Chelsea Gohd
Chelsea Gohd connects cutting-edge space science with questions about planetary environments, habitability and how humans experience extreme conditions beyond Earth. At Space.com, she focuses on climate change, planetary science and human spaceflight, translating technical research into clear, grounded stories that highlight what new findings mean for worlds and atmospheres. Her reporting often sits at the intersection of astronomy and the origins of life, making complex discoveries accessible without losing their scientific depth.
Planetary environments and habitable worlds
Gohd returns frequently to the theme of what makes a world capable of hosting life, from rocky exoplanets with atmospheres in habitable zones to the chemistry of deep space. Her coverage of discoveries like raspberry sugar molecules identified in interstellar space focuses on how such compounds might inform our understanding of life’s building blocks and the environments where they arise.
She extends this line of reporting to near‑Earth events, such as meteorites crashing into homes that could carry clues about life’s origins, tying planetary science directly to everyday settings.
In explaining oddities like the “weird” far side of the moon, she emphasizes how variations in a world’s geology and composition shape its environment and history. Across these pieces, she consistently links individual discoveries to broader questions about habitability, climate and the conditions that make a planet more or less friendly to life.
Human spaceflight and lived experience in extreme environments
Gohd covers human spaceflight not only as hardware and mission timelines, but as lived experience in unusual environments.
Her report on flying weightlessly aboard a Zero‑G aircraft is written from first‑person perspective, describing how microgravity feels, how the body responds and what this simulated space environment reveals about life off Earth. In work around Mars analog missions, she invites readers into simulated off‑world habitats, using documentary projects and on‑camera work to show how crews adapt to isolation and confinement meant to mimic planetary exploration. She also profiles private spaceflight efforts, including the Inspiration4 mission and its accompanying documentary series, connecting commercial launches to questions about who gets access to space and how those missions are experienced by non‑career astronauts.
Through these stories, Gohd treats human spaceflight as an environmental beat as much as a technology beat, focusing on how people inhabit, perceive and are changed by space and space‑like conditions.
Explaining complex space science and technology
Gohd consistently breaks down intricate research and engineering challenges for a general audience, especially where they touch on long‑range exploration and climate‑relevant science. In coverage of interstellar lightsail design, she walks through what makes a sail viable for journeys beyond our solar system, outlining materials, forces and design constraints in plain language while keeping the focus on what such technology could enable.
Her beat includes regular news on major observatories and missions, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, where she hosts a weekly Space Chat segment that explores “what’s new in space” and responds to audience questions. This recurring live format reinforces her role as an explainer, turning complex telescope findings and mission updates into conversations rather than static summaries.
Bio material across Space.com describes her remit as spanning climate change, planetary science and human spaceflight, and her archive reflects that spread, with news, explainers and features that draw clear lines between phenomena in space and their implications for environments on Earth and other worlds.
Role at Space.com and broader science writing background
Gohd is Content Manager at Space.com and has held senior writing responsibilities there, having joined the masthead in 2018 and served as a Senior Writer before returning in 2026 after a period away. She is part of the core news team listed on the site’s staff page, alongside other senior reporters and editors who handle daily space and science coverage. Her work for the masthead spans written articles, on‑camera videos and recurring live segments, underscoring a role that cuts across formats while keeping a consistent focus on space science and human spaceflight. Outside Space.com, she has written and worked for a range of scientific institutions and publications, including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a major natural history museum and multiple science magazines and blogs.
That broader portfolio reinforces her positioning as a science journalist who understands both research environments and public‑facing communication, and it informs a style at Space.com that combines technical accuracy with approachable, straightforward prose.
4 more environment journalists.
Alan Halaly
Alan Halaly is a water reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal who treats the Colorado River as a working system, not a backdrop, making its governance, infrastructure and risks central to his beat. He covers how policy decisions and infrastructure projects shape the region’s water future, linking high-level choices on the Colorado River, dams, mining and data centers to everyday consequences under mounting heat and growth pressures. He reports deeply on new laws, lawsuits and regulatory shifts, focusing on on-the-ground impacts. His coverage spans Colorado River cuts, Hoover Dam operations, extreme weather, heat and parks, septic system rules, workplace and public health risks, lithium and gold mines, protected landscapes, data centers, AI infrastructure and public funding. Previously he reported for metropolitan dailies, digital outlets and public media, including the Miami Herald, WUFT, The Daily Beast and Miami New Times, with work recognized by Hearst, ONA and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Alejandra Borunda
Alejandra Borunda reports on how climate change affects human health for NPR. Her work treats global warming as a direct cause of physical and mental health risks. She covers extreme heat, including undercounted deaths, lost sleep and local efforts to track heat-related fatalities. She also reports on wildfire smoke, hurricanes, disease spread such as dengue fever, trauma, stress and unequal health impacts. Her stories examine how communities protect themselves and recover, as well as practical solutions involving climate-resilient crops, agriculture and diet. Before NPR, she wrote about climate science and environmental issues for National Geographic, including glacier retreat, shade and heat inequity, and shrinking ice-fishing seasons. A former climate scientist, she combines field reporting with scientific data to connect atmospheric research to everyday risks, choices and people’s lived experiences.
Alex Lubben
Alex Lubben is an environment reporter at The Times-Picayune/The Advocate who connects climate risk to policy, industry and community change. He covers Gulf warming, flood protection, coastal restoration, wetlands litigation, industrial projects such as SpaceX’s possible expansion, invasive species and local ecosystems. His reporting tracks how law, politics and corporate decisions shape levees, drainage, marshes and long-term resilience. He also examines climate relocation, housing and labor, showing how hurricanes, floods and wildfires displace vulnerable communities and expose gaps in government systems. He works on a small environment team and brings an investigative background to document work, data analysis, legal and policy research, and field reporting. His work has appeared in VICE News, The Center for Public Integrity, The Nation, Jewish Currents and NBC News.
Alex Wigglesworth
Alex Wigglesworth reports on how climate, land use and public policy shape California communities. She covers the Inland Empire and Mojave Desert for the Los Angeles Times and is part of its environment team. Her beat includes wildfires, megadrought, extreme weather, desert development, conservation, wildlife, industrial hazards, aging infrastructure and regulatory enforcement. She has covered Western Joshua trees, desert tortoises, beaver-led restoration, toxic lead pipes, air-quality concerns after industrial fires and the effects of nuclear war on food systems. Earlier, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. She combines breaking news with detailed reporting grounded in scientific studies, modeling and expert interviews. Her work connects fires, drought and other hazards to climate change, while examining how agencies, companies and land-use decisions affect people and ecosystems.