Miles O'Brien
Verified- Science Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
- Aviation Analyst, CNN
- Producer, Writer and Director, NOVA, WGBH-FM (Boston, MA)
Boston, Āir
Miles O’Brien is a veteran science journalist, pilot & PBS NewsHour correspondent, telling stories on aviation, space, climate & technology.
Articles by Miles O'Brien
How NASA's new space telescope could help solve mysteries of dark energy and dark matter
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio NASA launched its newest space telescope, undertaking its biggest mission yet to study the universe on a much larger scale. A roughly $4 billion project, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will allow scientists to get panoramic views of space and better understand the nature of powerful forces known as dark energy and dark matter. Miles O’Brien joined Amna Nawaz to discuss more.
WATCH LIVE: Tipping Point — The Colorado River Reimagined | A PBS News Special
Nation Aug 19, 2026 12:07 PM EDT The Colorado River is at a crossroads. About 40 million people depend on the Colorado River for drinking water, and it irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland. But a decadeslong drought along the river has depleted water levels in reservoirs Lake Mead and Lake Powell to record lows. Dwindling snowpack in the headwaters and ever-increasing demand from agriculture and municipalities have overtaxed it to a near breaking point.
Scientists explore large-scale geoengineering to slow glacier melt
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio At a time when the impact of climate change is undeniable, some researchers suggest we need to start work on far more ambitious approaches for tackling these problems. These proposals are often referred to as geoengineering. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien looks at one such concept to deal with the melting of glaciers and sea ice. It's for our series, Tipping Point.
What scientists are learning after SpaceX debris crashed into the moon
A four-ton upper stage of a SpaceX rocket is believed to have hit the moon at 5,400 mph. The SpaceX rocket launched a pair of lunar landers last year, but the company’s scientists say a combination of solar activity and gravity put it on a collision course with the moon. Geoff Bennett discussed larger concerns about lunar litter with science correspondent Miles O’Brien. Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.
Dry winter leaves farmers along Colorado River facing greater water shortages
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio This past winter was an extraordinarily dry one in the western U.S. A lack of snowpack that normally feeds the Colorado River has only deepened the impact of a drought affecting tens of millions in seven states and Mexico. Accelerated by climate change, the drought is taking a bite out of farmers' plans in Colorado. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports for our series, Tipping Point.
How a Blue Origin rocket explosion could impact NASA's moon mission
May 29, 2026 6:40 PM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded on the launchpad during a test in Cape Canaveral on Thursday. The company, owned by Jeff Bezos, said no one was injured and all personnel were accounted for. But the rocket has a crucial role in NASA’s Artemis program to return American astronauts to the surface of the moon. Amna Nawaz discussed its significance with science correspondent Miles O’Brien.
How AI is helping researchers develop antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections
May 27, 2026 6:35 PM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio Drug-resistant infections are a major public health threat around the world. To fight them, scientists are constantly trying to find and develop new antibiotics. Now, researchers say artificial intelligence is helping speed their search. Miles O'Brien reports.
Artemis II crew breaks distance record on mission around far side of moon
Apr 6, 2026 6:25 PM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio The four-astronaut crew of NASA’s Artemis II flew to the far side of the moon and set a record for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human. Monday's seven-hour lunar flyby was the most anticipated part of the mission. Geoff Bennett discussed the historic achievement with science correspondent Miles O’Brien.
Artemis II astronauts embark on voyage around the moon
A day after liftoff, Artemis II is now well on its way. Four astronauts are on a ten-day voyage around the moon and back, traveling deeper into space than any human has ever before. For more about what’s happening now and what comes next, Amna Nawaz spoke with science correspondent Miles O’Brien. Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.
Artemis II launch sends 4 astronauts on mission around the moon
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio For the first time in more than 50 years, the United States is sending astronauts back toward the moon. NASA launched Artemis II from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day voyage. If all goes as planned, they will travel farther into space than any humans before them. Miles O’Brien was there for the launch and joined Amna Nawaz to discuss the mission.
Investigators believe multiple failures led to deadly LaGuardia Airport collision
Mar 24, 2026 6:50 PM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio The National Transportation Safety Board said it was likely a series of failures that led to the accident at LaGuardia Airport when an Air Canada jet struck a fire truck on the runway. Geoff Bennett discussed the latest with science and aviation correspondent Miles O’Brien.
The Acela to the Moon
Worried about gusty winds and no-show TSA agents, I took the Acela from Providence to Washington this past week. America’s fastest train. Also—let’s be honest—arguably the world’s slowest fast train. At moments it moves at a pretty sporty clip. You feel it lean into a curve, stretch its legs, flirt with the idea of Shinkansen velocity, and then it settles back into something more familiar. A drink-spilling crawl down an uneven railbed. It’s reminder that ambition and execution are not the same thing.
Electric grid faces political roadblocks as it struggles with data center demand
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio The war in Iran has cast a spotlight again on the dependence on fossil fuels. The electric grid is under growing demand, but the Trump administration has worked to roll back subsidies and incentives for some renewable energies. A new industry report finds that solar panel installations dropped by 14% this past year. Science Correspondent Miles O'Brien reports for our series, Tipping Point.
Land Ho!
Our excellent Antarctic adventure is coming to a conclusion. We worked hard and did our best to share the story with you. Thank you for coming along for the ride with us. I am so proud of what my team and I accomplished. Producer Kate Tobin and Director of Photography Nevan Swanson worked for two months solid. I am so grateful that they were with me. We proved to be an excellent team. Now onto the next adventure! Stay tuned.
80,000 Students, One Icebreaker, and the Science Beneath Antarctica
Dave Bakker (upper left), Miles O’Brien (lower left), and David Holland kick off a 90-minute virtual field trip on Antarctic Science. The entire classroom event is embedded at the end of this article. For ninety minutes, the Korean research icebreaker Araon became a floating classroom.
From Ted Turner to TikTok: The Rise and Fall of Science Journalism-and What Comes Next
[My conversation with “Breaking the News” is embedded below - Spotify and YouTube.] I didn’t sit down in a studio for this conversation. I spoke live from the deck of the Korean research icebreaker Araon, directly in front of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica—one of the most consequential places on Earth for understanding our climate future.
When the Ice Wins
Even in failure, Antarctic science moves us forward. After an extraordinary effort to drill nearly 3,000 feet through the ice at Thwaites Glacier, nature ultimately reclaimed the borehole before long-term instruments could be secured. But the expedition did not return empty-handed. Researchers captured rare, direct measurements from a place no one had sampled before—the dark ocean beneath one of the most consequential glaciers on Earth.
A Hard Stop at Thwaites
Today at the Thwaites drill camp, the news was a mix of triumph and disappointment. The team successfully lowered a CTD sensor nearly 930 meters (3,000 feet) through the ice and into the ocean beneath the glacier—confirming what models have long suggested: warm water is flowing below Thwaites, actively melting it from underneath. But the bigger goal—a year-long mooring that would stream continuous data—fell short. At about 700 meters, the instruments became tangled and froze into the ice.
Live from Thwaites for PBS News
We had a strong day at the drill camp. The drill team began boring its hole to the sea at 7 p.m. local time last night—but hit a snag about 30 feet down: a cavernous crevasse roughly 30 feet deep. That creates two problems. First, the open void devours hot water, and they’re working with a finite fuel supply to melt snow into 90°C (194°F) water. Second, it makes it harder to keep the drill hole perfectly vertical.
Twenty Tons of Snow and a Week to Drill the Bottom of the World
One week on the ice. Ten people. Twenty tons of snow moved by hand. Keith Makinson of the British Antarctic survey walked our Director of photography, Nevan Swanson through what has become a small, temporary village on Thwaites Glacier: the drill tower that will lower a hose through nearly 3,000 feet of ice, black tubs of antifreeze standing guard against frozen systems, a science tent that doubles as a mechanical workshop, and a mess tent where frozen meals become the day’s fuel.
Wind, Ice, and a Hole in the End of the World
It’s Tuesday, January 27th, 2026, and I’m standing on the helideck of the Korean icebreaker Araon, staring straight into one of the most consequential places on Earth. Off the stern, the Thwaites Glacier stretches across the horizon—a wall of ice so vast and luminous it still manages to steal your breath, even after days of looking at it. It’s beautiful in the way only something truly indifferent to you can be. Today’s story, though, isn’t just the glacier. It’s the wind.
Oceanography the Hard Way: Shoveling a Path to the Sea Beneath Thwaites
I shot this video not long after the hot water drill camp first set up shop on the ice. It was a last-minute offer we couldn’t refuse — a helicopter ride from the Korean research icebreaker Araon, our floating home for nearly a month, out to a lonely white speck 18 miles away.
Two Horizons, One Glacier, One Elevator in the Amundsen Sea
The Araon at 74°S, 105°W, midnight, MST, January 24. It is about midnight, which, in this part of the world, at this time of the year, is the golden hour. It was the perfect time to film the deployment of a sophisticated robotic buoy that will help scientists better understand the ebbs, flows, and temperature changes in the Amundsen Sea near the Thwaites glacier.
On board the voyage to Antarctica to learn why a massive glacier is melting
[Ed. Note: We just shared our first long broadcast story for PBS News Hour on our adventures in Antarctica. It is embedded below.] There is a moment on the deck of an icebreaker when the wind cuts through every layer you’re wearing, and the world narrows to three things: ice, water, and the whir of a helicopter fighting to lift itself into a sky that doesn’t always want to cooperate.
Waiting on the Weather at the Edge of the World
Out here, the weather isn’t just a backdrop. It’s the decision-maker. I’m reporting from the research icebreaker Araon, operated by the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), a ship designed to break through sea ice, host helicopters, and function as a floating laboratory at the edge of West Antarctica.
Live from the Edge of the Doomsday Glacier
This afternoon, I’m going live from one of the most remote places on Earth—aboard the South Korean icebreaker Araon, moored in front of the towering barrier ice of Thwaites Glacier, often called the “Doomsday Glacier.” Thwaites is melting faster than almost any other glacier on the planet, and what happens here could ultimately reshape coastlines around the world.
Helicopters on Deck at the Doomsday Glacier
It’s a milestone day aboard the Korea Polar Research Institute icebreaker Araon. For the first time on this voyage, the helicopters are out of the hangar and sitting on the flight deck—blades going on, bolts torqued down, mechanics working with quiet precision. These helicopters are the key to everything that comes next.
In the Neighborhood of the Doomsday Glacier
After nearly two weeks of slogging south through the Southern Ocean, the icebreaker Araon is finally where we’ve been trying to get all along: in the neighborhood of the Thwaites Glacier. On the ship’s navigation displays, our position is starkly clear—74 degrees south, 104 degrees west, floating above more than two kilometers of water. Just ahead lies Thwaites, the most consequential glacier on Earth.
The plot - and the sea - thicken
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Miles O'Brien
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From New Zealand to Orbit: How Rocket Lab Is Building a Scrappier Space Economy
I reported this story (above) for the PBS News Hour on Rocket Lab from New Zealand, but I’m writing these words a thousand miles away (58°42’S,171°35’W) — aboard South Korea’s icebreaker Araon, pitching and rolling in the Southern Ocean as we head toward Antarctica and the Thwaites Glacier on a crucial scientific mission. It’s an odd but fitting juxtaposition. Both journeys are driven by the same question: how do small, determined teams take on problems that seem insurmountable?
Southbound to the Doomsday Glacier
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Southbound to the Doomsday Glacier
Saturday, December 27, 2025 — Departure Day It was a beautiful, balmy summer morning in the port of Lyttelton, New Zealand, as the South Korean research icebreaker Araon slipped its moorings and set course for Antarctica—and for what many scientists consider the most consequential glacier on Earth.
Tilting at Windmills: How Trump’s Offshore Wind Ban Undermines National Security
The Trump administration has once again taken aim at clean energy — this time pausing all leases for offshore wind projects along the East Coast, citing national security concerns. The Interior Department claims that large-scale turbines might interfere with military radar systems. But this justification doesn’t hold up — not when the Pentagon itself signed off on these very sites years ago.
WATCH LIVE: Ask us anything about fighting science misinformation during a special Reddit AMA
Science Dec 8, 2025 5:14 PM EST Scientists, academics, digital creators and influencers all face a critical challenge: How can science and fact-based information break through rampant misinformation, disinformation, media silos and polarization?
Miles O'Brien
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Science Under Siege — and the Wrecking Ball in Washington
We are living through an existential crisis for science and scientists. Just as it swings a wrecking ball swinging through the East Wing of the White House, the Trump Regime is systematically demolishing federally funded science wherever it sees it. This is science that saves lives, propels innovation, and answers some fundamental questions about our world.
Beneath Our Feet: The Hidden Heat That Could Transform the Grid
by Miles O’Brien Miles Ahead is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. If you’ve followed my reporting, you know I spend a lot of time chasing climate solutions that actually work — the ones that can scale up fast enough to make a real dent. And lately, I’ve been looking not up at the sky, but down at the ground beneath our feet.
Unlikely alliance builds cleaner geothermal energy network in Massachusetts community
PBS News Full Episodes Podcasts Newsletters Live The video for this story is not available, but you can still read the transcript below. Oct 10, 2025 6:35 PM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio An unlikely partnership between a utility and climate activists managed to convert a community to geothermal heating and cooling. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on this project for our energy and climate series, Tipping Point.
Air Traffic Control in a Government Shutdown
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The Case for Nuclear on the Moon
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A Revolution in the Wind, Stopped Cold
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The Puffins Are Talking-Are We Listening?
I recently found myself tucked inside a plywood bird blind on a windswept island six miles off the coast of Maine, wedged between a legend in seabird science, Steve Kress and Don Lyons, the current head of the Audubon Seabird Institute. Through a narrow gap in the blind, I had a front-row seat to one of the most remarkable conservation comebacks in the animal kingdom: puffins—dozens of them—flapping in from the sea, beaks brimming with fish for their chicks.
Collision Course Over the Capital
Aviation safety is built on layers: procedures, training, technology, and redundancy. But sometimes—when those layers wear thin—tragedy breaks through. In this episode of Miles to Go, I sit down with longtime friend and retired airline captain Les Abend to unpack the January midair collision near Washington’s Reagan National Airport, a catastrophe that claimed 67 lives and shook confidence in a system long considered the gold standard for safety.
Bearing Witness to Katrina, Twenty Years Later
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California farms face pressure to boost efficiency as water supply declines
All right, well, let's try one. It was a cool, clear morning in the citrus grove when Gina Dockstader sliced open a Minneola orange for me, flooding my taste buds. Oh, that's delicious. And blowing my mind. Oh, my gosh. It's almost magical when you consider where we are, the middle of a blazing hot low desert, where Southern California meets Northern Mexico, a place that gets unlimited sunshine, but only two to three inches of rain each year.
Can Test 10 Prove Musk Right?
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Scientists face ecological and economic hurdles to save Mississippi River Delta
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio The iconic Mississippi River Delta is of enormous importance to the country, especially near the Gulf Coast. It's an economic engine and a key wildlife habitat. But it's shrinking considerably due to a variety of factors, including engineering done decades ago. Science Correspondent Miles O'Brien looks at those problems and efforts to prevent further loss.
The Vanishing Science Beat: Why Public Media Still Matters
When PBS was born 55 years ago, it entered a media landscape defined by scarcity. Just three national television networks operated with limited airtime for science, art, education, and civic discourse – all things that enrich our lives, fuel our democracy, and deepen our understanding of the world. However, they are not ratings juggernauts, so for-profit broadcasters tend not to embrace them. That’s why PBS was founded.
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