NASA on Soundcloud: Recent Episodes
NASA
Hello, we’re NASA. You may have seen our astronauts, rocket launches, or Mars rovers — but have you heard our sounds? From long form interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.
On episode 432, Dr. Abba Zubair discusses how stem cell research aboard the International Space Station is advancing regenerative medicine and what scientists learned from a recently published study.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station depend on life support systems that provide clean air, drinkable water, and a safe, livable environment. These systems are what make long-duration spaceflight not only possible, but comfortable. Today, some of these space station technologies have been adapted for Artemis – specifically, aboard the Orion crew capsule.
Ground teams connect with astronauts aboard the International Space Station to help them carry out research and experiments. Kassandra Stephens, payload communications manager at the Payload Operations Integration Center at Marshall Space Flight Center, works with space station crews to get science done.
On episode 430, Kim de Groh and Sylvie Crowell review what researchers have learned and published from the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) platform that tests how materials perform in the harsh environment of space.
Acompáñanos en esta edición especial de Universo curioso de la NASA mientras hacemos un recorrido por la misión Artemis II de principio a fin. Revivimos la expectación en los días previos al despegue, la potencia del histórico lanzamiento y el increíble viaje de la tripu-lación a través del espacio profundo. Exploramos los momentos más críticos de la misión —desde el emocionante sobrevuelo lunar hasta el exitoso amerizaje en el océano Pacífi-co— que completa un capítulo fundamental en esta nueva era de la exploración espacial.Encuentra más información sobre Artemis en: ciencia.nasa.gov/artemis
Acompáñanos en esta edición especial de Universo curioso de la NASA mientras hacemos un recorrido por la misión Artemis II de principio a fin. Revivimos la expectación en los días previos al despegue, la potencia del histórico lanzamiento y el increíble viaje de la tripu-lación a través del espacio profundo. Exploramos los momentos más críticos de la misión —desde el emocionante sobrevuelo lunar hasta el exitoso amerizaje en el océano Pacífi-co— que completa un capítulo fundamental en esta nueva era de la exploración espacial.Encuentra más información sobre Artemis en: ciencia.nasa.gov/artemis
A NASA research program collaborates with universities to revolutionize the way we design, build, and operate aircraft. Angela Surgenor, deputy program director of the Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program, explains.
On episode 428, NASA astronaut Anil Menon discusses his journey ahead of his first spaceflight to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz MS-29.
On episode 427, Dr. Giuseppe Iaria discusses scientific results the Wayfinding investigation on space station and what it reveals about how astronauts navigate, adapt, and form mental maps in space.
Space nuclear power and propulsion engineering could play a key role in sending robots and humans to deep space, enabling faster and farther journeys.
On episode 426, the Artemis III astronauts discuss their backgrounds and training ahead of them to prepare for one of the most complex human spaceflight missions in history.
The “test like you fly” approach is an engineering philosophy that means testing hardware, software, and flight operations as close to reality as possible. Erika Alvarez, deputy director of NASA's Space Systems Department, explains.
So-called “soft skills” like good teamwork and communication can become just as valuable as technical skills to advance exploration.
On episode 425, NASA SCaN Deputy Program Manager Greg Heckler discusses the future of deep space communications and the technology supporting NASA missions in Earth orbit and the Moon.
On Episode 424, NASA Acting Chief Data and AI Officer Kevin Murphy discusses how artificial intelligence is supporting missions, research, and the future of human spaceflight.
On Episode 423, the CHAPEA 2 crew shares the latest updates from inside their yearlong simulated Mars mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, including updates on daily life, holiday celebrations, and habitat routines. NASA experts discuss how CHAPEA simulates Mars EVAs and spacewalk operations on Earth.
On episode 422, NASA’s Kathleen Karika and Kim Hurst discuss how the Artemis Accords are helping shape a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future for lunar exploration and beyond.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. The crew successfully completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on April 10, 2026.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. The crew successfully completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on April 10, 2026.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. The crew successfully completed a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on April 10, 2026.
On Episode 421, NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons discuss their roles as the Artemis II backup crew, including their training and mission support. The pair reflects on the historic flight around the Moon.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. During a planned 40-minute loss of signal as Orion passed behind the Moon, the spacecraft and its crew made their closest approach at 7:00 p.m., flying at about 4,067 miles above the surface.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. During a planned 40-minute loss of signal as Orion passed behind the Moon, the spacecraft and its crew made their closest approach at 7:00 p.m., flying at about 4,067 miles above the surface.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. During a planned 40-minute loss of signal as Orion passed behind the Moon, the spacecraft and its crew made their closest approach at 7:00 p.m., flying at about 4,067 miles above the surface.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. As they flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over time. They also noted differences in color, brightness and texture, which provide clues that help scientists understand the composition and history of the lunar surface.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. As they flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over time. They also noted differences in color, brightness and texture, which provide clues that help scientists understand the composition and history of the lunar surface.
During NASA’s Artemis II mission, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. The crew provisionally named a couple of craters on the Moon, noting they were able to see them with their naked eye. Just northwest of Orientale basin is a crater they would like to name Integrity after their spacecraft and this historic mission. Just northeast of Integrity, on the near and far side boundary, and sometimes visible from Earth, the crew suggested Carroll crater in honor of Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll Taylor Wiseman. After this mission is complete, the crater name proposals will be formally submitted to the International Astronomical Union, the organization that governs the naming of celestial bodies and their surface features.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. The launch director for Artemis II was Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth. The launch director for Artemis II was Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
NASA’s Artemis II test flight launched Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2026. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) flew around the Moon and safely back to Earth.
NASA pilots play a critical role in launch and recovery operations. Shannon Gregory, chief of flight operations at Kennedy Space Center, shares how his team supports missions from the air, capturing real-time imagery, and staying ready for the unexpected.
On Episode 419, Kevin Coggins, a leader in NASA Space Communications and Navigation program, explores the benefits and challenges of precision timekeeping on the Moon and Mars.
Studying planets in other solar systems isn’t easy, especially when their host stars keep stealing the spotlight. NASA’s Pandora mission will cut through the noise, revealing what the atmospheres of these distant worlds are really made of.
On episode 418, Steven Hirshorn reflects on the Space Shuttle Program, the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, and the lessons learned that continue to shape human spaceflight.
On episode 417, the Artemis II crew share how they got to where they are today and reflect on what it means to prepare for humanity’s return to the Moon. This episode features a special collaboration between Houston We Have a Podcast and NASA’s Curious Universe.
On Episode 416, The podcast team discusses how to watch and engage with the Artemis II mission, from launch coverage to real-time updates and beyond.
Choreographing Astronaut RecoveryFor any crew returning to Earth from space, the journey home includes a carefully choreo-graphed recovery effort to bring them safely back on dry land after splashing down in the ocean. Christine St. Germain, NASA recovery director for the Commercial Crew Program, tells us about this critical phase of flight.
On Episode 414, Dr. Lisa Carnell, division director for NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences, discusses how research in microgravity, the Moon, and Mars can transform our understanding of biological and physical phenomena, from translational science to space radiation countermeasures.
Nujoud Merancy, NASA's deputy associate administrator for the Strategy and Architecture Office, talks about how NASA is developing the roadmap for Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
NASA's Dragonfly spacecraft, a rotorcraft the size of a small car, is set to ex-plore Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Rich in organic compounds, Titan offers a rare window into the kinds of chemical conditions that may have existed on Earth long before life began.
On Episode 413, NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager Dana Weigel and Director of the International Space Station and Commercial Spaceflight Divisions Robyn Gatens reflect on more than 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station and discuss how the orbiting laboratory is paving the way for Artemis, the Moon, and eventually Mars.
Behind NASA’s Artemis II mission and the astronauts who will fly around the Moon, teams on the ground are essential. Explore some of the epic equipment that makes Artemis II possible—the mobile launcher, crawler-transporter, and NASA’s barge Pegasus—and meet a few of the many specialists who act as the shoulders lifting astronauts into space.
During Artemis II, four astronauts will see the lunar surface as few humans have—and possibly, parts of the Moon’s far side that no one has seen before. Learn what lunar science questions NASA hopes to answer through the astronauts’ eyes with lunar geologist Kelsey Young. And those astronauts will also be subjects of science. Jancy McPhee, associate chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program, explains how studying human health on Artemis II will prepare us for exploration deeper into space than ever before.
Bienvenidos a un vuelo imaginario con destino a un agujero negro. Con el astrofísico de la NASA Javier García como piloto, nos embarcamos en una odisea espacial donde el tiempo se dilata, la luz se curva, y las leyes de la física colapsan. Descubre cómo la NASA detecta y estudia estos fascinantes objetos cósmicos, qué es la espaguetización, y qué misterios aguardan más allá del horizonte de eventos. Advertencia: este es un viaje solo de ida. ¿Te atreves a sumarte a la aventura?
On episode 412, NASA leaders Joel Montalbano and Ryan Landon reflect on 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station, the milestones that shaped its legacy, and how international cooperation has been essential to the station’s success.
From her experience working with the Commercial Crew Program, which sends astronauts to the International Space Station aboard commercial spacecraft, to the Artemis missions to the Moon, aerospace engineer Jennifer Lu shares how working with a variety of teams — including circus performers before coming to NASA — has helped her see the bigger picture.
On episode 411, the CHAPEA Mission 2 crew members record their first audio log just weeks after entering the Mars analog habitat, with added context from CHAPEA co-investigator Dr. Suzanne Bell on the science behind the mission.
On episode 410, The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 discuss their backgrounds, training, and upcoming mission to the International Space Station.
During Artemis II, humans will fly Orion—NASA’s next-generation spaceship designed to take us to the Moon and beyond—for the first time. Tour Orion with Branelle Rodriguez, the vehicle manager for Artemis II, to hear about the support systems that keep astronauts alive and how exactly you use the bathroom en route to the Moon. Then, pop the hood of NASA’s most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System, with David Beaman, one of its key architects.
On episode 409, Part 2, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei reflects on his time aboard the International Space Station and his experience calling space home as part of our ISS25 series.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a crew news conference that took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center on Sept. 24, 2025. Commander Reid Wiseman addresses the crew about their upcoming mission around the Moon.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from the Launch Demonstration Test (ISVV-1A) that took place on Sept. 20, 2023. The Artemis II crew practiced putting on their Orion crew survival system spacesuits in crew quarters at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and traveled to the launch pad. In this clip, mission specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch reflect on the “hallowed ground” of the suit room.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a crew news conference that took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center on Sept. 24, 2025. Commander Reid Wiseman discusses how the crew decided to name their Orion spacecraft “Integrity.”
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from the Launch Demonstration Test (ISVV-1A) that took place on Sept. 20, 2023. The Artemis II crew practiced putting on their Orion crew survival system spacesuits in crew quarters at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and traveled to the launch pad. In this clip, pilot Victor Glover reflects on the history of the Apollo missions to the Moon.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from an episode of Houston We Have a Podcast that was released on Sept. 12, 2025. In this episode, NASA Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson shares her path to the console and what it takes to launch the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. In this clip, she elaborates on the feeling of camaraderie between her and the launch control team.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from an episode of Houston We Have a Podcast that was released on Sept. 12, 2025. In this episode, NASA Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson shares her path to the console and what it takes to launch the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from an episode of Houston We Have a Podcast that was released on Sept. 12, 2025. In this episode, NASA Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson shares her path to the console and what it takes to launch the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from the Launch Demonstration Test (ISVV-1A) that took place on Sept. 20, 2023. The Artemis II crew practiced putting on their Orion crew survival system spacesuits in crew quarters at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and traveled to the launch pad. In this clip, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen reflects on what it will feel like to go through this process on the day of launch.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from an episode of Houston We Have a Podcast that was released on Sept. 12, 2025. In this episode, NASA Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson shares her path to the console and what it takes to launch the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. In this clip, Blackwell-Thompson describes the emotions that accompany a historic moment like the launch of an Artemis mission.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a media event that took place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 30, 2025. The Artemis II crew spoke with media representatives about their suited crew and crew equipment interface trainings at the spaceport’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility in preparation for their mission around the Moon. In this clip, mission specialist Christina Koch reflects on the industry expertise that has informed the Artemis II mission.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a media event that took place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 30, 2025. The Artemis II crew spoke with media representatives about their suited crew and crew equipment interface trainings at the spaceport’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility in preparation for their mission around the Moon. In this clip, Artemis II pilot Victor Glover reflects on the meaning of their mission patch.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a media event that took place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 30, 2025. The Artemis II crew spoke with media representatives about their suited crew and crew equipment interface trainings at the spaceport’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility in preparation for their mission around the Moon. In this clip, Artemis II pilot Victor Glover reflects on what it will be like to see parts of the Moon that have never been seen before with human eyes.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from an episode of Houston We Have a Podcast that was released on Sept. 12, 2025. In this episode, NASA Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson shares her path to the console and what it takes to launch the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. In this clip, Blackwell-Thompson describes what it will be like to see the crew walkout for Artemis II.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a crew news conference that took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center on Sept. 24, 2025. Mission specialist Christina Koch describes the type of science that will be performed during the Artemis II mission.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a crew news conference that took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center on Sept. 24, 2025. Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen describes what mission success would look like for Artemis II.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from an episode of Houston We Have a Podcast that was released on Sept. 12, 2025. This episode features Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA's Artemis launch director.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a media event that took place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on July 30, 2025. The Artemis II crew spoke with media representatives about their suited crew and crew equipment interface trainings at the spaceport’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility in preparation for their mission around the Moon.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign and will send four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon and back. The crew will venture around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft and launch atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test and check out all of Orion’s life supporting systems in the deep space environment before NASA flies Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. Artemis II is the first crewed deep space mission in more than 50 years.This clip is from a crew news conference that took place at NASA's Johnson Space Center on Sept. 24, 2025. Mission specialist Christina Koch describes the opportunity during the Artemis II mission to see parts of the Moon never seen before with human eyes.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Four astronauts will venture around the Moon and return to Earth over the course of 10 days. The launch is currently scheduled for early 2026. In this audio clip, Artemis II mission specialist and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen reflects on his inspiration to become an astronaut.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Four astronauts will venture around the Moon and return to Earth over the course of 10 days. The launch is currently scheduled for early 2026. In this audio clip, Artemis II mission specialist and NASA astronaut Christina Koch reflects on joining the Artemis II crew.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Four astronauts will venture around the Moon and return to Earth over the course of 10 days. The launch is currently scheduled for early 2026. In this audio clip, Artemis II pilot and NASA astronaut Victor Glover reflects on the spirit of human exploration.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Four astronauts will venture around the Moon and return to Earth over the course of 10 days. The launch is currently scheduled for early 2026. In this audio clip, Artemis II commander and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman reflects on the legacy of the Apollo missions.
This clip is from an episode of Houston We Have a Podcast that was released on Sept. 12, 2025. In this episode, NASA Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson shares her path to the console and what it takes to launch the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. In this clip, Blackwell-Thompson describes what it was like to roll the Artemis I rocket to the launchpad in 2022, and reflects on what the experience will be like for Artemis II.
At 12:40 p.m. EST, Dec. 11, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a 25.5 day mission to the Moon. In this audio clip, commentator Rob Navias observes the splashdown.
At 12:40 p.m. EST, Dec. 11, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a 25.5 day mission to the Moon. In this audio clip, commentator Rob Navias observes the splashdown.
Artemis I was the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems: the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Artemis I mission flew the uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and safely back to Earth over the course of 25 days. In this audio clip from Nov. 16, 2022, commentator Derrol Nail observes liftoff of the Artemis I mission.
Artemis I was the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems: the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Artemis I mission flew the uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and safely back to Earth over the course of 25 days. In this audio clip from Nov. 16, 2022, Artemis I launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson polls her team to resume the countdown to launch. Artemis I launched roughly ten minutes later.
On episode 408, Artemis II landing and recovery director Lili Villareal discusses how NASA and its partners recover the Orion spacecraft and its four astronauts following splashdown at the end of the mission.
On episode 408, Artemis II landing and recovery director Lili Villareal discusses how NASA and its partners recover the Orion spacecraft and its four astronauts following splashdown at the end of the mission.
This year, four NASA astronauts will fly around the Moon and back for the first time since the Apollo program. Their mission is called Artemis II. It’s a key test flight that will set the stage for Artemis III, when humans land on the lunar South Pole for the first time and set up a long-term presence there. In this episode, meet your intrepid Artemis II crew: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
about as loud as a slamming car door. Lead pilot Nils Larson explains how the X-59 could usher in the next era of commercial supersonic flight.
In 2022, NASA launched Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight of the rocket and spacecraft that will send humans to the Moon. Go inside Firing Room 1—the nerve center for Artemis launches—and hear from the engineers who launched Artemis I, including the intricate procedures they developed just to fuel the rocket correctly. Now NASA is ready to launch Artemis II—and to send humans around the Moon.
This year, four NASA astronauts are flying around the Moon and back—and Curious Universe is bringing you along for the ride. The mission is called Artemis II. It’s a key test flight that will set the stage for future missions to land on the lunar South Pole for the first time and set up a long-term presence there. In this limited series, get to know your Artemis II astronaut crew, go behind the scenes at NASA facilities across the country and discover the teamwork, passion and problem-solving fueling humanity’s return to the Moon—and beyond.
On episode 406, International Space Station leaders Laura Shaw and Jennifer Buchli discuss the science, discoveries, and innovations that have defined nearly 25 years aboard the orbiting laboratory.
On episode 405, former ISS program manager and Axiom Space co-founder Michael Suffredini reflects on the ambitious path to building the International Space Station and the lessons learned from a decade of leadership.
On episode 404, the CHAPEA Mission 2 crew discusses their backgrounds and preparations for their upcoming yearlong analog Mars mission inside the Mars Dune Alpha habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
On episode 403, NASA astronaut Chris Williams shares his journey exploring the early universe, cancer treatment techniques, and astronaut training before his first mission to the International Space Station.
On episode 407, NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson reflects on her experiences living and working aboard the International Space Station and what 25 years of continuous human presence in space means for humanity’s future.
El cosmos se expande cada vez más rápido y aún no sabemos por qué. En este episodio, nos adentramos en el cautivador misterio de la energía oscura, uno de los principales objetivos del próximo telescopio espacial Nancy Grace Roman de la NASA. Junto con la misión Euclid y otros observatorios, Roman nos permitirá finalmente responder a una de las grandes preguntas de la astrofísica moderna: ¿qué es la energía oscura?
Descubre cómo las investigaciones científicas y demostraciones de tecnología a bordo de nuestro laboratorio en órbita nos benefician a todos aquí en la Tierra, al tiempo que nos ayudan a prepararnos mejor para la exploración de la Luna y Marte con seres humanos, mediante nuestra campaña Artemis.
A solar sail uses light particles from the Sun to move through space without needing a single drop of fuel. NASA is demonstrating the lightweight technology that could open doors to low-cost missions to deep space.
Dr. Jennifer Edmunson explains what it takes to simulate Moon and Mars dust on Earth, and lessons learned from preparing to build habitats on other worlds.
There’s a program at NASA that taps into the power of the public to solve some of the toughest problems in space exploration. It’s called Centennial Challenges, a prize competition that has awarded more than $24 million to hundreds of people ranging from academics, startup founders, small business owners, and independent inventors from across the U.S. and 86 countries.
On episode 402, NASA’s all-American 2025 astronaut candidates share a little about themselves by playing a fun icebreaker game.
6,000 Exoplanets and CountingOn September 17, 2025, NASA announced that the number of exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, tracked by NASA has reached 6,000. In the three decades since the groundbreaking detection of exoplanet 51 Pegasi b, the first confirmed planet orbiting a Sun-like star, astronomers have concluded that exotic worlds are everywhere.
On episode 401, NASA Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson shares her path to the console and what it takes to launch the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon.
From Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, explore the world of human spaceflight with NASA each week on the official podcast of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Listen to in-depth conversations with the astronauts, scientists and engineers who make it possible.On episode 400, acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy joins us for our milestone 400th episode to share his journey and vision for advancing NASA into the future. This episode was recorded August 18, 2025.
On episode 389, a NASA aircraft operations expert discusses the aviation history and work being done at Ellington Field in Houston as a training ground for astronauts.
Big or small, we all take risks nearly every day. But how does NASA manage it? Dr. Mary Skow, NASA’s first agency risk management officer, explains.
On episode 388, NASA and Axiom Space’s mission managers discuss how they work together to enable private astronaut missions ahead of Axiom Mission 4’s launch.
NASA’s Air Traffic Management-eXploration Project aims to accommodate the growing demand of traditional and emerging aircraft that share the friendly skies.
What can the auroras tell us about our planet’s relationship with the Sun? NASA’s EZIE mission looks into it.
On episode 382, an experienced commentator of more than 80 shuttle flights shares lessons of communications and leadership ahead of his retirement.
On episode 381, two NASA Artemis experts discuss how the agency is preparing future moonwalkers to use new tools to explore the unique science near the lunar South Pole.
NASA’s design labs are where engineers develop concepts for missions and scientific instruments.
On episode 380, four flight controllers from NASA’s Mission Control Center discuss how they create astronauts’ daily schedules, track where all equipment is stored, and manage electricity and internet on the space station.
On episode 379, NASA and Axiom Space experts discuss the lunar spacesuit Axiom is developing that astronauts will wear when they step foot on the Moon again during the Artemis III mission.
What if you could use an app on your phone to call up an air taxi to take you from one side of town to the other? NASA’s Air Mobility Pathfinders Project, or AMP, is working on it.
On episode 378, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim discusses his upcoming mission to the International Space Station, his experience in the military and medical field, and his journey to becoming an astronaut.
On episode 377, Three flight controllers from NASA’s Mission Control Center discuss their roles and how they monitor and maintain a healthy crew aboard the International Space Station.
This is our second episode for our March celebration we call Engineering Month: Building Mission Success at NASA. It’s a time to celebrate the problem-solvers, innovators, and builders who turn bold ideas into reality. These are the engineers who tackle some of the toughest challenges in exploration.Like people, every spacecraft needs a good blanket, one that can withstand the extreme cold, the Sun’s intense radiation, and impacts from micrometeoroids. At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, Paula Cain is one of the skilled hands behind these essential layers of protection. As a thermal blanket technician, she works with engineers to design and fabricate the high-tech installation that keeps spacecraft safe from the harsh environments of space.
On episode 376, NASA Johnson’s multimedia team leads discuss what it takes to capture and share the story of space exploration and how methods have evolved since the Apollo era.
NASA engineers turn dreams into reality, solving complex challenges to push exploration forward. From landing rovers on Mars to advancing deep space missions, their ingenuity makes it all possible. This episode with Chief Engineer Joe Pellicciotti and Deputy Chief Engineer Katherine Van Hooser celebrates the innovation, dedication, and impact of NASA’s engineering community.
On episode 375, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 cadre each discuss their backgrounds and upcoming mission to the International Space Station.
On episode 374, four communications experts from NASA’s Mission Control Center discuss their roles in connecting astronauts in space to partners, control centers, and the general public
On episode 373, NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services project scientist and Intuitive Machines President and CEO discuss upcoming IM-2 mission and what’s in store for this delivery to the lunar surface.
Ever wondered what it takes to capture NASA’s most breathtaking moments? From rocket launches to behind-the-scenes astronaut training, Bill Ingalls, senior contract photographer for NASA Headquarters has spent decades framing history through his lens. In this episode, we dive into his journey, how he and his team prepare for assignments, and the importance of visual storytelling.
On episode 372, NASA experts discuss launching and returning cargo to the International Space Station and the planning that goes into delivering several months worth of supplies and crucial science to astronauts in space.
On episode 371, NASA's Recovery Director discusses the splashdown and recovery process and how she helps to ensure safety, not just for the space travelers, but for all recovery team members.
What if we could get rid of lengthy waitlists for organ transplants? Well, imagine 3-D printing a kidney from your own stem cells. That would reduce the chances your body rejects it. That’s the sort of groundbreaking medical research astronauts are conducting aboard the International Space Station. Other research includes understanding the stress spaceflight places on not just the body, but also the mind. There’s a plethora of human factors to consider as humanity prepares to embark on deep space missions. What we learn from spaceflight medicine could also transform lives here on Earth. Dr. J.D. Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, tells us what’s on the horizon in space medicine.
On episode 370, NASA's Chief Health and Medical Officer discusses the impacts spaceflight has on the human body and how flight surgeons and other medical professionals on the ground help astronauts mitigate those impacts.
On episode 369, three flight controllers from NASA’s Mission Control Center discuss how their consoles, ADCO, TOPO, and SPARTAN, keep the space station flying from the ground. Listen and find out what each console does!
The Moon’s South Pole is a bizarre landscape. Mountain ridges glow in perpetual sunlight while deep craters freeze in billion-year-old shade. Yet hidden in the depths of those shadowed craters, under temperatures almost three times colder than the frostiest day in Antarctica, lurks something familiar–water ice. In the future, that ice could sustain human explorers or be broken apart into hydrogen and oxygen to refuel rockets. Join Brett Denevi, Artemis III geology team lead, to learn why NASA plans to land astronauts on the Moon’s South Pole later this decade. Then with Michelle Munk, NASA space technology chief architect, meet the robot Moon landers scouting ahead of Artemis which will drill beneath the regolith and test technologies designed to help future human explorers survive the Pole’s extreme conditions.
We’re kicking off 2025 with NASA’s deputy administrator Pam Melroy, who wraps up her tenure at NASA this month. As a former astronaut with three space shuttle flights under her belt – including one flight as commander – Pam has made lasting contributions to human spaceflight. She’s also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force as a retired colonel. In her most recent role, Pam helped shape the NASA’s focus on long-term strategies, including Moon to Mars exploration, space sustainability, and a long-term vision for NASA’s future as an organization. Now, as she prepares to pass the torch, Pam joins us to reflect on her NASA career and share insights from her time as a pilot, astronaut, and public servant.
On episode 368, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Aki Hoshide discusses how JAXA is contributing to NASA’s lunar space station, Gateway, and future Artemis missions.
On episode 367, NASA and Firefly Aerospace experts discuss the upcoming launch of Blue Ghost Mission 1, its lunar lander, and the science and technology being delivered to the Moon’s surface.
On episode 366, NASA’s expert in exploration architectures discusses how the agency stays on track to take humans farther into deep space through reviews such as the Architecture Concept review.
On episode 365, Johnson Space Center’s Chief Technologist discusses how Johnson and White Sands Test Facility are opening their Front Doors to those interested in exploring opportunities, capabilities, technology and data available to different organizations.
What does it take to mine the Moon? Engineers behind NASA's ISRU Pilot Excavator, or IPEx are digging into the answers. The robotic excavator is designed to unearth lunar regolith and extract oxygen for fuel. In this episode, Jason Schuler, IPEx principal investigator, and Drew Smith, IPEx lead design engineer, explore the engineering challenges, innovative solutions, and the groundbreaking implications of IPEx for future lunar missions. Plus, they share what helped their idea go from paper to full-on demonstration.
On episode 364, former NASA astronaut Fred Haise discusses his experiences from Apollo 13 and beyond.
Before leaving the ground, astronauts prepare for spaceflight by immersing themselves in life-like training simulators. This is done with the help of NASA’s Simulation and Graphics Branch. Branch Chief Michael McFarlane leads a team of experts who use cutting edge technology to create digital environments, tools and visualizations that support nearly every aspect of human spaceflight. In this episode, we discuss how simulations help us better understand how spacecraft behave in space, the role of immersive technology like virtual and augmented reality, and the importance of mentorship.
On episode 362, a NASA project manager and a design engineer discuss the Orion Crew Survival System Suit that future Artemis crews will wear on their journeys to and from the Moon.
Europa Clipper is NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying an icy ocean world. Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on October 14, 2024, from Kennedy Space Center, the spacecraft is set to arrive at Jupiter in April of 2030 to conduct sweeping flybys of Europa. Europa is one of Jupiter’s four large Galilean moons. It’s roughly the size of our moon, but what’s most intriguing is that it may harbor the conditions for life in the massive ocean beneath its frozen surface. What we learn could open up the science floodgates to other ocean worlds across the solar system.
On episode 361, former NASA flight director Gerry Griffin discusses his trailblazing career in the agency and his experience leading multiple Apollo missions, including the final lunar landing on Apollo 17.
Ever wondered how NASA monitors asteroids? In our latest episode, we go behind the scenes with Dr. Kelly Fast, NASA’s acting planetary defense officer, to discuss efforts to detect, track, and mitigate threats from near-Earth objects, or NEOs. From asteroid early warning systems to a new spacecraft that will find and track NEOs, learn how NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office is at the forefront of keeping Earth safe from cosmic hazards.
IC 443 is a supernova remnant, or the debris of an exploded star, which astronomers have nicknamed the Jellyfish Nebula. A visual composite image of IC 443 includes X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (cyan) and German ROSAT X-ray telescope (blue) along with radio data from the NSF’s Very Large Array (green) and optical data from the Digitized Sky Survey (red). The sonification of IC 443 begins with a top-down scan as the brightness of the data is correlated to the volume of the sound. The sounds are mapped to colors in the image with red light being heard as lower pitches, the green as medium, and the blue light as the higher pitches. This creates notes that sweep up and down in pitch continuously. Several colors are isolated and control the volume of sustained tones with red controlling the lowest note and white controlling the highest note. The background stars in the optical image have been converted to water drop sounds in the sonification.Credits: Images: Chandra X-ray: NASA/CXC/B.Gaensler et al; ROSAT X-ray: NASA/ROSAT/Asaoka & Aschenbach; Radio: NRC/DRAO/D.Leahy; Optical: DSS; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)
MSH 15-52 is a cloud of energized particles blown away from a dead, collapsed star. This image includes X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (orange, green and blue) as well as the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE (purple). X-ray data have been combined with infrared data from the Dark Energy Plane Survey 2 (red and blue). In sound, the scan goes from the bottom to the top. The brightness of the Chandra data of the cloud has been converted into rough string-like sounds, while the blast wave is represented by a range of pitches of firework-type noises. The IXPE data are heard as wind-like sounds. The infrared data are mapped to musical pitches of a synthesizer sound. The light curve, or brightness over time, from the dead star’s collapsed core is heard in pulses that occur almost 7 times every second as it does in the original data.Credits: Images: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./R. Romani et al. (Chandra); NASA/MSFC (IXPE); Infrared: NOIRLab/DECam; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)
The Vela Pulsar data has also been converted to sound through a process called data sonification. In this sonification, listen to a radar-like scan, clockwise from 12:00 of the image. Brightness is mapped to volume. Distance from the center is mapped to pitch (farther away is higher pitch). For the Chandra X-ray data, the bright inner region (violet) is mapped to a low synth sound, with 11 Hz oscillations matching the period of the pulsar. The dimmer outer region (blue) and jet are mapped to a wind-like sound. A long upper jet can be heard around 4 seconds in, and a bright, but much shorter lower jet can be heard around 20 seconds. For the Hubble optical data, the stars are mapped to notes on a plucked-type synth (where brighter stars are louder, and stars farther from the center are higher pitched).Credits: Images: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt, K. Arcand; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)
NASA has a long history with AI, using it in various applications like autonomous Mars rover navigation and detecting planets in other solar systems. Today, NASA is embracing AI for more members of the workforce, enabling innovation.
The Sun is the ultimate source of life in our solar system, a radiant powerhouse that bathes Earth in the energy necessary for everything from photosynthesis to weather patterns. Its warmth and light sustain us. However, the Sun’s influence isn't always benign. Its solar wind—a stream of charged particles—can disrupt our technology, causing communications blackouts and GPS glitches. In this episode, Dr. Joseph Westlake, director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division, joins us to shed light on why the Sun is such a critical focus for space research.
We don’t yet know what dark matter is, yet it makes up 85% of all the matter in the universe. The Roman Space Telescope will aim to unravel the mystery. With a field of view 100 times wider than the Hubble Space Telescope’s, Roman will study in near-infrared light the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars, making other exoplanet discoveries along the way. The mission is named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief of astronomy and advocate for the development of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Robots inspired by nature? A novel realm of engineering called soft robotics is being studied at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Engineers are working to understand how soft robotics could one day support space exploration, including missions to the Moon’s surface.
Cleaning scum from bathtubs and pipes can be a costly chore. It’s even more challenging aboard spacecraft. NASA researchers are looking at ways to keep astronauts from having to deal with fungal or bacterial buildup, known as biofilm.
The Internet of Animals, a collaborative research project with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, and other universities and institutions, is giving insight into the intersection of animal movement patterns and climate. By combining remote sensing data with wildlife tracking tags, experts can get a better idea of scientific needs to manage conservation at the federal level.
In this episode, Dr. Gioia Massa, senior Life Sciences project scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, outlines the systems and processes used for growing vegetables aboard the International Space Station. The technology could one day support astronauts on long-duration missions in deep space. What we learn can benefit agriculture on Earth as well.
A new NASA report titled "Cost and Benefit Analysis of Mitigating, Tracking, and Remediating Orbital Debris" compares the cost-effectiveness of several strategies that could reduce the risk of collisions between spacecraft, including the space station, and orbital debris.
In this episode, Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist, tells us about the science goals of the Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle and how NASA is collaborating with industry to explore more of the Moon’s surface than ever before
In this episode, Dr. Chelle Gentemann, Open Science Program Scientist for the Office of the Chief Science Data Officer, explains NASA’s initiative to make science more collaborative, accessible, and inclusive. Known as Transform to Open Science, or TOPS, the program encourages increased access to research and data.
How inflatable habitats moved from concept papers to the International Space Station, and what NASA is doing to eventually put one on the Moon.
Dave Mitchell brings extensive experience as an engineer and project manager to a new position leading a small team with the broad mandate of improving acquisitions and program and project management across NASA.
In this episode we’ll focus on Gateway, a small space station NASA is developing to place in orbit at the Moon. We’ll speak with Mark Wiese, who leads the team that will ensure Gateway will receive the cargo, equipment, and supplies it needs to support Artemis astronauts.
Janet Karika, who retired recently from NASA after 43 years in the aerospace industry, shares career highlights and her approach to leading the Artemis I Lessons Learned process.
Dive deep into the world of in-space manufacturing (ISM) with our guest, Zach Courtright, the In-Space Manufacturing Portfolio Manager at NASA. Zach shares his perspectives on cutting-edge advancements and collaborations in the field and the potential of the technology for game-changing impacts on space exploration and resource utilization.
Today, we look at NASA’s PACE mission, which seeks to unravel some of the mysteries of Earth’s atmosphere and the vital role played by aerosols and clouds. Join us as we delve into this fascinating journey with atmospheric scientist Dr. Kirk Knobelspiesse.
In this episode, we step behind the scenes of NASA's Orion project to explore the remarkable teamwork, leadership, and communication that drive this groundbreaking endeavor. Join us as we sit down with Stu McClung, the NASA Orion Test lead, to talk about the Orion mission and the human side of space exploration.
In this episode, we chat with Dr. Zach Pirtle, a policy analyst for NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy about NASA’s Artemis and Ethics workshop, which explored the ethical, legal, and societal implications of its Artemis and Moon to Mars missions.
In this episode, we sit down with Jim Rostohar, Chief Knowledge Officer for NASA's Johnson Space Center, to explore the vital role of knowledge sharing within the organization.
Developing and testing rocket propulsion systems, it’s really foundational to spaceflight and to everything that we’re trying to do with spaceflight.
The data cover the region near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The black hole, known as Sagittarius A, is barely seen in the lower right-hand of the visual image that contains X-ray data from IXPE (red-orange) and Chandra (purple). In the sonification of these data, the cursor begins at Sagittarius A and moves out as a growing circle toward the center of the image. As it encounters IXPE data, the volume of the notes changes according to the brightness of the X-rays. The brighter the Chandra data, the higher the musical pitch and vice versa. When the cursor travels over a large patch of X-rays both from Chandra and IXPE in the center of the image, a rushing sound is heard. This region is where scientists find a “light echo,” a high-energy relic left behind from an eruption from Sagittarius A* about 200 years ago.NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)
Messier 104 (M104 for short), located about 28 million light-years from Earth, is one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster. As seen from Earth, the galaxy is angled nearly edge-on allowing a view of its bright core and spiral arms wrapped around it. Spitzer's infrared view of M104 shows a ring of dust circling the galaxy that pierces through the obscuring dust in Hubble’s optical light image. Spitzer also sees an otherwise hidden disk of stars within the dust ring. The Chandra X-ray image shows hot gas in the galaxy and point sources that are a mixture of objects within M104 as well as quasars in the background. The Chandra observations show that diffuse X-ray emission extends over 60,000 light years from the center of the M104. (The galaxy itself spans 50,000 light years across.) In sonifying these data, we can listen to each type of light either separately or together. Either option begins at the top and scans toward the bottom of the image. The brightness controls the volume and the pitch, meaning the brightest sources in the image are the loudest and highest frequencies. The data from the three telescopes are mapped to different types of sounds. The X-rays from Chandra sound like a synthesizer, Spitzer’s infrared data are strings, and optical light from Hubble has bell-like tones. The core of the galaxy, its dust lanes and spiral arms, and point-like X-ray sources are all audible features in the sonification of these data.
In Stephan’s Quintet, four galaxies move around each other, held together by gravity, while a fifth galaxy sits in the frame but is actually at a much different distance. A visual image of Stephan’s Quintet contains infrared light from the James Webb Space Telescope (red, orange, yellow, green, and blue) with additional data from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red, green, and blue) and X-ray light from Chandra (light blue). A sonification of these data begins at the top and scans the image downward. As the cursor moves, the pitch changes in relationship to the brightness in different ways. The background galaxies and foreground stars in the visual images Webb detects are mapped to different notes on a synthetic glass marimba. Meanwhile, stars with diffraction spikes are played as crash cymbals. The galaxies of Stephan’s Quintet themselves are heard as smoothly changing frequencies as the scan passes over them. The X-rays from Chandra, which reveal a shock wave that has superheated gas to tens of millions of degrees, are represented by a synthetic string sound
The system called R Aquarii contains two stars — a white dwarf and a red giant — in orbit around each other. In a composite visual image, Hubble data (red and blue) reveal spectacular structures that are evidence of outbursts generated by the pair of stars buried at the center of the image. X-rays from Chandra show a jet from the white dwarf banging into the material surrounding it and creating shock waves. In the sonification of R Aquarii, the piece evolves as a radar-like scan of the image, clockwise starting at the 12 o’clock position. The volume changes in proportion to the brightness of sources in Hubble’s visible light and Chandra’s X-ray image, while the distance from the center dictates the musical pitch (higher notes are farther out). The deep thuds toward the four corners are “diffraction spikes,” which are artifacts from the bright central star. Listeners can hear jets from the white dwarf as the cursor travels near the two o’clock and eight o’clock positions. The ribbon-like arcs captured by Hubble create a rising and falling melody that sounds similar to a set of singing bowls (metal bowls that produce different sounds and tones when struck with a mallet), while the Chandra data are rendered to sound more like a synthetic and windy purr.NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)
NASA is certainly facing an aging workforce that has been rapidly retiring or nearing retirement, and it’s really encouraging to see the impact that this program specifically has had in developing the next generation of engineers.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Engineering Technicians John Hood, Amy Meekham, and Mark Sloan discuss details of their work on the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer.
Los astronautas de las misiones Apolo de la NASA trajeron consigo muestras de suelo lunar, que la comunidad científica continúa analizando. Pronto, una misión robótica traerá a la Tierra muestras de un asteroide y, más adelante, iremos a buscar muestras de Marte recolectadas por nuestro robot explorador Perseverance. ¿Cuáles son las ventajas de traer a la Tierra pedacitos de otros cuerpos planetarios? Explora estas misiones con el astroquímico José Aponte, la ingeniera Nayi Castro y la analista de política espacial Laura Delgado López.
This audio is the air compressor for MOXIE pumping air on Mars. MOXIE was launched aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover to test a technology for extracting oxygen from the Red Planet’s carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/IRAP
NASA Technicians Scott Bartram, Eric Bentley, Maria Salinas, and Phil Steele discuss their hands-on work on a variety of projects and technologies.
NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Engineering Technicians Jason Nelson, Kyle Whitfield, and Alex Zamora discuss their essential contributions to NASA missions.
NASA Langley Research Center Retired Chief Scientist Dennis Bushnell discusses highlights of his 60-year NASA career and the future of the agency.
OSIRIS-REx Mission Systems Engineer Ron Mink discusses preparation for the return of the United States' first asteroid sample from space to Earth.
NASA TechLeap Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge Manager Greg Peters discusses the lunar landing challenge.
NASA Flight Opportunities Program Manager Danielle McCulloch discusses rapid demonstration of technologies and capabilities for NASA missions and commercial spaceflight.
NASA Chief Knowledge Officer and APPEL Knowledge Services Director Tiffany Smith discusses knowledge sharing and learning and development.
NASA Engineering and Safety Center Director Tim Wilson discusses the NESC's contributions to NASA mission success.
NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Critical Systems Engineer Jim Sarafin discusses training astronauts for spacewalks.
NASA Research Electrical Engineer Lyndsey McMillon-Brown discusses development of perovskite solar cell technology for Moon and Mars exploration.
Surface Water and Ocean Topography Project Manager Parag Vaze discusses the first global survey of Earth's surface water.
Mars Sample Return Deputy Lead Scientist Lindsay Hays discusses plans to bring the first samples of Mars material to Earth.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and Associate Administrator Bob Cabana discuss the importance of a strong safety culture.
NASA Human Spaceflight Historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal discusses how careers for women have changed over the past 50 years as the workforce has become more diverse.
NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Rob Grant discusses the agency’s Black History Month theme: Building a Legacy of Achievement, Connection, and Knowledge.
Artemis Mission Manager Mike Sarafin discusses Artemis I and NASA's increasingly complex Moon to Mars missions.
NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy discusses NASA's positive impact on humanity—and the people who make it happen.
This audio shows the results of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover using its SuperCam microphone to record the sounds of a Martian dust devil – the first time any such recording has been made. The dust devil passed directly over Perseverance on Sept. 27, 2021, the 215th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/INTA-CSIC/Space Science Institute/ISAE-Supaero
NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Systems Engineer Mike Menzel discusses highlights of the observatory's first year in space.
Voyager Project Manager Suzanne Dodd discusses NASA's longest-operating mission and the only spacecraft to explore interstellar space.
NASA Mars InSight Lander Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt discusses the first mission dedicated to studying the deep interior of Mars.
NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Chief Engineer CJ Bixby discusses what it takes to achieve airworthiness.
This sonification is of the signals recorded by NASA’s InSight Mars lander, which detected a giant meteoroid strike on Dec. 24, 2021, the 1,094th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. InSight’s seismometer records seismic signals that are not in the range of human hearing. In order to make the signals audible, the data was sped up 100 times. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/Imperial College London
Measurements collected by the Waves instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during its close flyby of Jupiter’s moon Europa on Sept. 29, 2022 have been converted to an audible frequency. The variation of frequency of the plasma waves observed near Europa can be heard as the plasma density varies. For more information about NASA’s Juno mission, visit: http://nasa.gov/juno and https://missionjuno.com Details about the Europa flyby can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-juno-will-perform-close-flyby-of-jupiter-s-icy-moon-europa Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/Univ of Iowa
NASA's Nick Jedrich and Andrew Maynard discuss the benefits of developmental assignments.
Astronomical data from the supermassive black hole at the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster has been translated into sounds we can hear. artist: Chandra X-ray Observatory (Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, M. Russo & A. Santaguida)
Mars Sample Return Scientists Lindsay Hays and Meenakshi Wadhwa discuss the mission to return samples from the surface of Mars to Earth.
The Nature Conservancy's Kim Hall discusses the use of NASA Earth observation data to map animal movement and patterns.
NASA’s InSight lander brought a seismometer to the Red Planet to study “marsquakes.” On Sept, 5, 2021, the seismometer detected a meteoroid impacting the planet’s surface, creating several craters in the process. It was the first time the sound of a meteoroid impact was captured occurring on another planet, and it might not be what you expect. In the audio, you hear three “bloops” representing distinct moments of the impact: the meteoroid entering Mars’ atmosphere, exploding into pieces, and striking the ground. The peculiar sound is caused by an atmospheric effect that’s also been observed in deserts on Earth, where lower-pitched sounds arrive before high-pitched sounds. Credit: CNES/IPGP
NASA Research Engineer Ryan McClelland discusses digital engineering technologies that are transforming classical engineering tasks and processes.
On the Gravity Assist podcast we have interviewed dozens of scientists, engineers, and others dedicated to the mission of NASA space exploration. After five years, the show is coming to a close. Here are some final thoughts and episode highlights from the podcast team.
NASA Space Radiation Element Scientist Robin Elgart discusses research aimed at reducing radiation health risks.
The James Webb Space Telescope awed the world on July 12 with its first images and data. And it’s just getting started with its exploration of the cosmos. Dr. John Mather, the observatory’s senior project scientist, has been working toward this milestone for more than 25 years. Before Webb, he worked on a spacecraft that delivered a groundbreaking baby picture of the universe and offered the best evidence yet that the universe began with a rapid expansion we call the big bang. Dr. Mather describes some of the first images and explains the mysteries that Webb will tackle.
Boston University Assistant Professor Virginia Greiman discusses enduring lessons from the largest, most technically challenging highway project in U.S. history.
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Chief Pilot Håvard Grip discusses the rotorcraft's history-making flights on the Red Planet.
The world will get a first glimpse of the universe as never before when the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope come out on July 12. And this is only the beginning — the telescope will deliver all kinds of insights about galaxies, planets, and more, for years to come. But someone has to translate that data into beautiful imagery, especially since Webb collects light that falls outside of human vision. That’s where Joe DePasquale of the Space Telescope Science Institute comes in. Learn how he makes choices about color and other aspects of space images in this week’s Gravity Assist podcast.
NuSTAR Principal Investigator Fiona Harrison discusses NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array.
NASA Astrobiology Program Senior Scientist Mary Voytek discusses Research Coordination Networks.
NASA's Tiffany Nickens discusses habitats being developed for living on the lunar surface and traveling to Mars.
Astronauts on the International Space Station have been conducting experiments to grow food, including peppers and radishes. Christina Johnson, a NASA postdoc fellow at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, has been working on a variety of techniques to grow food in space. Learn what she thinks about the future of growing food beyond our planet, including on Mars.
Space botanists are working on strategies to grow crops on the lunar surface, as NASA makes strides toward sending astronauts to the Moon through the Artemis program. A team of scientists at the University of Florida successfully grew small plants in lunar soil brought back during three different Apollo missions. How did they do it, and what does it mean for the future of space exploration? Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul explains.
NASA Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Kate Calvin discusses the agency's role in climate research.
An ice shelf collapsed in East Antarctica in March 2022, concerning scientists who track melting glaciers, sea level rise, and other effects of climate change. Catherine Walker, a visiting scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, uses NASA satellite data to look at the progression of events like this one to understand how large ice structures collapse. She is also looking at Jupiter’s moon Europa and what kind of life might be able to survive under the ice there. Learn about her Antarctica adventures and her scientific journey on this episode of Gravity Assist.
NASA Water Resources and Agriculture Program Manager Brad Doorn discusses how NASA tools and data help solve big problems on Earth.
On a quest to find out if we are not alone in the universe, Ravi Kopparapu at NASA Goddard studies how we could use telescopes to detect signs of life beyond our solar system. These include both signs of biology and technology, since there are certain kinds of signals and chemicals that do not occur naturally. Learn about the planets that are most exciting to Ravi and how science fiction inspired his journey to become a scientist.
NASA Johnson Space Center Engineering Director Julie Kramer White discusses the skills required to be a top-notch engineer.
This recording was made by the Perseverance Mars rover on February 9, 2022 (Sol 346). The puffs and pings of the rover’s Gaseous Dust Removal Tool (gDRT) were collected using a microphone on the rover’s chassis. The gRDT has a tank of nitrogen gas and is used during sample collection to blow the dust away and reveal the fresh rock surface underneath.
NASA Space Launch System Chief Engineer John Blevins discusses the rigorous engineering of the world's most powerful rocket.
How do we know if a rock came from the Moon, Mars, or an asteroid? Planetary scientist Neyda Abreu has looked inside all kinds of meteorites to understand where they came from and what’s inside them. She also traveled to Antarctica to hunt for space rock treasure. Since she was a child in Venezuela, she has been curious about the life cycles of stars and planets. Learn about her work with meteorites and her journey to become a scientist.
NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Chief Engineer Steve Hirshorn discusses what it takes to be a successful chief engineer.
The James Webb Space Telescope, which launched Dec. 25, will allow us to see the farthest galaxies and better understand the origins of the Milky Way. Aaron Yung at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is preparing for these historic observations by simulating what Webb will see in the early universe. But Aaron’s path to mind-bending research wasn’t easy. When he came to the United States as a teenager, he spoke a different native language and didn’t have the preparation other kids had for math and physics. Learn about Aaron’s journey in this episode of Gravity Assist.
In space, we have to expect the unexpected. Sunny Panjwani of NASA’s Johnson Space Center shares how he got thrown into an emergency situation on his first day as a flight controller. His team makes sure that astronauts have a safe environment on board the International Space Station. Learn how he got to NASA and how he handles high-pressure circumstances in and out of Mission Control.
NASA's Kristin Morgan discusses 2021 progress and what's ahead for the Artemis Program in 2022.
NASA is about to launch a new spacecraft to look at the universe in X-ray light. The Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer, IXPE, will look at extreme objects such as black holes, neutron stars, and supernovae, asking fundamental questions about how high-energy light gets produced. The mission’s principal investigator, Martin Weisskopf, based at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, has been studying these objects for more than 40 years with other telescopes including the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. He discusses some of the fascinating objects Chandra has looked at, and what IXPE may soon reveal about them.
NASA's Les Johnson discusses solar sail propulsion and the upcoming Near-Earth Asteroid Scout and Solar Cruiser missions.
A spacecraft is about to begin its journey to crash into an asteroid on purpose. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test Mission, or DART, will deliberately impact a small asteroid called Dimorphos to deflect its orbit around a bigger object, Didymos. While this system presents no danger to Earth, an asteroid the size of Dimorphos would cause regional devastation if it hit our planet. DART will demonstrate a potential method of protecting Earth from hazards in the future. Nancy Chabot, planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, has the details. She also discusses searching for meteorites in Antarctica and discovering the secrets of planet Mercury.
James Webb Space Telescope Program Director Greg Robinson discusses NASA's largest and most powerful space science telescope ever constructed.
NASA's Marc Rayman discusses the legacy of the Dawn mission to the two most massive bodies in the main asteroid belt.
As NASA prepares to send astronauts to the Moon through the Artemis program, engineers are working on technologies that will give these explorers power – solar power, that is. In space, the harsh radiation and huge temperature changes make for a challenging environment. Lyndsey McMillon-Brown at NASA’s Glenn Research Center leads a study of solar cells made from a material called perovskite. This material has the potential to help power lunar habitats one day. Learn about this innovation and Lyndsey’s journey to NASA.
Our Sun lights up the solar system, but it’s as not calm or predictable as it may seem. Flares and explosions called coronal mass ejections unleash fast-moving particles and radiation that pose dangers to spacecraft and astronauts alike. Yaireska Collado-Vega leads a team at NASA’s Goddard Spacecraft Center that is studying the solar weather environment so that robots and people exploring space can be protected. In this episode of Gravity Assist, she describes the excitement and challenges of understanding space weather, and how she got to be a NASA scientist.
Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment Principal Investigator Mike Hecht discusses the MOXIE technology demonstration that's generating oxygen on the Red Planet.
The planets of our solar system didn’t have such stable orbits a few billion years ago. The giant outer planets moved around chaotically in their orbits, and Uranus and Neptune may have even switched places. To get a more complete understanding of the full history of our solar system, NASA is sending a spacecraft called Lucy to investigate the Trojans, mysterious small objects that share an orbit of the Sun with Jupiter. Principal investigator Hal Levison of the Southwest Research Institute’s branch in Boulder, Colorado, discusses this exciting mission, launching Oct. 16, 2021.
Lucy Deputy Project Systems Engineer Mike Sekerak discusses the first space mission to study Jupiter's Trojan asteroid swarms.
NASA Lessons Learned Program Manager Michael Bell discusses the agency's Lessons Learned Information System.
Janelle Wellons likes to say that she operates “fancy space cameras.” At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she creates commands that allow spacecraft to take valuable scientific data in our solar system and here at planet Earth. She also monitors the health of spacecraft, like a space robot doctor. She has worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Sentinel-6/Michael Freilich, and more. In this episode, she reflects on her experiences at JPL and why outreach and diversity and inclusion efforts are so important.
The creation of a market for supersonic commercial aircraft requires eliminating the sonic boom as a barrier for over land flight. NASA believes that changing that standard will open up the market for commercial supersonic transports. And that'll be a game changer for transcontinental and international flight.
NASA Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project Manager Keith Wichman discusses mapping problems and solutions to transform aviation.
The laws of physics get very, very weird in the realm of particles too small for the eye to see. Aboard the International Space Station, an experiment called the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) is exploring how the universe works on a fundamental level by cooling atoms down to a billionth of a degree above the coldest temperature possible, absolute zero. By using special lasers and magnetic fields, CAL is making unusual structures called Bose-Einstein condensates almost every day. Ethan Elliott of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory talks about the exciting possibilities that this experiment offers for the future of physics.
In honor of National Intern Day, Gravity Assist features Felicia Ragucci, an undergraduate at Dartmouth College who recently completed an internship with NASA’s History Office and the Office of the Chief Scientist. During her time at NASA, Felicia researched the history of the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, an underwater training facility where astronauts practiced satellite repairs and other activities. Felicia explains how she researched the history of this place during her internship.
Venus is so close, and yet so far in terms of our understanding of its history and geology. Early in its history it may have had an ocean just like Earth’s, and volcanoes may be erupting there today. The only way to find out more is to take the latest technology to Venus and take a closer look! NASA is sending two missions to Venus this decade and participating in a European Space Agency mission there, too. Lori Glaze, director of planetary science at NASA, discusses these missions and why she’s so excited about what we’re about to learn.
he idea for NASA’s Mars Ingenuity helicopter began at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with a team of dedicated engineers who believed in something seemingly impossible. MiMi Aung served as the project manager on the helicopter, which has now achieved nine flights on Mars. In this episode of Gravity Assist, she shares the history of the helicopter project as well as her secrets for leading groups of people to accomplish things no one has ever done before.
What’s the difference between climate and weather? How does NASA monitor changing sea levels, melting glaciers, and other effects of climate change? Gavin Schmidt, NASA’s acting senior climate advisor, explains how rising temperatures lead to many complex changes both in the oceans and on land. When it comes to climate change: “It's real. It's us. But we still have choices about how bad we let it get,” he says.
How do astronauts exercise on the International Space Station? How do they train underwater? Tara Ruttley, associate chief scientist for microgravity research at NASA Headquarters, has worked on a lot of fascinating projects to support the human spaceflight program. She also holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and discusses how NASA studies the brain health of astronauts.
The Moon doesn’t have WiFi; neither does Mars. When future astronauts explore the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, or beyond, they’ll have big challenges communicating with Mission Control back on Earth. Darlene Lim at NASA Ames Research Center has been organizing expeditions on Earth that simulate science operations on other planetary bodies. Her team demonstrates how astronauts, scientists, and mission operations specialists can collaborate on expeditions, despite communication delays and location differences. She also discusses her role on VIPER, a rover that will explore ice deposits on the Moon and drill in shadowed craters colder than Pluto.
NASA spacecraft deliver stunning visual imagery of the cosmos, but we can also experience that data by turning it into sound. Kim Arcand at the Chandra X-Ray Observatory has helped develop many different sonifications including from galaxies, black holes, nebulae and more. Kim chats with NASA’s Chief Scientist Jim Green about her process of choosing instruments to represent different kinds of light, and plays a few examples of these cosmic sounds. Check out the full series of sonifications at chandra.si.edu/sound.
“In some ways, spaceflight changes you forever,” says Ken Bowersox. Since he was 7 years old, Ken knew he wanted to become an astronaut. In his astronaut career, he participated in many exciting missions, including an extended stay on the International Space Station. What did he eat? How did he feel when he came home? Now a leader in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Ken currently works on plans for sending astronauts to the Moon through the Artemis program, with an eventual goal of Mars.
Dana Bolles has worked in many exciting areas of NASA including assuring the safety of experiments and spacecraft going to space, managing environmental programs, and thinking about the possibility of life beyond Earth. In her journey as a space professional, a key challenge has been encountering other people’s assumptions about what she can and cannot do. Dana gets around in a wheelchair and uses hooks for hands. In this episode, she talks about her experiences around NASA and how everyone can be a better ally for people with diverse abilities: “By getting to know us first, without preconceived notions, the benefit is seeing the community for the beauty we bring to living life every day.”
The Ingenuity helicopter made history on April 19, 2021, with the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet. How do engineers talk to a helicopter all the way out on Mars? How about other spacecraft? We’ll hear about it from Nacer Chahat of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who works on antenna and telecommunication systems for a variety of NASA missions. He chats with NASA’s Chief Scientist Jim Green in this episode of the Gravity Assist podcast.
What is a black hole? How do we study them when we can’t see them? Astrophysicist Jeremy Schnittman from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center joins NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green for a fascinating conversation about the latest black hole research.
Go behind the scenes at NASA with Chief Scientist Jim Green in the Gravity Assist podcast. We’ll talk to people who work in lots of different areas to make space missions and scientific investigations happen. How does someone become an astronaut, or an engineer working on the Ingenuity helicopter, or a science communicator? Everyone has a gravity assist – that person, place, thing, or event that inspired them to do what they’re doing now. New episodes will be released on Fridays.
On Episode 188, Bill Paloski, former director of the Human Research Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, explores the idea of artificial gravity within a spacecraft for long-duration missions and explains how it may affect the human body from what we have learned through Earth-based studies.
What does it take to drive a rover that’s more than 100 million miles away? Sophia Mitchell at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been driving the Mars Curiosity rover since 2018. In addition to her science and engineering background, Mitchell is also an avid hiker and pilot, and explains how she combines all of these interests and skills in her job. Curiosity landed on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, and sends back images and other science data from Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. On Feb. 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover will land on Mars at Jezero Crater. Mitchell also explains how these craters are different and why she’s excited to have a second rover exploring the Red Planet.
Why don’t we go live on Saturn’s moon Titan? What would it mean if we found life elsewhere? How did life get its start on Earth? NASA’s chief scientist Jim Green and astrobiologist Lindsay Hays discuss these and other audience questions from social media.
Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is a mysterious dwarf planet called Ceres. Its surface is dark and muddy, but has hundreds of patches of bright material. The salt-covered dome and other bright features in Occator Crater are so reflective that they looked like flashlights in distant images. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft got a close look, and pointed scientists to the idea that liquid brine has come up from the interior of Ceres, forming the Occator dome and other bright features. Ceres’ crust also contains a significant amount of ice. Astrobiologist Britney Schmidt discusses the implications, as well as her fieldwork in Antarctica.
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will give us the most detailed look yet at Jupiter’s extraordinary moon Europa. Smaller than our own Moon, Europa is one of the prime candidates for life beyond Earth because it has a deep ocean under its icy shell. The Europa Clipper spacecraft, named for speedy 19th century merchant ships, will map the surface, learn more about the ocean using ice-penetrating radar, and see if there are plumes of water shooting out from the cracks in the ice, among many other scientific activities. Project scientist Bob Pappalardo at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory discusses this mission as well as the possibility of life on Europa and how it would be able to survive without sunlight.
The Curiosity rover has been probing the secrets of Mars since its arrival in 2012. Its discoveries include chemical signatures that could be related to life – or, alternatively, to geological processes. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument has found organic molecules, which are fundamental building blocks of life on Earth, but can also be produced in non-biological ways. Scientists have also observed sudden rises and falls in methane, a gas also associated with life, but which can be geological in nature, too. But with such a thin atmosphere, cold temperatures and scathing radiation from the Sun, the surface of Mars would be hostile to life. Where could life be hiding, if it were on Mars? Jen Eigenbrode, astrobiologist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, discusses.
People have long wondered whether there is life beyond Earth, but it is only recently that scientists have been able to apply the tools of space exploration to go after this question. In 1996, the Allan Hills 84001 Meteorite shook the world as scientists debated whether it had tiny fossils inside of it that came from Mars. The consensus is that this rock does not contain Martian fossils, but the questions it raised energized many researchers. Today, the field of astrobiology is looking at how life arose on Earth and where else in the solar system and beyond life could exist. Beyond these scientific investigations, there are also philosophical questions one could ask. Would we be ready as a society for such a groundbreaking discovery? Astronomer and historian Steven Dick tells us there are many approaches to consider and many questions we should ask ourselves to get ready, in case extraterrestrial life is found.
High above our heads, even beyond 120,000 feet up, scientists have found tiny organisms called microbes. These high-flyers were swept up from the ground by winds and storms, or spewed out through volcanic processes. While most of these high-altitude microbes are dead, some are still alive, or have produced material called spores that could activate in the future. David J. Smith, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, uses airplanes to collect these microbes, analyze them in the laboratory, and expose them to even higher altitudes with balloon experiments to see how they will respond. If microbes can inhabit our clouds, what about other planets? While more research is needed, Smith and others are fascinated by the possibility that airborne microbes could also be found elsewhere in the solar system, and beyond.
If astrobiologists find life beyond Earth in the solar system, it will most likely be in the form of tiny organisms called microbes – nothing that would talk to us. But the galaxy is a big place; the universe even bigger. Somewhere out there, life may have evolved to become as smart, or even much smarter, than us. And the next step in that ladder may be “post-biological,” argues Susan Schneider, the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation. Advanced life may be entirely based on microchips and silicon, using the tools of artificial intelligence instead of brains. In this episode of “Gravity Assist,” learn about what life might be like in the future and how science fiction has influenced thinking around this topic. Bonus: Jim Green’s theory about the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
How well do you know the Sun? It hasn’t always looked the way it does today. Billions of years ago, the Sun was fainter but also more active, throwing out huge flares of radiation in powerful tantrums. This “young Sun” helped shape the evolution of life as we know it. By understanding what our Sun was like when life emerged on Earth, scientists can look to other stars in the galaxy and think about whether life could emerge on planets there, too. Vladimir Airapetian, scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, explains what researchers hope to find as they gaze beyond our solar system.
As the Perseverance Rover flies toward Jezero Crater on Mars, which once hosted water, astrobiologists are interested in places on Earth that are similar to the rover landing site. Kennda Lynch, scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, has been doing fieldwork in an ancient lake location in Utah called the Pilot Valley Playa. In this episode she describes her recent discoveries and why she’s excited about Perseverance. She also explains how all life forms create waste products, even bacteria, that could leave tracers or “biosignatures” for scientists to detect. By looking at how microbes survive in extreme environments on Earth, scientists can explore the bigger question of how life could sustain itself on other planetary bodies like Mars and Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Billions of years ago, life may have gotten started at hydrothermal vents, cracks in the sea floor where hot fluids from inside our planet mix with colder ocean water. Laurie Barge, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, studies how plant-looking mineral structures called chimneys grow from chemicals found at the deepest depths of the ocean. In her lab she has glass vials and bulbs full of different chemical mixtures that simulate undersea conditions. Through careful mixing, scientists can even form amino acids, which are essential building blocks of life. Could similar processes happen in oceans under the ice shells of moons farther away in our solar system, like Europa and Enceladus?
As we explore Mars and other places in the solar system that might have life, scientists who work in Planetary Protection are busy making sure that we don’t contaminate them. While engineers prepare the Perseverance Rover for launch, Lisa Pratt, NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer, is making sure that it’s not carrying too many spores — cells that could re-activate and transport Earthly bacteria to Mars. It’s especially important to keep Perseverance clean because it will collect samples on Mars that will one day return to Earth. Learn what your hand sanitizer has in common with NASA’s clean rooms, and how scientists are thinking about protecting Mars in terms of future human missions.
So far we’ve talked about life in terms of its chemistry and telltale signs of biology. But what if there’s intelligent life out there in the universe that has created technologies just as good, or even more advanced, than our own? Some scientists are thinking about how we would detect the signals that would come from distant civilizations, if they are out there. Those signals are called “technosignatures.” Jason Wright, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, has been thinking about the different technosignatures we could pick up using the telescopes we already have, and the telescopes that we could develop in the future.
On Episode 150, Wesley Gordon, program manager for the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) facility at Alpha Space, highlights the work aboard the station that provides the capability to test materials and technologies to the harsh environment of space. This episode was recorded on February 7, 2020.
Without our Sun, there would be no life on Earth. The Sun gives us exactly the amount of heat we need to survive. But our Sun represents only one type of star in the universe. Smaller, fainter stars called K stars are more common in our galaxy and also have planets, but we know far less about them. Giada Arney, astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is looking at the potential for K stars to host habitable worlds. Learn about how stars affect planetary environments and why complex life on early Earth was impossible.
With more than 4,000 planets known that orbit other stars, scientists have discovered that many of these exoplanets are quite unlike our own. NASA has a whole fleet of spacecraft that look at different aspects of these planets. Currently TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, is checking out nearby stars for possible planets. It is helping to identify candidates that future telescopes will explore further. The upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will examine the atmospheres of exoplanets and look for clues about whether they are habitable. NASA astrophysicist Knicole Colon describes her work on the Kepler, Hubble, TESS and Webb missions, and takes us on a tour of some of her favorite planets.
We now know there are more planets than stars in the galaxy. Many of them are very different from ours. How would we know if any of them had life? Shawn Domagal-Goldman, astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, discusses these strange and wondrous worlds beyond our Sun. He and others at NASA are working on concepts for future space telescopes that could actually find exoplanets that resemble Earth, and detect chemicals that only life could produce. And what would such a discovery mean? Find out in this episode.
From diving in Antarctica’s ice-covered lakes to exploring Mexico’s Cave of the Crystals, NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay has been searching for life in a wide variety of extreme environments on Earth. He’s also working on an idea to send a probe called Icebreaker to the polar caps of Mars. Beyond merely finding life on another planet, he’s excited about the idea that potential life on a place like Titan, with a totally different chemistry than ours, could have arisen independently from life on Earth. Learn about Chris’s exciting fieldwork and the concept of life’s “second genesis” in this episode.
Some of the most fascinating targets in the search for life in our solar system are moons of giant planets. Did you know If you had wings, you could fly on Titan, a moon of Saturn? Did you know that Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is thought to have more water than Earth under its icy shell? NASA is planning to send spacecraft to both of these places in the coming years to look for signs and ingredients of life. Another intriguing moon of Saturn is Enceladus, which is spouting a wall of water nearly 100 miles high. Morgan Cable, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses these wondrous worlds, the exotic locations where she has done fieldwork, and the research she has done on the chemistry of life that could thrive on Titan.
When Earth was just a baby, meteors and asteroids rained down, delivering all sorts of chemicals to our developing planet. These small objects could have delivered the chemicals needed to spark life on Earth for the first time. The OSIRIS-REx mission will collect and return a sample from asteroid Bennu, a 4.5-billion-year-old fossil of the early solar system. By looking at pieces of Bennu in laboratories, scientists will be able to look at its composition and see whether some of the building blocks of life came from objects like Bennu.
Imagine a future where the Perseverance Rover actually found definitive evidence of life on Mars. What would happen next? The Explore Mars Society recently held a virtual discussion on this topic with NASA’s chief scientist Jim Green and astrobiologist Penelope Boston from NASA’s Ames Research Center. Hosted by Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society’s Planetary Radio podcast, the panelists talked about the current evidence for chemistry associated with life on Mars, what we can learn from life in extreme environments on Earth, and how finding evidence of life on Mars would change the world.
Mars has long been the subject of fascination among those who have ever wondered if there is life beyond Earth. NASA’s upcoming Mars Perseverance rover, scheduled to launch in July, is bringing a set of technologies to explore the Red Planet in new ways. The rover will search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars in the astrobiology portion of its mission. Perseverance will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. Perseverance is also bringing a helicopter named Ingenuity to test out aerial flight on another planet for the first time. Mitch Schulte of NASA Headquarters discusses this mission and the effort to explore whether Mars had life in the past, or even now.
When we search for life beyond Earth, we have to figure out what we could measure that would tell us that life was, or is, there. And the starting place for that search must be Earth itself, the only place where we know for sure that life has lived. Every rock tells a story, and so does each fatty acid called a lipid. Your cholesterol, which is part lipid and part protein, could last for billions of years, and contains the information that you are a mammal. Could we find lipids beyond Earth? NASA astrobiologist Lindsay Hays explores this and other topics in her research. She also discusses places interesting for the search for life in our solar system and beyond.
To study the history of life on Earth and look for it beyond our planet, scientists in the field of astrobiology look for signs called “biosignatures.” NASA Goddard researcher Heather Graham discusses some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth and what scientists are searching for when they look for biosignatures in ancient rocks. By looking at what life on Earth was like millions and even billions of years ago, astrobiologists can make predictions about what signs of life could be hiding in the rest of the solar system and beyond.
How did life originate and evolve here on Earth? What form could life take elsewhere – and where else could life survive beyond our planet? These are questions that scientists called astrobiologists tackle every day. By using space telescopes, doing laboratory experiments and studying extreme environments on Earth, astrobiologists hope to uncover new insights about what it means to be “life” and get more clues to the ultimate question: Are we alone in the universe? Mary Voytek, head of NASA’s astrobiology program, discusses in this episode.
Besides learning how to live in space, astronauts training for Artemis missions to the Moon will need to become experts in geology, so they know what to look for when they're scoping out rocks and other features. Kelsey Young of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center describes her experience of teaching astronauts through analog sites, places on Earth that resemble parts of the Moon.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed far from where they had anticipated because, 50 years ago, we didn't have a complete understanding of the Moon's gravity. Recent maps of the Moon's gravity have taught us a lot about its overall shape, and have been invaluable for lunar exploration. Maria Zuber, principal investigator of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, reflects on the twin spacecraft and their implications for future investigations.
Just like earthquakes help scientists figure out what's going on inside our home planet, moonquakes have taught scientists a lot about the interior of the Moon. NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission has also given us a clearer picture of the Moon beneath its surface. Seismic activity on the Moon is one area of scientific interest as NASA makes plans to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024.
Early in its history, the Moon was molten, with “fire fountains” erupting from its surface. Astronauts have found tiny beads of glass on the Moon that preserve this history. How did the Moon cool down and become the quiet, cratered world we know today? NASA’s Chief Scientist Jim Green chats with NASA’s Deputy Chief Scientist Dave Draper about the Moon’s volcanic past and what we have learned from Apollo lunar samples.
From lunar samples brought back in the Apollo program, scientists have figured out that the Moon once had a shield around it called a magnetosphere, just like the Earth has today. As NASA prepares to send humans to the Moon, and eventually on to Mars, scientists are exploring the Moon's magnetic past.
It's been 50 years since humans walked on the moon. Now NASA is planning to return, this time to stay. What will future lunar missions look like? Why do we go back at all?
Why do we see only one face of the Moon? What would happen to Earth if the Moon didn't exist? We dive into questions you asked on social media.
Learn how Moon rocks can reveal all kinds of information about our nearest neighbor, as NASA prepares to send astronauts to the Moon and on to Mars.
Sonification is the process of translating data into sound and music. In this musical data sonification of lunar knowledge and exploration, we can hear the progress made throughout the Apollo program to now as our understanding of the Moon expands. Listen to the percussion, which signals launches and the passage of time; the pitch of the string and brass instruments conveys the amount of scientific activity associated with the Moon over time.
Here’s a breakdown of the individual instruments:
Pitch of the string and brass = scientific activity Percussion instruments = passage of time Clock ticking = months Snare drum = years Bass drum = decades Cymbals = launches
Credit: SYSTEM Sounds, Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida; Data compiled by NASA using Google Scholar. Each year's data represents the number of articles, citations and patents dated in that year and returned by Google Scholar when applying a certain set of keywords.
Sonification is the process of translating data into sound and music. In this musical data sonification of lunar knowledge and exploration, we can hear the progress made throughout the Apollo program to now as our understanding of the Moon expands. Listen to the percussion, which signals launches and the passage of time; the pitch of the string and brass instruments conveys the amount of scientific activity associated with the Moon overtime.
Here’s a breakdown of the individual instruments:
Pitch of the string and brass = scientific activity Percussion instruments = passage of time Clock ticking = months Snare drum = years Bass drum = decades Cymbals = launches
Credit: SYSTEM Sounds, Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida; Data compiled by NASA using Google Scholar. Each year's data represents the number of articles, citations and patents dated in that year and returned by Google Scholar when applying a certain set of keywords.
What happened to the lost data from the Apollo era? Get to know the “data detectives” who are tracking it down. The science experiments the Apollo astronauts conducted from the surface of the Moon provide a long-term data record that’s crucial to understanding our Moon as a complete system. Today’s scientists are looking forward to future human exploration of the Moon and the discoveries to follow.
Ketan from Sugarland, Texas, tells us about his childhood in Mumbai, India, and how his father made sure his children got a firsthand look at the Moon landing.
Meet the scientists who are making big discoveries by studying some very tiny rocks. The women of NASA’s Mid-Atlantic Noble Gas Research Laboratory (MNGRL) are getting ready to analyze never-before-seen Moon samples. These samples, collected by Apollo astronauts and brought back to Earth, have been carefully preserved for half a century so they could be studied by future generations of scientists.
Sophie, a 13-year-old from Athens, Greece, shares how lunar exploration inspires her to become an astrophysicist.
Lunar exploration runs in the family for the Petros. NASA lunar scientist Noah Petro interviews his father, Denis, about his work as an Apollo program engineer. In a heartfelt conversation, Noah and his dad examine the human impact of the momentous Apollo 11 mission and their shared passion for science and learning.
Ginny from Danville, Kentucky, tells a story about celebrating the Moon landing with her childhood friends and a secret lemonade stand.
What does a half-century of lunar science sound like? Join Moon data expert Ernie Wright on a musical time-traveling journey through the Apollo program and the exploration era of today. We explore what we knew about the Moon before Apollo, what we discovered because of it and the mysteries today’s scientists are working to solve.
Elena, from Nantes, France, shares her memory of watching the Apollo 11 landing from a friend’s house in Seattle.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched 10 years ago this month, has made groundbreaking discoveries about the Moon, and will pave the way for future human exploration with NASA's Artemis mission.
NASA's Artemis program will send astronauts to the lunar South Pole by 2024, where there is a giant impact crater. Learn how craters teach us about the history of both the Moon and Earth.
The Moon has a large supply of water that could be useful in future human exploration, says NASA scientist Jennifer Heldmann.
What’s so special about our Moon? Join Jim Green, NASA’s chief scientist, for a podcast season that dives into the Moon’s history and mysteries, as well as NASA’s plans to send astronauts there by 2024. New episodes on Thursdays.
NASA geologist Patrick Taylor remembers watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing from Valencia, Spain. In addition to the geology of our Moon, Patrick is currently working on earthquake science.
Producer: Jennifer Leman
Chatter/music: bulbastre, freesounds.org: freesound.org/people/bulbastre/sounds/132162/
Learn about how the Moon formed in this conversation with Robin Canup of the Southwest Research Institute.
With NASA planning to send astronauts to the Moon by 2024, Steve Mackwell chats about the Moon’s exciting unexplored areas.
Steven Clarke, the Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration at NASA, talks about NASA’s plans to partner with companies for delivering new instruments and technology demonstrations to the Moon.
NASA’s got big plans to send people to the Moon, and then on to Mars. What are we going to do at the Moon? And how will that lead to footprints on the Red Planet? Let’s ask the person in charge: the NASA Administrator.
Back in August, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe to study the Sun’s corona—its very outer edge. Parker will sail as close as 4 million miles from the Sun—a record for any space agency in the world—and survive temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. In this week’s episode of Gravity Assist, Thomas Zurbuchen, the Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, joins NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green to discuss the mysterious we still need to solve about the Sun, and more!
NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green sits down with Dr. Kelly Fast, a planetary astronomer to discuss planetary defense and Oumuamua.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer describe the mission and direction of America's space agency after a visit from Vice President Mike Pence. The two agency leaders discuss commercialization, human missions to the Moon, and the difference between NASA and Space Force. This episode was recorded on August 23rd, 2018.
Jon Olansen and Jenny Devolites, leads for the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) crew module and AA-2 launch abort vehicle test mission, discuss the critical test of the abort system if a failure were to happen while the Space Launch System rocket was ascending. This episode was recorded on July 20th, 2018.
NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green sits down with solar scientist Alex Young to discuss the Sun’s powerful explosions.
Listen closely to hear the whistling sound of superfluid helium-3 oscillating, getting louder and quieter. The oscillation occurs when the helium-3 is pushed through perforated membranes in a special container. UC Berkeley scientists used the world's most sensitive microphone, which picked up sounds of the equipment, ground and building motion that you hear as background noise. The whistling sound was magnified so the human ear could hear it.
For episode 60, Dr. Peter Norsk, Senior Research Director and Element Scientist at Baylor College of Medicine based here at NASA, describes the hazard of altered gravity fields and its effects on the human body. This is part three of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. This episode was recorded on June 25, 2018.
For episode 59, Dr. Erik Antonsen, element scientist and emergency physician, discusses the hazard of traveling farther away from Earth an ever before, especially how to provide appropriate medical care with limited resources and challenging communications. This is part three of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. This episode was recorded on June 28th, 2018.
For episode 58, Dr. Tom Williams discusses isolation and confinement. His focus is on habitability and behavioral health and performance risks to space flight, and he leads a research team that looks into isolation. This is part two of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. This podcast was recorded on June 22, 2018.
Since the end of May, Mars has been enshrouded by a dust storm covering nearly the entire planet. Listen in as NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green discusses the Mars dust storm with a dust storm expert, Melinda Kahre.
Episode 57 features Dr. Zarana Patel, a portfolio lead scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center, who is responsible for management and scientific oversight of degenerative tissue risk of space radiation. This is part one of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. This episode was recorded on June 29th, 2018.
At NASA, friendship and discovery go hand-in-hand. For over three decades, Earth scientists Compton Tucker and Piers Sellers were co-workers, roommates, neighbors and best friends. They studied the planet and traveled it together.
Piers passed away in 2016 after battling pancreatic cancer. In this story, Compton remembers and honors his dear friend and partner in science.
Music: Healing by Lee Rosevere Piers’ greeting to his friends on Earth: https://soundcloud.com/nasa/an-astronauts-greeting-to-his-friends-on-earth/s-6wBxF
While traveling aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2002, astronaut and climate scientist Piers Sellers looked down upon Earth and recorded a warm-hearted greeting to his friends and colleagues at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Piers passed away in 2016 after battling pancreatic cancer, and he often said how fortunate he felt to work with some of his best friends.
Dr. Mike Barratt, NASA astronaut, physician and a flight surgeon, shares his story of living in space. Barratt addresses five hazards of human spaceflight and why these challenges need to be addressed to make deep-space missions successful. HWHAP Episode 56.
Chief Scientist Jim Green and a co-investigator on the Kepler and TESS missions, Jon Jenkins, discuss exoplanet-hunting and all the amazing discoveries the Kepler Space Telescope has made.
Listen to the buzzing and whirring of robots that help shape the future of space exploration. NASA Robotic Technologist Brian Roberts takes you on a sound tour of the lab where robots are tested for spaceflight. Read the full story: https://go.nasa.gov/2v2T6QX
Music: Flutterbee by Podington Bear
The sounds you hear come from three sprightly robots: a robotic arm, motion platform and an industrial robot called Motoman SIA20D. These sounds were recorded in NASA Goddard’s Robotic Operations Center. Read the full story: https://go.nasa.gov/2v2T6QX
Credit: Produced at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center by Katie Atkinson
Episode 55 features John Gruener and Steve Hoffman who discuss in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), the ability to find and use natural resources beyond Earth. This episode was recorded on May 23, 2018.
Episode 54 features Tabi Taliwaku Kalisa, program manager of NASA's Small Business Programs, who shares how NASA helps small businesses to get involved in space exploration and scientific discovery by working with them from the spark of an idea to literally being a part of the space industry. This episode was recorded on May 15, 2018.
For decades, NASA has been on the lookout for any asteroid that could cause our planet harm and, in the thousands of objects found, determined that none poses a threat to Earth. Tune into this week’s Gravity Assist to learn about how we hunt for asteroids and comets that might threaten Earth.
Episode 53 showcases Dr. Stan Love, NASA astronaut and all-around smart guy, who flew to the International Space Station in 2008 and has worked on a number of flight analog programs to understand how to conduct deep-space missions. Love explores the challenges that will need to be tackled to make a mission to Mars successful. HWHAP Episode 53. This episode was recorded on May 18, 2018.
For Episode 52, Houston, We Have a Podcast celebrates its first year. Gary Jordan (host) sits down with Alex Perryman (audio) and Dan Huot (co-host) to reminisce about their favorite moments and incredible guests. This episode was recorded on June 20, 2018.
NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers were only supposed to rove around Mars for 90 days. Although NASA ended communications with the Spirit rover in 2011, Opportunity continued its mission and still operates today. Listen in with Steve Squyers from Cornell University as he recounts the amazing discoveries we’ve made about the Red Planet because of these two long-lived rovers
Episode 51 features Harry Roberts, Flight Operation Supervisor for the Aircraft Operations Division out at Ellington Field Airport, who talks about aeronautics at NASA. Roberts describes the operations out at Ellington Field and the aircraft itself that helped to make human spaceflight possible. This episode was recorded on April 10, 2018 .
Episode 49 features Kathy Lueders, Manager of the Commercial Crew Program based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and discussions of a brief history of the space program, how it started, and where it is now. Lueders talks about the two commercial companies, Boeing and SpaceX, and their space vehicles that will carry astronauts into low Earth orbit. This podcast was recorded on Wednesday, May 30th, 2018.
Episode 48 features Ryan Zeigler, a planetary scientist and the lunar sample curator, who talks about the moon rocks brought to Earth during Apollo, the facilities that keep them, and what we're still learning from them. This episode was recorded on February 14, 2018.
Episode 47 features Serena Aunon-Chancellor who shares her story about becoming an astronaut from her education in engineering and medicine to her time as a NASA flight surgeon. Aunon-Chancellor discusses her training and expectations before her first trip to space. This episode was recorded on March 9, 2018.
Episode 46 features Stories of Unity. Adam Kalil, Chair of the Asians Succeeding in Innovation and Aerospace Employee Resource Group, conveniently spelling out ASIA, here on site. Also included are guests Krystine Bui the Deputy Manager of Institutional Procurement Office, Doug Wong a Senior Space Systems and Human factors Engineer, Charlene Gilbert a Technology Transfer Officer in the Exploration Technolgy Office and Ven Feng, Manager of International Space Station Transportation Integration Office. They all stem from different backgrounds across the center: Exploration, Safety, Procurement and International Space Station. We’ll get to hear their story of how they got to NASA and what they do to help make human spaceflight possible. This episode was recorded throughout the month of May 2018.
Episode 45 features Annette Moore, the Director of our Information Resources Director and the Chief Information Officer at the Johnson Space Center, who tells us about data and information in space as well as the tech we use for human spaceflight operations, including space station imagery and how it's changed over time. Moore discusses how the Johnson Space Center is handling the multiple petabytes of data to preserve the history of the human spaceflight program. This episode was recorded on April 18, 2018
Episode 44 features Jeff Fox, Chief Engineer of the Rapid Prototype Lab at the Johnson Space Center, who tells the history and evolution of displays and controls in the space shuttle. Fox reveals details behind some of the new displays that are being designed to fly on the Orion spacecraft. This episode was recorded on March 21, 2018.
Dr. Scott Smith, NASA nutritionist and the manager for nutritional biochemistry, discusses some pretty significant differences in the way astronauts have to eat in space versus the way we eat here on Earth. This episode was recorded on February 16, 2018.
What lurks beneath Mars’s surface? How did the rocky, Red Planet form? What can Mars teach us about our own planet Earth? Soon, these questions will start getting answered by NASA’s newest Mars lander, the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport, or InSight. With its seismometer and heat probe instruments, InSight will investigate the deep dynamics of Mars, helping scientists discover what lies within its core and learn more about how rocky bodies form throughout the solar system.
Paul Bookout and David Smith talk about the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V: The Space Launch System. The experts discuss the construction, testing, evolution and potential of the skyscraper-sized launch vehicle. This episode was recorded on March 20, 2018.
Paul Bookout and David Smith talk about the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V: The Space Launch System. The experts discuss what the rocket is made of, where it will go, and what will be inside. This episode was recorded on March 20, 2018.
Episode 40 features Colonel TJ Creamer who shares his story from humble beginnings in the military to tweeting from the International Space Station. Creamer describes his transition as the first and only individual to be both an astronaut and a flight director. This episode was recorded on March 29, 2018
On Monday, April 16th, NASA is scheduled to launch its newest exoplanet hunter: the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). In this episode of Gravity Assist, Jim Green talks with Martin Still, the TESS Program Scientist, about how TESS works and how it will help us discover new worlds.
Episode 39 features Rajib Dasgupta and Gerard Valle who talk about the commercial test module currently attached to the International Space Station called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM). The respective former and current project managers for BEAM discuss the history and future of expandable spacecraft. This episode was recorded on February 8 and February 20, 2018
For Women's History Month we brought in 4 women in leadership at the Johnson Space Center to share their stories of persevering through challenges and rising through the ranks. We speak with leaders of the International Space Station Program, Flight Operations, Engineering, and Human Health and Performance. This episode was recorded throughout March 2018.
Episode 37 features Dr. Tina Holden, Human Factors Technical Fellow with Leidos, who talks about the challenges that astronauts may face when interacting with computers. Holden discusses some of the research that has been done on the space station to investigate these issues. This episode was recorded on February 27, 2018.
Jeff Fox, Chief Engineer of the Rapid Prototype Lab, talks about some of the testing and training for Orion. Fox brings the actual audio from inside the Orion capsule during its first flight so you, the listener, can experience what it would be like to ride inside the spacecraft. This episode was recorded on February 7, 2018.
NASA’s Jim Green and bestselling author Andy Weir explore the fascinating intersection of science and science fiction.
After making history by flying by Pluto in 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is speeding toward a New Year’s Day 2019 flyby of a mysterious world in the outer realm of the solar system. In this episode of Gravity Assist, Jim Green talks with New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern about what we’ve learned about Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 and the remarkable story of how -- against all odds -- the New Horizons team captured MU69’s fleeting shadow on Earth as the object passed in front of a distant star.
Pluto -- which is smaller than Earth’s Moon -- has a heart-shaped glacier that’s the size of Texas and Oklahoma. Fascinating Pluto also has blue skies, spinning moons, mountains as high as the Rockies, and it snows—but the snow is red! In this episode of Gravity Assist, Jim Green talks with New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute about what the July 2015 flyby of Pluto revealed about this mysterious and diverse world.
Beyond Saturn are two of the most misunderstood and bizarre planets in our solar system—the “ice giants” Uranus and Neptune. Did you know that Uranus has rings and appears to spin on its side? And that windy and intensely blue Neptune once had an Earth-sized Great Dark Spot? In this episode of Gravity Assist, NASA’s Jim Green and Amy Simon discuss Uranus, Neptune, and Neptune’s intriguing moon – Triton -- and what we still have to learn about these mysterious bodies.
With me today is Dr. Linda Spilker from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She's the project scientist for our Cassini Mission, which as everyone knows, had a recent spectacular finale at Saturn.
With Jim Green today is the “man about Mars,” Bruce Jakosky from the University of Colorado. Bruce is the principal investigator of NASA's MAVEN mission. Joining them is Michael Meyer the lead Mars scientist at NASA Headquarters.
Did you know the Moon is slowly moving away from Earth and that the Moon has water? Jim Green is joined by lunar expert Sarah Noble to discuss how the Moon was formed, lava tubes and moonquakes, the “dark side of the Moon,” and mysteries we have yet to solve about Earth’s nearest neighbor.
NASA not only seeks to unravel the secrets of the solar system and the universe, we have a robust program to better understand how Earth works as a system, how it’s changing, and to assist when natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes occur.
The next stop on our virtual tour is Venus, the closest planet to Earth and the hottest planet in our solar system, with surface temperatures scorching enough to melt lead.
Our virtual tour of the solar system continues with Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. Since it’s tough to observe Mercury except at dawn or twilight, most of what we know about Mercury is from NASA’s Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions.
We start our “Gravity Assist” virtual tour of the solar system with – where else – the Sun! How hot is the Sun, what are solar flares, and how does space weather affect us here in Earth? Jim is joined by Project Scientist Dr. Nicky Fox of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab to talk about our fascinating star and NASA’s upcoming Parker Solar Probe—a mission to “touch the Sun.”
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has observed plasma wave signals from Jupiter’s ionosphere. This display is a frequency-time spectrogram. The results in this figure show an increasing plasma density as Juno descended into Jupiter’s ionosphere during its close pass by Jupiter on February 2, 2017.
The intensity, or amplitude, of the waves is displayed based on the color scale shown on the right. The actual observed frequencies of these emissions approach 150 kHz, which is above the human hearing range. To bring these signals into the human audio range, the playback speed has been slowed by a factor of about 60. The momentary, nearly pure tones follow a scale related to the electron density, and are likely associated with an interaction between the Juno spacecraft and the charged particles in Jupiter’s ionosphere. The exact source of these discrete tones is currently being investigated.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/Univ. of Iowa
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Best wishes to you all."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Good health to you now and forever."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Sincerely send you our friendly greetings."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Peace on you. We the inhabitants of this earth send our greetings to you."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "We are sending greetings from our world, wishing you happiness, goodness, good health and many years."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Dear Turkish-speaking friends, may the honors of the morning be upon your heads."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "We in this world send you our good will"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings. Best wishes from Telugu-speaking people."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings from a computer programmer in the little university town of Ithaca on the planet Earth"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "May all be well."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello and greetings to all."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "We greet you, O great ones."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Wish You a Long Life."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "We wish you everything good from our planet."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings! I Welcome You!"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings to everybody."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello to everyone. We are happy here and you be happy there."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Welcome home. It is a pleasure to receive you."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Peace and happiness to all."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Welcome, creatures from beyond the outer world."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello to the residents of far skies."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings to the inhabitants of the universe from the third planet Earth of the star Sun."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "How are all you people of other planets?"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "We greet you, great ones. We wish you longevity"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Wishing you a peaceful future from the earthlings."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings. The people of the Earth send their good wishes."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hope everyone's well. We are thinking about you all. Please come here to visit when you have time."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings to all peoples of the universe. God give you peace always."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: Greetings to you, whoever you are; we have good will towards you and bring peace across space."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "How are you?"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello to everybody from this Earth, in Kechua language."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings. On behalf of Kannada-speaking people, 'good wishes.'"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello? How are you?"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Many greetings and wishes."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Good night ladies and gentlemen. Goodbye and see you next time."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "We wish all of you well."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "We are sending greetings in the Hungarian language to all peace-loving beings in the Universe."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hail."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings from the inhabitants of this world."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Peace."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings from a human being of the Earth. Please contact."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings to you, whoever you are. We come in friendship to those who are friends."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Heartfelt greetings to all."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello everybody."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello from the children of planet Earth."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Heartfelt greetings to everyone."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Dear Friends, we wish you the best."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hi. How are you? Wish you peace, health and happiness."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Are you well."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Hello! Let there be peace everywhere."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "To all those who exist in the universe, greetings."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Peace"
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Greetings to our friends in the stars. We wish that we will meet you someday."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time."
This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.
English Translation: "May all be very well"
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's 2014 High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) mission placed infrasound (below audible frequency sound) microphones 22 miles above the Earth in order to quantify the acoustic wavefield of the stratosphere-the first time this has been done in half a century. The microphones captured a variety of signals of unknown origin. Preliminary work indicates that the signals may originate from clear air turbulence, aircraft, wind farms, ocean waves, and cable vibrations on the balloon, but more investigation is required before definitive sources can be identified. The sound files featured here have been sped up by 100 times to bring the signals into audible range.
The HASP flight program is supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office (BPO) and the Louisiana Space Consortium (LaSPACE). Currently, HASP flies once a year in September from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) base in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Credit: HASP; UNC Chapel Hill/Department of Geological Sciences; Boise State University
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's 2014 High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) mission placed infrasound (below audible frequency sound) microphones 22 miles above the Earth in order to quantify the acoustic wavefield of the stratosphere-the first time this has been done in half a century. The microphones captured a variety of signals of unknown origin. Preliminary work indicates that the signals may originate from clear air turbulence, aircraft, wind farms, ocean waves, and cable vibrations on the balloon, but more investigation is required before definitive sources can be identified. The sound files featured here have been sped up by 1000 times to bring the signals into audible range.
The HASP flight program is supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office (BPO) and the Louisiana Space Consortium (LaSPACE). Currently, HASP flies once a year in September from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) base in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Credit: HASP; UNC Chapel Hill/Department of Geological Sciences; Boise State University