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Paul Morris: Filming the Final Frontier
What sparked your interest in video production, and what drew you to NASA?
Ever since I saw “Star Wars” at nine years old, I knew I wanted to make movies. I would make little stop action videos with my action figures.
How did you land this role at NASA, and what do your duties entail?
I was working with a company in New York for about eight years, producing a daily live interactive show on Facebook. I’ve always been obsessed with NASA, so when I saw the job opportunity I knew I had to take a shot. To this day I still can’t believe how lucky I am to work here. I’ve been working with the Hubble mission for the past five years, but I’ve begun to work on other missions like the James Webb Space Telescope, MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN), Osiris-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer), and the incredible Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
Paul Morris is a video producer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. His work brings the cosmos to the screen, turning space science into cinematic wonder.Credit: Courtesy of Paul Morris
How has your style evolved over time?
My previous job was very steeped in “internet culture,” so it was a lot more fast-paced and crazy style videos. The main goal was to get the audience to watch past the ad break. With NASA I’ve been able to slow down my videos a bit more and focus more on quality and explaining the science result.
Paul has covered several NASA missions, including the James Webb, Hubble and upcoming Roman space telescopes. He translates scientific discoveries into exciting visual stories to connect broad audiences with NASA’s work.Credit: Courtesy of Paul Morris
What guides your process when you start a new assignment?
Let me be clear, I feel that all astro science is super cool and interesting. However, some of it is less interesting to the general public. Therefore, the first thing I think about when approaching a potential new story is by asking the question: “Would a fifth grader think this story is awesome?” Black holes, giant explosions, stars dying…if the story is there then the imagery will be there too.
Part of Paul’s role as video producer involves interviewing scientists and other experts, drawing out insights that make complex topics more understandable.Credit: Courtesy of Paul Morris
What’s been your favorite project so far?
A few years back, Hubble just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the first servicing mission, (the one that corrected the mirror flaw). I got to interview some of the biggest Hubble legends of all time and created a seven-part series from the perspectives of all of these genius engineers, scientists, and even astronauts. I was super proud of how all those videos came out.
Do you have any major goals you hope to achieve or projects you’d like to tackle someday?
I’d love to do a full-length movie following a project from its conception to its deactivation. Obviously, this is rather hard to do and will take years, potentially decades, but there are a few projects that are on the “ground floor” at the moment, so I’d love to just check in with them every year or so.
How has your work influenced your understanding or appreciation of space science and technology?
I’ve been absolutely obsessed with all things NASA since around third grade, so I’ve always loved space science and technology. However, I had no idea how much the technology of space telescopes has led to incredible advances in Earth technologies. From Olympic speed skating to breast cancer research or saving whale sharks, there’s just such a huge return on investment with NASA research.
Paul poses between Hubble astronauts Gregory Johnson (left) and Michael Good (right) at NASA’s 10th anniversary celebration of the Hubble servicing mission 4.Credit: Courtesy of Paul Morris
Where do you draw inspiration from?
The incredibly talented and creative people I work with always make me strive to make better videos.
What hobbies fill your time outside of work?
I’ve gotten really into running and CrossFit since Covid. I also direct plays from time to time at a local theatre near my house.
In addition to producing videos, Paul participates in outreach events to inform the public about NASA space missions.Credit: Courtesy of Paul Morris
What advice do you have for others who are interested in doing similar work?
Always look for ways to add to your creative skillset. There are a lot of amazing training options available online, and there’s always something new you can do to make yourself even better than you are today.
By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
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The Next Moon Landing Will Be in High-Definition
The grainy videos from the Apollo Moon landings are treasured historical artifacts. For many of us, that footage will be lodged in our minds until our final synaptic spark sputters out. But like all technology since the space race days, video technology has advanced enormously, and the next Moon landings will be captured in high-definition video. The ESA is so focused on getting it right that they're practicing filming lunar landings in a special studio that mimics the conditions on the lunar surface.
Traveling to Mars and Ceres Using Lunar Gateway as a Springboard
How can humanity use the developing Lunar Gateway as an appropriate starting point for advancing human space exploration beyond the Moon? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) hopes to address as a team of researchers evaluated a myriad of ways that Lunar Gateway could be used as a testbed for future technologies involving sending humans to Mars and Ceres. This study has the potential to help scientists, engineers, astronauts, and mission planners develop novel strategies for advancing long-term human space exploration.
Finding a Better Way to Distinguish Life from Non-Life
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Advanced Orbital Constellations for Solar Storm Defense
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