 mission will be Anne's second spaceflight.

December, 2018, marked Anne's first launch, as flight engineer for ISS Missions 58 and 59. During her six months aboard the International Space Station, she served as the lead on two spacewalks.

Her journey to the stars

On the way to her ultimate goal of becoming an astronaut, Anne garnered numerous professional accomplishments and accolades.

Commissioned as an Army officer in 2002, she is a Master Army Aviator and Experimental Test Pilot. Her flight experience includes more than 2,000 hours in 20 different types of aircraft. Her professional honors include the Dennis Hart Mahan Memorial Award for excellence in Aeronautical Engineering, as well as Honorary Doctorates of Engineering from both the University of Bath and the University of Bristol.

And her NASA experience includes serving as an Instructor Astronaut in three different areas: Robotics, EVA, and CAPCOM.

During our 2023 conversation about her career and her spaceflight preparations, Anne shared, not only her story, but a great "blueprint" for anyone who would like to achieve their dreams

"I want more people to use our platform and find out that art-making is fun," says iBoda CEO Professor Sunah Kim.

And her new South Korea-based platform offers students multiple opportunities to make that discovery.

Using AI as a tool in collaboration with art education experts from Hanyang University in Seoul, iBoda assesses a student's artistic tendencies, as well as the art styles they prefer. Then, based on these findings, the platform customizes art lessons to that individual's interests and abilities.

From there, the art educators assess the student's uploaded work, guiding them as they improve. The student also does a self-assessment, and the platform allows them to chart their development in a "process-folio".

In addition, students can display their work in online galleries. and write about what they've created. Art educators can use the platform to design lessons customized to individual student interests, and resources are available, including lesson plans and videos on specific techniques. And the iBoda platform features multiple media for art creation, including weaving, origami and digital art. (Several examples of student work are shown on their Instagram page.)

It's all about creativity as an ongoing process.

"(Art-making) should be continuous," says Professor Kim.

"It's not some activity you can do one day and stop."

She's speaking from considerable experience.

An artist for as long as she can remember, Professor Kim holds multiple art-education credentials. She is a Professor in the Department of Art Education at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. She chairs three art-related graduate programs at HYU, as well as serving as Director of the university's Art Gifted Education Institute. In addition, she is the Director of the Hanyang Education in Art + Design Lab.

Professor Kim shared the story of the iBoda platform, offered a look at the ways it works and discussed the ways she'd like to expand the platform in the future.

ILO is a new educational robot, created in Quimper, France.

And describing it as "highly adaptable" would be an understatement.

Designed to teach programming progressively, the ILO robot can be programmed through a mobile app by beginning students. Then, as these students continue learning, there are intermediate lessons, with block coding, through the Vittascience platform.

And for advanced students, ILO can be programmed with the Python language.

The innovations don't stop there.

ILO can move both forward and sideways, due to the construction of its mechanical wheels. It's open-source, so users can create and 3D print their own accessories. It's made for durability, so that parts are easily reparable or replaceable.

In other words, this is a robot designed to travel through the user's learning journey.

ILO Founder Simon Le Berre shared the story of creating his innovative educational robot, explained its capabilities and discussed what may be coming next!

"Speaking their language," says EducateAug Founder/Company Director Tim Limon.

He's explaining his approach to empowering students through creativity and XR.

Tim, who is both a media professional and an education professional, works with U.K. students on improving their reading and phonics skills. His Manchester-based educational technology company boosts student literacy skills through interactive work in augmented reality, extended reality and AI.

Tim starts with the students' interests--then gets them involved in creating social-media content, based on the music, movies and other areas that spark their imagination.

And as the students create their content, they're incorporating phonics and reading--along with a considerable amount of fun and imagination.

Along the way, Tim makes sure that his young creators, who often have low self-esteem due to having fallen behind their peers in their classwork, get a new perspective on themselves and their skills.

"I just want to help children realize...that they are assets," he says.

While Educate Aug is a relatively new company, one of Tim's products--the Augmented Reality Phonics Soundboard--has already earned a Finalist spot in the Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards.

Additional creations include a holographic testimonial, as well as a Cosmic Canvas, which you can see on Instagram.

Tim shared the story of Educate Aug, explained how his AR Phonics Soundboard works and talked about his creative journey.

This post and podcast are for informational purposes only, and are not intended as legal advice. Please contact a legal professional with any law-related questions.

"I think we, as human beings, are at our best when we are using AI as a thought partner," says workplace futurist and bestselling author Marti Konstant.

Her advice for making artificial intelligence your "thought partner", as she explores in her book, “Activate Your Agile Career: How Responding to Change Will Inspire Your Life’s Work“? Start at the level of your profession.

And from there, you can customize the ways AI can work, to enhance, rather than replace, your own creative talents.

In this interview from September 2024, we discuss the ways Marti's term “AI-gility” allows users to put artificial intelligence to work to spark new ideas.

Marti talked about her background, explained some of the ways artificial intelligence can boost the creative process for artists and educators, and offered a look at some of her favorite AI resources.

Glide is on the cusp of changing lives.

As the world's first intelligent guide for the blind and users with low vision, this groundbreaking autonomous technology empowers users to safely navigate wherever they'd like to go.

Creator Amos Miller is the Founder and CEO of Seattle-based mobility aid company Glidance. A software engineer and business innovator, Amos first developed technology to assist the blind and low-vision community while working with Microsoft.

Amos, who explains that he lost his sight as a college student majoring in computer science, says this particular innovation came about as a combination of his experiences.

And the sound-based technology he developed, for the blind, while at Microsoft, set the stage for Glide.

Technically, Glide is an autonomous device with two wheels and a handle, somewhat reminiscent of a small lawn mower. A user, Amos explains, activates the device by setting it down in front of them and nudging it forward. Then, using sensors and artificial intelligence, Glide navigates a safe path for that person to travel.

However, "autonomous" doesn't mean "motorized". The user is in control at all times.

"We want to keep all the agency in the hands of the user," Amos says.

Amos explains that the device will adapt to the environment, warning its user about obstacles. It's designed to allow them to cross streets safely, find doors, safely navigate stairs and confidently travel to a destination.

And currently, Glidance is getting ready to ship the first Glide devices to users who have pre-ordered! While pre-orders have sold out, there is a waitlist available. Delivery of this first shipment is expected later this year.

Basing his new device on his own experiences and feedback from beta testers, Amos and his team have revised Glide several times, to better serve the low-vision community.

Users, called "Gliders", have a community and can get updates through Glidance's website, and several virtual "Demo Days" are forthcoming, for new prospective Gliders to try the technology.

In addition, Amos adds, a "road show" is scheduled for later this year, where Glide comes to different cities for information sessions.

Amos talked about his creative journey, shared the story of Glide and offered a preview of what's next!