Jessica Hart, Operations Controller for the new Webb Space Telescope

We’re back with another episode where Ioanna & Aaron talk about their all time favorite thing- OUTER SPACE! What’s 13,800,000,000 years old? Why, the Universe of course! 2022 is a special year in this 13.8 billion year age because it’s the year humanity launched the most high-tech, high-capability tool to peer deep into that billion year history. Operations Controller for the new Webb Space Telescope, Jessica Hart, joins us this week to discuss the marvel that is the next Hubble! At $10+ billion in cost, the Webb Telescope can do quite a few things, including taking the oldest pictures of space and achieving the highest quality photography we’ve seen. Jessica’s role with her team is to send commands to the telescope to ensure it operates as directed and achieves its missions. Jessica starts off teaching us just how long people have worked on building Webb (hint: its multiple decades). We hear about what it is like working day-to-day communicating with a giant space telescope and how Jessica came to land in her current position. She shares with us more about Webb, telling us why it is so special and what it takes to keep it flying high above earth. Plus, she shares some of the challenges they face in such a complex operation. To end this mission, we wish upon a star with a round of rapid fire, learning Jessica’s favorite space fact, what she hopes to learn from Webb, and what her favorite planet is!