Nell London

NASA says its new telescope is one of the most ambitious and complex missions it’s ever attempted. The James Webb Space Telescope cost $10 billion and could transform our knowledge of the universe. A rocket is expected to launch the telescope next week and its optical system was built in Colorado by Ball Aerospace. Ball also helped repair Webb’s predecessor, the Hubble telescope. We speak with Makenzie Lystrup, who is General Manager of Civil Space at Ball.

December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day, marking the surprise attack 80 years ago that propelled the U.S. into World War II. More than 2400 Americans were killed, nearly half of them crew members of the U.S.S. Arizona. Donald Stratton, of Colorado Springs, was on the ship that day and survived. Stratton died last year at the age of 97. He shared his experience at Pearl Harbor in the memoir, “All the Gallant Men.” Nathan spoke with Stratton’s co-author, Ken Gire, in 2016.

Long COVID may have something to teach us. Those lingering symptoms of pain, brain fog, and exhaustion are familiar to people who haven’t had COVID but suffer from chronic fatigue. Those with chronic fatigue are often told “it’s all in their heads.” Dr. Michael Gallagher of Denver was a triathlete and contracted a common virus but says while he says he seemed to get better, he wound up bedridden.

The longest-running women’s film festival in the country is underway in Colorado Springs. The Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival has promoted films by and about women for more than 30 years. One of those films about youth is a “David and Goliath” story about 21 young Americans suing the U.S. government over climate change. The documentary “Youth v Gov” was produced by Olivia Ahnemann of Boulder.

A recycling truck in space could solve a growing problem: trash in Earth’s orbit– junk that threatens everything from GPS satellites to the space station. Last week the U.S. Space Force announced a plan to promote manufacturing and recycling in space. That’s an opportunity for Denver-based CisLunar Industries, which is working on space recycling. CEO Gary Calnan explains the technology and Colorado School of Mines professor Angel Abbud-Madrid weighs in on the potential implications.

“Tree Line” is familiar to people in Colorado. That’s the altitude that trees won’t grow above in the mountains. There are also global tree lines. As you near the North and South poles, trees yield to extreme conditions. We now know precisely where that is in the Southern hemisphere because scientists have identified the world’s southernmost tree. Brian Buma trekked to that tree. He’s an associate professor of integrative biology at the University of Colorado Denver.

A trio of Colorado mountain climbers plan to make the first all-Black expedition to Mountain Everest next spring. They’re led by Phil Henderson of Cortez.

NASA missions often rocket toward a singular target: a neighboring planet or a distant moon. The Lucy spacecraft, however, is going on a grand tour–eight destinations over eight billion miles. If all goes as planned, Lucy launches Saturday, October 16. The spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin in Littleton. Richard Lipe is the program manager.

As summer turns to fall, high temperatures in parts of Colorado remain in the 80s. So when will the weather make you crave apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte? And what can we expect this winter? Paul Schlatter with the National Weather Service offers an outlook. And as the fall colors change, Pat Woodard shares his take on Colorado’s underappreciated Gambel oak for EnCompass Magazine.

A small Catholic church in the San Luis Valley is building a monumental project: A giant labyrinth made from adobe to encourage prayer and honor the region’s unique heritage. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the oldest parish in Colorado. It’s in Conejos, near Antonito.

“Whiskey’s for drinking, water’s for fighting” goes the old saying in the West. Well there’s a new fight in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. An investment company wants to pump water out of the underground aquifer and pipe it to fast-growing Denver suburbs 200 miles away.

The San Luis Valley produces more fresh potatoes than anywhere in the U.S. other than Idaho. And farmers here are welcoming a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Mexico. It cleared the way for them to sell potatoes in there. But they’re also skeptical, because the court decision is just the latest round in a trade dispute that has dragged on nearly two decades.

In Rocky Mountain National Park, they’ve discovered a new plant species. The Wishbone Moonwort is small and fern-like. Among the botanical sleuths, crawling on their hands and knees to find this, was Steve Popovich, a Forest Service botanist who recently retired.