Station Nation: From Space Camp to #SciComm — Meet Rachel Barry, Science Communications Specialist

The coined phrase, “SciComm,” is a word blend of “science” and “communication.” Its most commonly used definition is: “The practice of informing, educating, and raising awareness of science-related topics.” We think Rachel Barry should also be listed within the definition of science communication.

We caught up Rachel to learn more about her and her unique International Space Station (ISS) science storytelling role within the Program Research Office here at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

 
Left: Rachel was the commander of her Space Camp mission for Team Teledyne Brown in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1987. Favorite memories from Space Camp include bouncing in the 1/6 chair, performing the mission simulation at the end of camp, and eating space shuttle-shaped French fries. Right: Rachel and her team supported science planning for the Felix & Paul Studios ISS Experience, a cinematic virtual reality project filmed entirely aboard the space station. The Felix & Paul team have won two Webby awards and an Emmy award for the series so far, and were kind enough to share one of their Webby trophies with the ISS Research Communications team. Images courtesy of Rachel Barry. 

How long have you been working for the agency?
My six-year anniversary was in June 2021. 

Where are you from?
I grew up in West Texas, and have lived in Austin and Houston as an adult. 

Describe what your position with NASA entails:
I'm part of a communications team that covers all of the science being conducted aboard the International Space Station. We create a variety of digital media products, from feature stories to videos and social media, to inform and engage the general public, researchers, and decision makers on the value of space station research. We have a team of writers, editors, social media professionals, video producers, and graphics experts who create this content.

I'm a lead on the contractor side of our team, and create strategies for our communications efforts, build relationships with our researchers, payload developers, and communications colleagues at other NASA centers and other ISS partner agencies. I organize our science media efforts around commercial resupply services missions, picking research highlights and working with the Public Affairs Office to connect our researchers with reporters. I also work with crew members as needed, to help them understand the research they are conducting and how to communicate about it in downlinks and on social media.

Now, to a non-NASA audience: How do you describe your job to family, friends, or at a speaking engagement?
I'm a storyteller for the science being conducted on the space station. 😊 

What was your path to NASA?
I had a very long, winding path to NASA. I was a space nerd from a very young age, and went to Space Camp in 1987. I didn’t think I could be a scientist or engineer, and therefore couldn’t be an astronaut and likely couldn’t work at NASA in any capacity. 

I followed a path into journalism, which I loved, and space stayed a hobby all my life. I was a high school journalism and web design teacher for a few years, and did freelance web design and writing and editing from home when my kids were young. During STS-125, I noticed NASA taking a different approach to social media, storytelling, and community engagement, and that was my first time I thought I might have a place at NASA.  

I didn’t move to Houston until a couple of years later, though. I continued my freelance work and then worked at a local university as their social media coordinator. I saw Mark Geyer give a presentation about EFT-1 (Exploration Flight Test-1) at the university, and was in tears. I couldn’t believe I lived five minutes from NASA and wasn’t working there. I made a goal to get there as soon as I could. 

A few months later, I got my badge. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had. I didn’t think I could love a job so much. 

Is there a space figure you've looked up to? Someone in the space, aerospace, or science industry who has motivated you or inspired you to work for the space program? Or, is there someone you discovered while working for NASA who inspires you (e.g., astronaut, astronomer, flight director, fighter pilot, space communicator, etc.)?
Here’s where I’ll get long-winded. 😉 NASA and the space and science worlds have no shortage of inspirational people. I am so grateful to have interacted with so many scientists whose work restores my faith in humanity, so many leaders who challenge and support me, teammates who are so incredibly creative and driven, and even astronauts whose dedication to the sharing science mission is phenomenal. 

Before I came to NASA, I admired the work of NASA Headquarters Public Affairs Officer Stephanie Schierholz and NASA Headquarters social media experts John Yembrick and Jason Townsend. The way they were reshaping how NASA was telling stories and engaging the public resonated deeply with me and is what made me realize I could have a place at NASA someday. 

They all have incredible work ethic, outstanding creativity, and are level-headed and delightful even when under great pressure. They inspire me to do the best work I can for NASA, and I still can’t believe that people I admired from afar more than a decade ago are now close colleagues and friends.

My teammates with whom I work closest (we joke that we function as one unit), Nicole Rose and Erin Anthony, inspire me every day. I’ve never experienced such synergistic work relationships before. We each have our areas of expertise and give each other space to let them flourish. We’re not afraid to ask questions of each other or speak up if something isn’t feeling right. We share the same work ethic while also reminding each other to take breaks so we don’t burn out. We trust and support each other implicitly. Work relationships like ours are a rarity. This is a golden era in my career for sure, and I don’t take a single second for granted. 

I have a tattoo of Sally Ride on my forearm. I like when people ask about it so I can talk about what a great science educator she was, how she was such an advocate for representation (“You can’t be what you can’t see” sticks with me every single day), and how much she loved what she did and was a joyful person — even if she seemed quiet and reserved. 

I have also been lucky enough to work with many wonderful scientists who are using the space station to answer big questions. Their dedication to making life better for people on Earth is humbling. I loved working with Dr. Se-Jin Lee and his wife, Dr. Emily Germain-Lee, around their Rodent Research-19 experiment that launched in 2019. They have been together for more than 40 years, and 20 years ago had a dream of an experiment they could do in microgravity that could lead to better treatments for children and adults who suffer from bone and muscle deterioration conditions. Listening to them talk about how they worked together to come up with the experiment (her research is in bone health, his in muscle health) and how they’d work in the lab all day and discuss work over dinner, how they’d met in college and forged their individual paths and then this path together ... that was about the best romance story I’d ever heard. And their experiment has already published results! 😊

What is your favorite NASA memory?
This is tough! I have so many! 

I’d say my favorite NASA memory was when my teammate, Nicole Rose, and I spent a week embedded in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at Kennedy Space Center ahead of SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services (CRS)-14. The SSPF is my favorite place at NASA. Before a CRS mission, scientists from all over the world go there to prepare their time-sensitive science ahead of launch. You end up with hallways of labs where each door has some kind of different and exciting science happening behind it. There’s a buzz with all the different principal investigators and payload developers working like crazy. We filmed several scientists’ lab work during the week, and followed the science through handover to the Cold Stowage team. We even stayed up through the night and filmed in a lab with teams from several different countries who work working on a very intense preparation process in the wee hours of the morning. We decided to see if we could follow the science all the way to the launch pad to film it being loaded into Dragon — a crazy idea we never thought could happen — and then it did! 

We ended up putting together a video within a few hours (Nicole did ... I was on support duty at that point) to release on social media right before launch. It’s a great video that really captures the magic of the SSPF and all the scientists working there. It was such a joy to work with Nicole in that way, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. 

What do you love sharing about station to general audiences?
I love helping people understand why we even send science to the space station. The fact that we can conduct research in a microgravity environment really opens up so many new ways to see and understand things, and I love being able to share that. I also love being able to share the scientists themselves. They are people who should be celebrities. 

What are hobbies you enjoy outside of work?
I have hobbies on hobbies, most of the geek or outdoors variety. I love hiking, kayaking, and camping. I love playing Dungeons and Dragons (I collect dice and paint minis). I love building puzzles and doing hand embroidery and pottery, and I just started learning how to play Magic the Gathering. I love learning new things and staying busy with activities that make me happy. 😊

Day or night launch?
SpaceX launches right at dusk are breathtaking. 

Favorite space movie?
It is really hard to narrow it down ... I have to say “Space Camp,” since it was a big inspiration for me as a kid, and “Moon,” with Sam Rockwell.

NASA Worm or “Meatball” logo?

Every day, we’re conducting exciting research aboard our orbiting laboratory that will help us explore father into space and brings benefits back to people on Earth. You can keep up with the latest news, videos, and pictures about space station science on the Station Research and Technology news page. It’s a curated hub of ISS research digital media from JSC, other centers, and space agencies. You can sign up for our once-a-week email newsletter to get the updates delivered directly to you. Follow updates on social media at @ISS_Research on Twitter, and on the space station accounts on Facebook and Instagram.