EXPLORER 1: 60 YEARS OF SPACE - NASA SCIENCE LECTURE

Original air date: Jan. 25, 2018. Explorer 1 marked the start of the Space Age for America, and heralded the study of Earth from space. The JPL-built satellite confirmed the existence of the Van Allen radiation belts, the very first space science discovery. Explorer 1's success was only the first of an array of Earth missions that have mapped and probed our planet's lands, waters and atmosphere on scales ranging from the millimeter to global views. This conversation and multimedia journey spanned from the dawn of Earth space science to today's modern fleet that is providing vital information in understanding the changes taking place on the only planet humans can yet call home.