Rod Pyle proudly shows off his non-traditional work space – his boat, “Draco,” named after a constellation, which is often referred to as “The Dragon.” He enjoys spending time at his boat/office because he says he finds relaxation on the coast. / photo by Liberty B. Garcia
by Michael Roccia
photography by Liberty B. Garcia
Rod Pyle looks up into the night sky where the distant stars shimmer lightly. They are the lamp posts of the cosmos, humming silently and showing brightly the way to new and miraculous worlds. “Looking up, it’s such an emotional kind of qualitative experience … It gives me this sense of wonder; it’s like God ripped the heavens open and just dumped the salt shaker.”
To understand this new frontier, space lovers need a guide who can navigate the complicated field of space travel, technology and history. Author, space historian, television producer and educator Rod Pyle has invested a career to detail the trajectory of human advancement throughout the celestial realm.
Pyle is a scholar who has made it his mission to use his words and passion to capture the minds and curiosity of space enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Through the skills he has learned through his own life story, he hopes to encapsulate the captivating tale that is the next great era of space exploration—one small step at a time.
Before Pyle was busy compiling the efforts of both NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help the public grasp their cosmic endeavors, he was an assistant professor of Communications at the University of La Verne. Starting in January 1995, Pyle came to La Verne after completing his master’s degree in communication research at Stanford University. He was an enlightened, popular professor for students at the University for the way he taught courses in mass communication, communication theory, media ethics and media production.
He reciprocated that feeling of adoration toward his students and was fond of his time at ULV. “I really enjoyed the students and the school,” Pyle says. “I just really enjoyed the camaraderie of the department. Everything just seemed to fit together really well.” His academic interests at La Verne included the courses he taught, but he also held a passion for film and space — and he yearned to leverage his storytelling abilities.
Already a known History Channel producer of shows for television on a variety of different topics, which would sometimes include space, Pyle knew he had a foothold to start producing shows full time for the History Channel. That made for a tough decision. “I had my irons in a lot of fires,” he says. “I was late to class, missing classes, and I had to make a choice. My heart was kind of in the TV business, which then evolved into writing books.” Although Pyle says he enjoyed his time teaching at the University, he knew his true calling was somewhere else. After leaving the University in 2006, he embarked on a mission to truly make a name for himself in a different field.
One of his biggest shows he did was for the History Channel and called, “UFO files: Beyond the War of the Worlds.” It was an in-depth documentary of Orson Welles. The show was sparked by the release of Steven Spielberg’s remake of the “War of the Worlds,” and it became one of the main films shown repeatedly on the History Channel. The hit came after his documentaries that included, “Modern Marvels: The World’s Longest Bridge” and “Modern Marvels: Apollo 11.”
Then, around 2010, Pyle started his next venture—writing books. From his time producing documentaries, he says he learned that he enjoyed telling stories and captivating an audience. However, he wanted the opportunity to go more in depth and share every minuscule detail of a topic. That is something he never had the chance to do in television but utilizing this new media outlet allowed him to dive into topics and become a celebrated author. “For years I’ve been doing these History Channel shows where the mandate would come down from the network,” Pyle says. “‘Tell the whole story of World War II in 44 minutes with commercials’—that’s like trying to write a book on Twitter. You can’t get the story told. So, I thought, OK, I want to write books.”
Figuring out exactly his book subjects was easy for Pyle. He had always been fascinated by space, the missions that were conducted there, and the people who became cultural icons because of their undying determination to move the human race forward. Pyle grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, a time when space was at the forefront of the public’s attention, and he wanted to be a part of that. He says he was so fascinated by space travel that his first career choice was to become a scientist so he could embark on missions similar to the ones he grew up idolizing. However, life had other plans for him. “When I got to college, I went off to UCLA and was in their astronomy department for about a year,” he says. “I don’t know how I missed this going in, but somehow it hadn’t occurred to me that science is all about math.”
After trying his hand at astronomy and struggling with it, he realized being a scientist and becoming an astronaut might not be in his future. It was a pivotal moment in Pyle’s career, one he reflects on when considering why it was so easy for him to choose topics for his books. This realization of his true talents guided the next chapter of his career. “I got to differential equations and was like, ‘I’m sorry professor, this makes no sense.’ By the time I’d gone through it twice, I thought I was going to be a struggling third-rate hack scientist at best. So, at that point I changed gears and thought, ‘I’d rather tell stories about smart people than try and be one of them.’”
Pyle’s books not only tell stories of geniuses for people to marvel at; they also create a gravitational pull that grabs onto people interested in the field of space and gives them the chance to read about this fascinating universe without having an advanced degree in astronomy. Pyle says he wanted to dive into exciting complicated stories and missions from the past and the future of space exploration. But he would write in a way that any audience could understand, without merely spitting confusing facts. While he wanted to inform, his goal was to entertain and educate, and to truly spark the emotion in people. He knows stories about space have the ability to do just that.
There are many factors that play into why Pyle is able to break down complex scientific and technical jargon and make it appealing for the normal person. “I had severe ADHD as a kid, but I didn’t find that out till my 40s,” he says. “My son was diagnosed, and the doctor said, ‘Why don’t you take the test? The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree,’ and I said, ‘I don’t have ADHD.’ I took the test, and it was the best test score I ever got.”
Pyle’s confirmed experience with ADHD fueled his interest in space and helped him to feel he had found his knack. He says it allowed him to focus and understand deeper topics that the average person probably would not spend much time on, so that he could be well versed in many areas regarding outer space. This helped him to create engaging stories, and his unique perspective and writing style became a catalyst for his books. He also credits his brief time engaging in University of California Los Angeles astronomy classes as to why his writing is able to reach people. “Having taken a stab at the science, and all the stuff you have to take to be a science major was a backstop,” Pyle says. “While I wasn’t great at it, at least I had enough of an awareness that I could listen to the smart people talk about it without looking like a total baboon. I think a lot of it was just a great portal of opportunity.”
At this point in his career, Pyle is a veteran when it comes to writing and telling stories about the history, technology and exploration of space. He has written 21 books on various space related topics. Some of his books include, “Interplanetary Robots: True Stories of Space Exploration,” “Destination Mars: New Explorations of the Red Planet” and “First on the Moon: The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary.” Besides working with major publishers, he is an established journalist and regularly publishes articles on space on news websites like the Huffington Post and Space.com. He is also the editor-in-chief for Ad Astra Magazine. The publication is part of the National Space Society and reaches more than 100,000 readers and informs them of the latest developments in the space field.
Pyle’s other role in the space community is as a space historian who is often heard on national radio and television programs. This position has helped him to write about and to share the wonders of space. In order for his frame of reference to be as relevant as possible, he stays up to date on humanity’s interstellar endeavors. After years of writing books discussing space and stories on multiple frontiers, Pyle has enough knowledge and experience to know what is going on in and around the world of space, but he also acknowledges the help the internet has provided with the accessibility of content. “You know, writing the books gave me a really good foundation because if you’re into that, what’s more fun than spending a year researching everything you can find on the subject? But, also, I cannot imagine what it would have been like writing before the internet era. Just having access to this plethora of information was an incredible game changer.”
Through his insight and expertise that he learned from his time in his writer’s chair, Pyle is familiar with many of Earth’s celestial neighbors and space agency plans—past, present and future. With a new space age on the horizon, he expects to be seeing and hearing much more about cosmic entities like the moon, Mars and outer space occurrences. He realizes their importance and believes they are stepping stones to humanity’s future advancement in space.
The Moon: Earth’s Satellite
Earth’s moon has always been at the center of human interest in the cosmos as it is the closest celestial neighbor of planet Earth. The original Apollo missions not only jump-started Rod Pyle’s passion for space, but also for many other people. For years, the moon sat untouched as continual space efforts looked for other targets to explore. But, says Pyle, moving forward, the moon is becoming a hub for renewed space exploration. With the Artemis missions leading the way at the end of the decade for more ambitious return missions to the moon, the lunar surface is becoming an integral piece of humanity’s space future.
The focus on the moon is renewed for many reasons, he says, both historically and scientifically. The moon has always been seen as a point of national pride for the United States since it is the first country to land on the moon, have humans explore the surface and plant the country’s flag. This is a moment in time that will not be forgotten. Pyle notes that China is now America’s biggest rival in returning to the moon and conducting its own research. “We don’t want the Chinese to beat us back to the moon, even though we’ve already been there seven times, if you include the orbits, the orbital flights. It is mostly just about national prestige, which is a motivator. But when you’re trying to get a budget to pass through the Senate, it doesn’t motivate them a whole lot.”
Budget and money are huge factors when it comes to space exploration, Pyle says. “Missions can cost astronomical figures, and if the public is not invested, and there is no real return on investment, then the project is never getting greenlit. This all changed when companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin began gaining traction. Guys like Musk built a rocket in his garage, metaphorically speaking, and it landed successfully. He realizes you can reuse these things, and it’s revolutionized getting stuff off this planet, both in terms of cost and technology.”
Advancements in technology have been an incredible help to the future of spaceflight and exploration as it makes the missions much more feasible due to lowered costs. New life has been invigorated into space programs, and people are willing to take chances to explore the solar system once more because their company or agency might not go under after one mission, Pyle says.
Now that the cost to get back to the moon is more viable than ever before, there is much intrigue held by scientists toward going back to the lunar body. One of the main moon mission goals is to help prepare humans for future missions to celestial bodies such as Mars. The lunar landscape is harsh, with no atmosphere to protect flesh and bone from the powerful radiated waves of the sun. The “moon dust” is abrasive and will deteriorate not only space suits but a person’s body and lungs as well if they accidentally inhale it. Pyle says that these harsh conditions are why it is a great place to conduct tests for longer and more unpredictable space missions in the future. The moon’s proximity to Earth helps as well. “If we’re going to eventually send people to Mars, we’ve got to learn how to do it long term on the Moon first,” he says. “From the Moon, you get home in three days. From Mars, it’s seven months. It’s so important to learn that stuff here. It’s a proving ground.”
The moon is much more than just a test site for bigger and better things. Pyle says that the moon has so much untapped potential, and the sooner humans head back to their lunar neighbor, the sooner they can get in on the ground floor. Water reserves are critically important for the continuation of solar system exploration. “There appears to be large deposits of ice water on the south pole of the moon,” he says. “There are big craters down there that are so deep, and they’re it. You can also of course make clean drinking water, but probably more important—the ice in the permanent shadows is really useful because you can use it to create breathable air, and by cracking those things, you can make rocket fuel out of it. You can get hydrogen and oxygen.”
Pyle says there is hope of creating a permanent mining operation on the moon so that a multitude of resources can be extracted and utilized to help humans in their quest to be a multiple planet species. “There’s metal there, there’s glass, and there’s all these different minerals in the soil that we can use. Now you can start building stuff and sourcing fuel out there. The moon’s so small; it costs almost nothing to get stuff off the surface, and at that point, the whole solar system is yours.”
After years of being untouched and almost non-existent in the eyes of government agencies, the moon is finally at the apex of cosmic discovery once again. What was once the ultimate destination for mankind, it is now lending a helping hand for humanity to reach its next landmark achievement. Pyle forecasts that “Luna” will help lead humanity into a new age of conquering the cosmos and inspiring more generations with tales of space travel for years to come. “There is so much that we have to learn how to do again,” Pyle says. “Getting to the moon is cheaper and faster, and it’s just a good place to work all this out.”
Mars: Red Planet Bound
One planet in particular has always intrigued humankind. “That is why Mars calls us. Mars is the next step in humanities advancement amongst the stars,” says Pyle. While humans have studied and tested aspects of the unknown universe, Mars is an object that could actually see the footprints of humans in our lifetime. “We have been drawn to Mars for years, and soon we will get the chance to finally explore the red planet. Mars has been on people’s minds for almost a century now. It’s a focal point. It’s been popular ever since Percival Lowell back in the 1900s was writing articles about how he thought he saw canals on Mars through his telescope. Also, there was the ‘War of the Worlds’ in 1938, the infamous Orson Welles radio broadcast. All of this kind of locked it into the popular mind,” he says.
The red planet intrigues people because it is something that can be understood. Black holes, nebulas and radiation are objects intellectuals can wrap their heads around. Mars, on the other hand, is a physical object. It is something tangible that can be explored. “Also, like the moon, it might be the only other shot we have at exploring in our lifetime. When I was a little kid, the solar system was a much friendlier place, because we didn’t know much,” says Pyle. “They thought Venus is warmer than Earth, and it’s probably got swamps and dinosaurs. Mars is probably a little colder, but there’s plants there. Well, we finally went to probe Venus, and it turns out it’s 900 degrees on the surface and almost 1,000 pounds per square inch. It’s like the trailer park of the solar system. And Mars turned out to be much drier than we thought; it’s a pretty crappy place, but it’s kind of all we got.”
While in the foreseeable future humans might step foot on the planet, it could be a while before anything meaningful is established there. Pyle acknowledges that space and media companies like to push the idea of “settlements” on Mars, and that soon enough humans might be a two planet species, and industry will be established out there. While he doesn’t doubt this as a possibility one day, it is much farther off then it really seems. “For a long time, these missions are going to be expeditionary based. Go out there, do your thing and come home. It’s not about building a city—not yet.” Pyle believes it could be 20, or it could be 100 years before settlements on Mars are established. “As most government work, this endeavor always moves slower than we think it’s going to.”
Expeditionary based missions to Mars will not be a waste of resources, however. These types of missions will reveal critical information about both the past and future of Earth. Pyle reveals that much of the reason NASA has its eyes on Mars is for the sole reason of answering questions. The red planet was once similar to Earth, and, because of that similarity, Mars can tell much about Earth’s evolution. The missions will also benefit science by supporting research toward sustaining life on Mars that will lead to getting those cities fully functional. However, Pyle says that the idea of Mars being a foolproof back up plan to Earth is far-fetched, “Get 100 people in a room for me and ask 99 of them, ‘Are you willing to stay home while that person gets to go live on Mars for their natural life, while you get killed by a comet impact?’ I think most of them are going to say ‘no.’”
Mars and further space exploration can help humans in other ways. Pyle says that moving “heavy industry” that destroys Earth’s resources and capabilities would change the idea around how Mars can actually help save the human race. “Imagine moving some of these processes that are so bad for the planet out there, which is literally a void, so if you emit waste gas it just goes and disperses at the molecular level. Earth would have a chance to heal and not be affected by the harmful processes of industry that humans have created, and it could help the lifespan of the planet and people.”
While the planet harbors major breakthroughs, there are also immense obstacles and challenges to get there. Nevertheless, every day, humans inch closer to the prospect of having the first foot step on Mars.
Asteroids: Hidden Threats of Space
Dangers lurk in the depths of space that people often choose to forgo thinking about. Asteroids remain a threat to civilization now, just as they have been through Earth’s history. These incredibly dangerous objects are often invisible until it is too late. While these objects are thought of as tidal waves of destruction, their impact in the scientific community can oftentimes can be more powerful than their collisions with Earth’s surface.
Asteroids have long plagued the mind of humans who tend to focus on things they cannot control. Knowing that a city-sized rock can come out of nowhere and destroy everything one knows and cares about is a scary thought. Pyle understands the fears associated with these massive threats. He says the next one humanity really has to worry about is the asteroid named Apophis. The asteroid is 1,200 feet wide and is expected to have a close encounter with Earth in the year 2029. “If that one impacted, it’s at least a city killer, potentially a region killer,” Pyle says. “It would take out a large city like Los Angeles instantly just on the impact alone.” The initial impact would not even be the most dangerous part of this cataclysmic event. “Then you have to look at atmospheric effects, crop failures. Millions of people could die in third world countries. There’s a lot of reasons to be more concerned about asteroids than we have been.”
The unpredictability and devastating capabilities of these space rocks are enough to make even the coolest heads feel a bit uneasy. Pyle is aware of multiple projects that government agencies like NASA and the military are working on in order to help protect the planet and prevent humans from ending up like Earth’s old inhabitants, the dinosaurs. Pyle cites the DART space mission, which sent a spacecraft about the size and mass of a golf cart to slam into an asteroid and nudge it off course. And in 2022, it worked even better than expected. “The idea here, Pyle says, is if you smack an asteroid with something at the proper angle—remember your geometry now—the divergence may only be little at first but over time it grows exponentially and alters the trajectory significantly. It doesn’t take much of a nudge to get it to miss, as long as you do it right.”
Other protective ideas are being brainstormed by some of the brightest minds. “They are also looking at potentially using nuclear weapons, not to blow it up like in those silly movies, but to fly next to it and explode,” Pyle says. “That does two things. There is a force exerted on it, but it also heats up the near side of the asteroid, and as that radiates, it acts as a propulsive force.” Pyle cites some another far-fetched idea that scientists are working on in order to help better protect Earth. “There are even experiments being run that would involve painting the asteroid,” Pyle says. “It would be either white or black because if you change its brightness, the way it’s affected by sunlight is different. It actually nudges it off course just from the photonic propulsion off the surface.”
Asteroids are fascinating objects for the way they play with the strings of human emotions. While some may be terrified, others are extremely fascinated by the scientific breakthroughs these massive blocks of debris could bring. Pyle explains there are multiple scientific groups dedicated to figuring out how to get closer to asteroids in order to mine them for platinum and other rare Earth metals so that these useful metals can be stockpiled. He is hoping scientists gained a better understanding of these objects after the 2024 PT5, a mini moon event. For about two months, from September to December, a miniature asteroid orbited the planet Earth and acted as a second moon. “With one being so close and orbiting Earth; I hope they got a close look at it and understand asteroids better defense wise and also regarding all the resources they might have to offer.”
In many ways, space is a wonder and perhaps the greatest mystery that humankind will encounter. Humans may never know exactly what lies out there, among the vast sea of stars. Outer space keeps people on edge, not knowing exactly what great adventure the infinite universe has in store for them next. However, sometimes not knowing what is coming next in life is a blessing in disguise.
Just ask Rod Pyle. From being a media student, to a professor, to making films, to writing books about his passion in space exploration and getting new generations interested in the past and future, Pyle has spent his career detailing and outlining the mysteries of the cosmos and bringing them closer to the inhabitants on a little rocky planet in the Milky Way Galaxy called Earth. His personal journey in itself reflects the spirit of exploration. It is one that is filled with curiosity, resilience and an unwavering belief that the unknown holds untold potential. As the new frontier that is space continues to become more prevalent and a part of scientific, pop and everyday culture, Rod Pyle will remain a constant in this universe of unknowns. He will remain that guiding star in the night sky for those who are bold enough to wonder what lies beyond life on planet Earth.
Rod Pyle: Interstellar Storyteller
With 21 books and counting, author Rod Pyle tells the story of the cosmos.
Space author Rod Pyle is deep in thought brainstorming his next great book idea. He has written 21 books with book No. 22 due out this spring. He says he spends his days on his boat “Draco” at the harbor dock in Long Beach, California. / photo by Liberty B. Garcia
Rod Pyle has been fascinated by the cosmos since he was a child. He would often take his telescope into his backyard and look up into the sky, always seeing something miraculous that captured his attention. Later in life, Pyle took that same passion and knowledge of the planets, stars and missions to space and wrote it onto the pages of books. In so doing, he gained recognition from NASA as a foremost space author, and in turn he was able to share with authority that same sense of wonder and discovery with readers worldwide. Through his writing, Pyle invites readers to engulf themselves in the legendary stories of some of space travel’s most iconic personalities and missions, as well as to ponder and gain a glimpse into what the future might hold for space travel.
As a now established writer, he is currently working on book No. 21 in his catalog of stories. Through the years of his prolific storytelling, Pyle has his favorites. He recommends, “Amazing Stories of the Space Age.” The book describes how space travel can get a little bizarre sometimes. It recounts many stories that have either never been heard or almost forgotten because of hidden government documents that tried to shield these ideas from the public eye. “It goes into all the wacko stuff that the U. S. and the Soviet Union thought of doing but didn’t. And some of it was really impressive thinking. Have you ever thought of using nuclear bombs as rocket propulsion? The United States did.” That is just one of the many compelling stories that this “blast” of a book showcases. It highlights some of the greatest innovation and ambition that arose during the early days of space exploration.
Another one of his favorites is titled, “Curiosity.” The book details the 2012 mission that sent the Mars rover of the same name over to the red planet. It not only highlights the adventures of the rover by looking at its time traversing Mars, but it also details and follows the team members behind the rover as their ultimate goal is finally being achieved. Pyle turns a story about robots into a fascinating tale about human innovation, and the people who made it happen.
Part of the human-interest aspect centers on how the book introduces John Grotzinger, the chief mission scientist. “The rover is really our hero, but Grotzinger is the hero’s father. People who read this don’t want to just read about a machine. They want to enjoy the prairie dogs singing around the campfire while he tells stories about testing the rover.” Pyle says. “Curiosity” showcases the ability and determination that is in all humans, and how even the most complex projects and greatest feats come from the minds of even greater people.
Someone interested in space may wonder which book to start on first. Pyle recommends “Space 2.0.” He worked alongside the National Space Society in order to give the public the most beneficial information on what our present and future plans are for the stars. “It actually got adopted by the Space Force and Air Force, as well as a bunch of universities as a textbook. That of course was thrilling to me, but it was really intended for everybody. It’s an easy and fun read, with a little bit of tongue and cheek thrown in there,” he says.
Rod Pyle’s books offer a bit of everything for people interested in topics about outer space and exploration. Whether that is taking a look at groundbreaking missions like curiosity or diving into the wackier side of space research and discovery, Pyle offers readers a chance to admire scientific breakthroughs and the stories of the incredible people who made—and will make—them happen.
Michael Roccia is a junior communications major with a concentration is public relations, and a staff writer for La Verne Magazine.
Liberty Belle is a senior photography major and photography editor for La Verne Magazine. She has also been photography editor for the Campus Times and a staff photographer for both publications.
Recent Comments