HAMPTON, Va., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA 360, a half-hour television program that explores NASA's contributions to everyday life, is celebrating its one-year anniversary. NASA produces the program in partnership with the National Institute of Aerospace, or NIA, in Hampton, Va. It is part of the NASA eClips project that provides free NASA educational video content via the Internet.
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"The show has really taken off," said Michael Finneran, NASA 360 executive producer at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. "We focus on how technologies developed by or for NASA are being used in everything from space exploration to consumer products. And we do it in an entertaining way."
"The National Institute of Aerospace is excited to be working with NASA on this program," said Robert Lindberg, NIA president and executive director.
NASA 360 has a fast-paced feel and visual content designed to appeal to a wide variety of audiences. It is hosted by Johnny Alonso and Jennifer Pulley. Alonso has performed in movies and on television, including in "Dawson's Creek" and "One Tree Hill." Pulley has appeared in "NASA Connect" and many television commercials.
The NASA 360 team just finished its sixth show. The crew traveled to a remote location in Moses Lake, Wash., to see how NASA is testing new rovers that may go to the moon in the future. Previous shows have highlighted global warming research, solar technologies, NASA contributions to car racing, and how remote sensing and other innovations are helping uncover history. Other episodes have looked at Mars exploration, new spacesuit research and NASA contributions to cordless power tool development and snow ski designs.
Future programs will take viewers to Hawaii, where NASA researchers test gear in rocky terrain similar to the moon's polar region. Other segments will feature astronaut training and more NASA contributions to the world of sports.
"NASA 360 can be seen online at NASA's Web site, on YouTube, MySpace and Facebook. Viewers also can subscribe to the video podcast through iTunes. We're using the Internet to try to reach younger audiences to excite them about NASA and its work," said co-producer Mike Bibbo of NIA.
"And for those people who may not spend as much time on the web, NASA 360 also can be seen on 900 public broadcasting, cable and commercial stations across the country and 1,200 Voice of America outlets all over the world," co-producer Kevin Krigsvold of NIA added. "It also airs on NASA TV available by satellite or on some cable systems."
The program has won numerous awards, including two Communicator Awards for overall program and editing, two Omni Awards for overall program and editing, two Davey Awards for overall program and editing, two Marcom Awards and two Ava Awards.
To find NASA 360, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/nasa360
and
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For additional information about NASA, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
For additional information about the National Institute of Aerospace, visit:
http://www.nianet.org
