Coming up next on NewsDepth... NASA launched a new telescope into space.

Ohio has one of the most important Air Force research centers.

The International Women's Air and Space Museum honors women in aviation.

And we learn about the mystery of bats.

NewsDepth is now.

What if a new space telescope could help us learn more about the stars, planets, and galaxies in our universe?

Hello, everyone.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

Thank you all for joining us.

You've heard of the Hubble and Webb telescopes, but they now have a new neighbor from NASA, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launched in August.

It can capture pictures of huge areas of the sky, allowing astronomers to explore the universe in ways never before possible.

It can help scientists study mysterious things in space like dark energy, dark matter and planets that surround other stars.

Noel Brennan introduces us to two space enthusiasts who are excited about this new telescope launch.

Long before Galileo, we've been stargazers.

This is the oldest telescope outside of Europe.

Oldest in the Western Hemisphere here.

Our telescopes have just gotten bigger and better.

Is this one of the biggest telescopes you guys have?

This is the largest telescope by length that we have in our collection.

At the Adler Planetarium, Geza Gyuk and Hunter Miller I am, of course, super excited.

Are especially excited about one telescope that's not in their collection.

So this is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

The Roman telescope is named after NASA's first chief astronomer.

Frequently thought of as the godmother of Hubble, actuallty.

Very, very involved in getting Hubble launched.

Roman is equipped with the 300 megapixel infrared camera, with a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble's.

It will image over a billion different galaxies, potentially discover as many as over 100,000 new exoplanets that were never known previously.

The telescope will help astronomers explore mysterious dark matter and dark energy.

We can see the effects of this dark matter and this dark energy, but what exactly they are is an explosion yet.

Roman will join the Webb telescope, which has a narrower view but more powerful vision.

I mean, they're complementary.

NASA invited the pair from Adler to see the launch up close.

Personally, I'm excited to, like, feel the blast when it launches.

That's what I'm looking forward to the most.

I was really excited.

I was like, yes, you know, I was like.

Doesn't matter what else I have planned.

I'm going on this.

As Roman rockets away, Earth will anxiously await what it sends back.

Thanks, Noel.

On more space news.

For the first time since its discovery more than 800 years ago, a telescope has captured a clear picture of a supernova.

A supernova is a star that exploded, making its brightness more powerful.

You'll see what I mean.

Patrick Cornell has that story and more.

Take a look at the incredible detail on the likely remnant of a supernova first spotted 845 years ago.

According to the US National Science Foundation National Optical Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, astronomers documented the phenomenon in 1181, saying it was visible for 185 days in the constellation Cassiopeia.

It's only one of five supernovas ever spotted before the invention of the telescope, and now that incredible tech is able to give us a super clear look at the outer space spectacle.

Using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, researchers focused on the firework like structure of the supernova.

In a release, writing the photos clarity allowed them to see that its famous filaments are not smooth, but made of chains of tiny knots of gas.

If you're still into incredible space imagery, enjoy this Martian dawn pic years in the making.

NASA released this surreal panorama shot by its Curiosity Rover on August 11th, showcasing light against the yardangs on Mount Sharp.

Definition, please.

Yardand: A sharp crested ridge carved by wind erosion from soft but coherent deposits.

NASA says its rover has been slowly climbing the mountain since 2014, and scientists hoped to reach those yardangs in 2027 to study their creation.

Very cool.

Thank you, Patrick.

From Artemis II's record breaking lunar flyby to unveil the first phase of its moon based plans, it's been a busy year for NASA and space exploration as a whole.

You can say that space exploration is taking off again, inspiring a whole new generation.

Michael Yoshida has more on how this new space age is reaching and hoping to inspire the next generation.

A historic launch, Moonbase unveiling and new crew announcement.

We are in a golden age of exploration.

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren says just as his imagination was captured by watching the Apollo astronauts, decades later, a new generation is seeing what's possible.

It is the human in human spaceflight that makes the endeavor so challenging.

But it is also the human in human spaceflight that makes it so compelling.

Helping make that connection, NASA is embracing digital media.

In 2025, the agency overhauled its social media strategy to better connect with audiences, an effort evident during Artemis II, bringing people along for the ride in ways prior moon missions couldn't.

How cool is that?

We get their playlists.

We get to see their videos.

We get to follow along.

The little things that happened during the mission make it real.

NASA's Nujoud Merancy says going beyond polished, perfectly curated influencer type content and sharing real, organic moments and emotions is key.

It's the crew being excited about seeing flashes of micro meteoroids on the moon, the bottle of Nutella floating through the cabin.

It's those little things that I think have the most impact.

And for those inspired but aren't sure where they might fit in this new world of space exploration?

I hope they just keep following along and then let their curiosity guide them.

There are so many avenues to supporting this, and it's not just the traditional engineering and scientists roles.

Thank you, Michael.

Now let's take off to our next story.

The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton is one of the most important research centers in U.S.

history.

Established in the early 20th century, it played a key role in the birth of American aviation.

Building on the legacy of the Wright brothers' early flight experiments nearby, the base has been central to U.S.

military innovation, especially in aerospace research, aircraft development, and national defense.

Fasten your seatbelts, because Reporter Hernz Laguerre Jr.

is about to take us souring through history.

The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a vast display of aviation through the years, from the early history of flight to modern day applications and future innovations.

I spoke with three representatives who shared with me the importance of the air base.

Ohio is the birthplace of aviation.

Even today, Ohio has more astronauts than any other state in the country.

We're the heart of aviation and aerospace innovation.

Mackenzie Wittmer says the base is a one stop shop about the field of flight.

You know, you can come here to Dayton, Ohio and see all 120 plus years of aviation and space heritage.

Starting with the Wright brothers.

But you can walk through the National Museum of the United States Air Force and see today's technologies, things that are impacting our daily lives.

David Tillitson says the military was key to making airplanes such a widely used means of travel.

So after World War I, development of the aviation industry for airlines, airline development overseas, exploring all of the world for aviation, the military underwrote much of that.

And if you want to work in the aviation industry today, the options are endless.

80% of the people in the Air Force don't fly.

They're not pilots.

They're not air crew members.

They aren't even aircraft maintainers.

We need well-rounded problem solvers for the aviation industry, and a lot of those skills you can find in the humanities.

There is so much opportunity in aviation right now.

It is a rapidly growing field and there is a place for everyone.

It's not just pilots, it's designers, it's engineers, it's technicians and mechanics.

Each of those fields exists in the aviation workforce and keep asking questions, say creative and and know that, you know, with tenacity there is a place for everyone in this industry.

Special thanks to Hernz from CET in Cincinnati for sharing that story with us.

The Wright-Patterson Base highlights the power of flight.

But up north in Cleveland, the International Women's Air and Space Museum honors the women who made it possible.

The museum opened its doors inside the Burke Lakefront Airport in 1998.

Founded by pioneering female pilots who refused to let their history be forgotten, the museum honors their groundbreaking contributions by collecting, preserving, and bringing to life the stories of women who shaped aviation and aerospace.

Today, the museum aims to inspire future generations by showing that women have always belonged in the sky and beyond.

Ygal Kaufman takes us inside.

It's not just planes coming in and out of Burke Lakefront Airport, there are people visiting the International Women's Air and Space Museum, one of the most unique museums in Northeast Ohio.

Our mission here at the museum is to collect, preserve and share many, many of the histories of women in all areas of aviation and aerospace.

We're actually the only museum of our kind.

We are the only museum that specifically celebrates women in all areas of air and space, and we try to do it internationally as well.

We were originally based in Centerville, which is a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, birthplace of aviation, and we were actually founded by a group of women pilots belonging to a group called The 99s, which is essentially just an international organization of women pilots.

We started in Centerville, in the home of Asahel Wright, which was a relative of the Wright brothers, as well as Katherine Wright, sister of the Wright brothers, who we celebrate here.

Katherine Wright is the youngest of the five Wright siblings.

In addition to Orville and Wilbur, she was not the first woman to pilot a plane.

She didn't have a huge role in creating the first flying machine, as her brothers called it, but she was always interested in what they were doing.

She began going around with them and they were sharing their aircraft, and she was the one who was able to talk to the public about it in a way that the average person would understand.

So we really credit Katherine for a lot of their success, as she was kind of their marketing person of the early 20th century.

She also was the first woman to fly passenger in their aircraft in 1909.

In our permanent collection here at the museum, we have over 10,000 artifacts or items.

We also have a massive archive with tons of information on women in air and space.

We actually recently acquired a collection of video interviews that are currently in tape format of over 30 women, many of whom flew with the Wasp during World War II.

The Wasp was an organization of women pilots, and it was called the Women Air Force Service Pilots.

It was a military organization, and these women were tasked with ferrying planes to and from different air bases, working as flight instructors, as well as towing anti-aircraft gunnery targets behind the planes.

We love sharing those stories, especially so that we can show younger girls and boys what is possible for them in the future of aviation and aerospace and what has been done in the past.

Look at the different things that these women have done.

They weren't just necessarily choosing one thing to go for.

You can have more than one dream.

The exhibits of the International Women's Air and Space Museum are free and open to the public seven days a week, from 8 a.m.

to 8 p.m.. Special thanks to Ygal Kaufman for sharing that story with us.

We just learned about remarkable women who made history in aviation.

For our write-to-us this week, we want to know: What challenges do you think early female pilots faced when pursuing their careers?

Students can share their thoughts through our inbox form online at newsdepth.org.

On our last episode, we learned about Ohio's agriculture industry, and we wanted you to do some research and tell us why our state is a great place to grow some crops.

Let's see what you found by opening up our inbox.

A fourth grader from Bath Elementary in Akron said, I think cucumber is a good crop to grow because it grows rapidly in summer.

And summer is a great time to grow crops.

Cucumbers, very refreshing.

A sixth grader from Sydney Middle School in Sydney, said Tomatoes are one of the best crops to grow in Ohio, and this is a good place to grow it because the state has diverse and fertile soils.

Did you know the tomato is the state fruit of Ohio?

A fifth grader from J & G Snow School in Berea said, Corn is a great crop to grow in Ohio.

It is a great crop to grow in Ohio because the ground is rich in nutrients and minerals.

The land is also flat and the climate is just right for corn.

Corn is an Ohio staple.

A fifth grader from St.

Catherine of Siena in Cincinnati said, Soybeans are grown in Ohio, and Ohio is a good place to grow it because Ohio has good soil and weather conditions are great for soybean crops.

It is also a good state for shipping, and delivering to and from.

Soybeans are great for feeding farm animals.

A sixth grader from Amity Elementary in Deer Park said, I researched potatoes and a great place to grow them is in the state of Ohio because there are so many farms to grow crops like potatoes.

I love potatoes.

I get all kinds of potatoes from my farmer's market.

Thank you all for writing.

Now let's fast forward to the future of aviation - electric planes.

A Colorado company is making a splash in the aviation industry.

The E-Flyer II is an all electric airplane designed to make pilot training cheaper and cleaner.

It costs far less to operate than traditional planes, and has already attracted strong interest from flight schools worldwide.

Chierstin Roth speaks to the CEO of Bye Aerospace.

The E-Flyer II looks like a regular plane and for all intents and purposes it is.

The only difference is, instead of a loud, noisy, dirty engine.

It's got a nice, clean, quiet electric engine.

The plane, created by the Colorado company Bye Aerospace, is a first of its kind.

It's a new design started from scratch that incorporates a lightweight, small, but very powerful electric engine.

Although it will be available to the public for purchase, the company has geared its design toward the flight school industry.

Our main objective is to help lower the cost of pilot training.

So right now, legacy aircraft cost about $165 to $175 an hour to operate, just basic operating costs.

This aircraft is designed to operate at only $35 to $40 an hour.

The planes operate off a series of batteries and backup batteries that will automatically kick in if necessary, with charging stations that work similarly to electric cars.

We can charge two airplanes at the same time.

And the interest in people getting their hands on the new technology is booming, including here in Colorado.

with Spartan College already submitting a preorder.

We have about 1000 of those orders from around the world.

Although the company just conducted a successful test flight from Centennial Airport, the design is still undergoing rigorous testing.

We'll make any slight engineering changes that we need to make to optimize the design, and that will happen over the next 6 to 9 months, and we hope that's the last prototype that will undergo all of the FAA required flight testing.

And then we can start production.

While the E-flyer II is ready to take off in the world of pilot training, that doesn't mean we'll see electric passenger jets soon.

Battery life is still a challenge for long flights and bigger planes.

We now turn our attention to some other winged wonders.

The mysterious world of bats.

But what's a big mystery about bats?

Well get this, scientists are still unclear as to why bats are the only mammals that evolved to fly.

Jeff St.

Clair dives into their secrets.

What about bats?

They're pretty amazing animals.

Not just because they're the only flying mammal.

They're also, ounce for ounce, One of the longest living animals.

The size of a mouse, your average bat can live more than 30 years.

That's compared to the 1 or 2 year lifespan of a mouse.

How bats evolved the ability to fly remains one of sciences greatest mysteries.

The oldest bat fossil is more than 50 million years old, and it looks like, well, a bat.

Its long fingers formed wings, just like today's flying marvels.

Scientists have no record of intermediate animals that, say, went from running around on all fours to having longer and longer fingers.

Bats just show up fully functional fliers.

And those fingers, they're not like mine or yours.

Bat fingers are bendy.

They're able to keep the bones flexible throughout their lives by constantly renewing the bendy component of bones, called collagen.

it may be part of a bat secret to a long life.

Bats are amazing, and a lot of other ways too.

Their hearing is among the most remarkable in the animal kingdom, providing a vivid view of the world around them.

Even on the darkest night through high frequency sonar - that's seeing through sound.

They also have an amazing immune system.

Bats' high energy lifestyle requires a top fuel metabolic system that would quickly burn out people or other mammals, but bats are able to fend off many diseases that would kill you or me.

One unfortunate fact is that people encroaching on bat habitat has exposed humans to many new diseases.

Possibly the latest Covid outbreak.

Maybe bat secret to a long life is that they eat bugs every day.

Are you ready to try it?

Whoa!

Look out!

Jeff, I think they're right behind you.

For our poll this week, we want you to turn into Batkid.

If you could have one bat superpower, what would you choose?

Fly over to our pull page to vote.

You can choose between flying, night vision, super hearing, or living for a long time.

Come back next week to see how many students picked the same superpower as you.

Last week, Natalia celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with us.

She told us about some delicious dishes from Spanish speaking countries, and we asked you which ones looked the most appetizing to you.

60% of you said you love tacos.

About 44% said you want to try arepas.

43% voted for pupusas.

About 20% of you said paella.

And a little under 20% voted for mofongo.

I would have voted for pupusas.

And they sound really good right now.

Getting kind of hungry.

Hey.

NewsHound, you hungry too?

You got snacks over there?

Whoa, NewsHound!

It looks like you're taste testing some new snacks.

Let us know what you think.

Do you like peanut butter?

I think that's a yes.

How do you feel about cauliflower?

Not your favorite?

Okay.

How about cantaloupe?

You like that one.

And cheese?

That's the winner.

Okay, Okay, NewsHound.

We keep getting distracted.

What animal story did you find today?

Oh, that's a video about rescued foster kittens taking a field trip to an aquarium?

To see these tiny felines making some aquatic friends, you can watch the video at NewsDepth.org.

Thanks as always for the story, NewsHound.

Unlike NewsHound, I love fresh veggies.

And this week's A+ Award winners are growing fresh veggies that are used in their schools, cafeteria, and cooking classes.

The Garden Club at Berea Park Middle School built amazing gardens on campus.

Mr.

Pearl, the club's advisor, invited us to show us around.

We were really impressed with how large the garden is.

the students spent last year and the summer evaluating which plants were successful and used that to determine what they'd grow.

They placed an emphasis on planting native species that would attract monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

A native species, is a plant or animal that originated and developed in a specific ecosystem without the aid of humans.

And pollinators are usually insects that move pollen from plant to plant to allow for fertilization.

They did such a great job that the gardens have been designated as a certified wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.

But they didn't stop with just flowers, the students also built new Adirondack chairs and other types of seats to put in the garden.

The students told us these chairs are super popular among their classmates to sit during lunch periods.

And it's not only the students that have a nice garden to sit in and enjoy their lunch.

Their second garden is for their teachers to enjoy and have a nice, quiet and reflective lunch.

The teachers garden also have smaller flower gardens that were designed and planted by individual students.

That's not all.

The students are growing vegetables that are used in the family living classes.

They tell us that they really enjoyed the snap of fresh green beans and making salsa from scratch.

The class also studied food supply chains, using the garden as an example of locally sourced produce.

You probably also noticed the wonderful koi pond and the murals that were painted by the art classes.

The students told us that they are grateful for the support they've been given by eight different organizations in their community.

Here's a big congratulations to the Berea Park Middle School Garden Club for winning this week's A+ Award.

We're definitely going to check back in and we hope to enjoy some of those fresh veggies.

Okay, let's get back to the news.

Every year, birdwatchers in Portland, Oregon, gather to watch thousands of birds as they stop to rest during their migration to Central America.

Bird migration is the seasonal movement of birds looking for warmer weather, more food sources, and safer places to reproduce.

This year, the birds in Oregon surprise observers by choosing new roosting spots instead of their longtime home at their elementary school.

Experts think predators, large crowds or other changes may have caused the shift, and they hope people will help protect important habitats for the birds.

Katherine Cook took us bird watching.

We're here to watch the swifts.

Vaux's swifts with a twist.

We never seen them here before.

As they migrate south to Central America, the birds pulled another fast one this year, choosing a new chimney to roost in.

So, there must be something that attracts them to this particular one.

One of several new roosting spots.

To try to understand why they chose this area and that particular chimney to go into.

I think that's a little bit magical in some sense.

Up until a couple of years ago, the little swifts had spent some three decades flocking to this old smokestack at Chapman Elementary in northwest Portland.

Their migratory behavior so predictable, you could mark your calendar, and they'd be there.

Until they weren't.

Almost immediately, we found this uptick in the number of swifts using alternate roosts, mostly on the east side of Portland.

Candace Larson with Battalions of Oregon, has a few theories as to why the Swifts left Chapman.

1. an increase in predators like hawks and crows, or perhaps the crowds of spectators some 2000 a night finally overwhelm them.

She believes one day the Swifts may return to Chapman in mass, but not this year.

That these birds are spread out and you have a good chance of finding them in your own neighborhood, and that's a great way to enjoy the spectacle this year.

Thank you, Katherine.

That's a wrap for this episode of NewsDepth.

But let's keep the conversation going, because we always like to hear from you.

And there are plenty of ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us here at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

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Hit subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

See you next week.