Step inside The Airlock Module Podcast, where analog astronaut Yuki Nishimura explores the human side of space exploration. Each episode dives into real stories from Mars simulation crews, scientists, and engineers, uncovering how life in isolation, teamwork, and innovation prepare us for the stars and teach us about life on Earth.
Step inside The Airlock Module Podcast, where analog astronaut Yuki Nishimura explores the human side of space exploration. Each episode dives into real stories from Mars simulation crews, scientists, and engineers, uncovering how life in isolation, teamwork, and innovation prepare us for the stars and teach us about life on Earth.
Dennis Miller embodies purpose, precision, and passion, on Earth and in analog space. As Chief of Operations and Flight Director for the APUS Analog Research Group, Dennis has led student teams through Mars-style simulations, drawing on two decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and his current work supporting NASA procurement at Goddard. In this episode, Dennis traces his unlikely path from F-18 avionics and hospital respirator repair to multimillion-dollar reconstruction programs in Iraq, and eventually to mission planning for high-fidelity analogs. We unpack his “intent over instructions” approach, how to build schedules with buffers, and what real risk management looks like when suit docking fails and emotions run high. Plus: favorite experiments (spirulina, mobility rigs, rescue sleds), how ILMAH and SAM differ, and why future mission controllers should experience analogs firsthand.
U.S. Army Research Laboratory: https://arl.devcom.army.mil/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-miller-pmp-cfcm-4b4242b4/
AARG Website: https://www.apusssrp.space/aarg
US Army Research Lab: https://arl.devcom.army.mil/
NASA's NEEMO: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/analog-field-testing/neemo/about-neemo-nasa-extreme-environment-mission-operations/
VMFA-321 Hells Angels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMFA-321
The Airlock Module Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/AirlockModule