ABOUT
Nadia Drake is a freelance science journalist and contributing writer at National Geographic. She specializes in covering astronomy, astrophysics and planetary science, as well as anything involving jungles and spiders. Her byline has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Nature, Wired, and Science News, among other publications. Nadia frequently hits the road in search of stories and has reported from the jungles of Peru and Indonesian Borneo, the Arctic Ocean, Mars-on-Earth, a flying telescope, the deserts of the Middle East, and the slumping glaciers at Mt. Kilimanjaro's summit.
Nadia has a PhD in genetics, from Cornell University, and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. When she's not working, Nadia is probably tasting sparkling wine, clinging to the side of a rock face, or snuggled up with her pup.
Photo by Christopher Michel.
RECENT STORIES
NASA SENT A MAP TO SPACE TO HELP ALIENS FIND EARTH. NOW IT NEEDS AN UPDATE.
National Geographic Magazine,
October 2020
The map that NASA launched in 1972 could lead extraterrestrials to Earth. A new map, nearly 50 years later, provides even better directions.
PROMISING SIGN OF LIFE ON VENUS MIGHT NOT EXIST AFTER ALL
National Geographic News,
October 23, 2020
The detection of phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus—a possible sign of life—might be due to a fluke in data processing, new analyses suggest.
ICONIC RADIO TELESCOPE IN PUERTO RICO IS AT RISK OF COLLAPSING
National Geographic News
November 12, 2020
Arecibo Observatory, which has discovered planets, searched for alien life, and appeared in classic films, is in critical danger after two cables supporting the telescope failed.
Hear me discuss this story on Science Friday.
ICONIC RADIO TELESCOPE IN PUERTO RICO TO BE DEMOLISHED
National Geographic News
November 19, 2020
After two support cables broke at Arecibo Observatory, the facility is in danger of a catastrophic collapse, prompting the National Science Foundation to decommission the telescope.
Hear me discuss this story on Science Friday.
CLIPS
THE JAGUAR IS MADE FOR THE AGE OF HUMANS
The Atlantic,
May 10, 2018
A writer comes face-to-face with the cat deep in the Amazon jungle and left with a new understanding of its surprising resilience to poaching and habitat loss.
SHOULD NEIL ARMSTRONG'S BOOTPRINTS BE ON THE MOON FOREVER?
The New York Times,
July 11, 2019
With renewed interest in the moon, some say it’s time to consider whether, and how, to preserve humanity’s lunar heritage.
AN ISOLATED TRIBE IS EMERGING FROM PERU’S AMAZONIAN WILDERNESS
National Geographic,
Octoober 13, 2015
After years of sporadic, sometimes deadly interactions with people along the Alto Madre de Dios River, a Mashco-Piro clan has suddenly stepped up contact.
THEY SAW EARTH FROM SPACE. HERE’S HOW IT CHANGED THEM
National Geographic Magazine,
March 2018
The majesty of our planet can be difficult to describe. But these astronauts will try.
THE WORLD'S SECOND-BIGGEST EBOLA OUTBREAK IS STILL RAGING. HERE'S WHY
National Geographic,
July 17, 2020
Despite a coordinated response and a vaccine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s struggle with the deadly virus seems to have no quick end in sight.
SPACEX LAUNCHES NEW ERA OF SPACEFLIGHT WITH COMPANY'S FIRST CREWED MISSION
National Geographic,
May 30, 2020
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are flying a brand-new spacecraft to the world’s orbiting laboratory.
ONWARD AND SKYWARD
Science News,
November 16, 2012
With new efforts aimed at the stars, China seeks to revive its astronomical reputation.
HOW OLD ARE SATURN’S RINGS? THE DEBATE RAGES ON
Scientific American,
April 18, 2019
Pinning down the ring system’s age has profound implications for the entire Saturnian system
HERE’S WHY WOMEN MAY BE THE BEST SUITED FOR SPACEFLIGHT
National Geographic Magazine,
July 2019
Physically and mentally, women have the right stuff for expeditions into deep space. So why send male astronauts at all?
PLUTO,
AT LAST
National Geographic Magazine,
July 2015
After almost a decade in flight, New Horizons is approaching the enigmatic dwarf planet. What it will find there is anybody’s guess.
OUR NIGHTS ARE GETTING BRIGHTER, AND EARTH IS PAYING THE PRICE
National Geographic,
April 3, 2019
Electric lights have revolutionized our lives, but as illumination increases, the toll on wildlife and human health is becoming harder to ignore.
IF ALIEN LIFE EXISTS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, IT MAY LOOK LIKE THIS
National Geographic,
November 11, 2019
Pictures of deep-sea vents hidden below ice offer some of our first looks at creatures thriving in conditions akin to those on watery moons.
MY DAD LAUNCHED THE QUEST TO FIND ALIEN INTELLIGENCE. IT CHANGED ASTRONOMY.
National Geographic,
June 19, 2020
Sixty years ago, on a chilly West Virginia morning, Frank Drake began to scan the stars for signals from faraway civilizations.
NASA SENT A MAP TO SPACE TO HELP ALIENS FIND EARTH. NOW IT NEEDS AN UPDATE.
National Geographic Magazine,
October 2020
The map that NASA launched in 1972 could lead extraterrestrials to Earth. A new map, nearly 50 years later, provides even better directions.
WALKING WITH PUMAS
UCSC Science Notes,
2011
Santa Cruz biologists are tracking a consummate predator, the elusive mountain lion.
NEW GIANT TARANTULA DISCOVERED IN SRI LANKA
WIRED, April 2, 2013
A new type of tarantula about the size of your face has been found in northern Sri Lanka.
