Category: Space

Transcript (music) 9 News Australia Reporter: “…Cornonavirus emergency. The World Health Organization has declared cornonavirus a global pandemic…” [00:07] Narrator: This has been a tough year for the people of planet Earth. BBC Reporter:…so anybody coming back from Wuhan, when we returned, needed to quarantine… NPR Reporter:…the viruses circulating today look remarkably similar to the ones that appeared in China late last year… CBS Reporter:…thousands broke the lock-down rules to deliver a message of solidarity with American protestors… Protestor: Black Lives Matter! May 28, 2020 New York City protest: I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! [00:34] Narrator: As difficult…

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 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. This episode was recorded February 28, 2025. Transcript Joseph Zakrzewski Houston, we have a podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center.…

Our new Toolkit for Librarians can help you share NASA citizen science opportunities with your patrons and community members. Rural and urban libraries, informal educators, youth group leaders, and retirement community coordinators can all benefit from this resource. Together, we can open the door for more people to join the fun, learning, and thrill of doing NASA science.   The toolkit prepares a program leader to lead a NASA Science event for people ages 8 and up. The toolkit includes:  A guide to help you prepare for the event, from choosing and equipping the space, to becoming familiar with the…

While continental in scale, the ozone hole over the Antarctic was small in 2025 compared to previous years and remains on track to recover later this century, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported. The hole this year was the fifth smallest since 1992, the year a landmark international agreement to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals began to take effect. At the height of this year’s depletion season from Sept. 7 through Oct. 13, the average extent of the ozone hole was about 7.23 million square miles (18.71 million square kilometers) — that’s twice the area of…

JAXA/Kimiya Yui JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui captured this photo of southern Europe and the northwestern Mediterranean coast from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Earth on Aug. 30, 2025. At left, the Po Valley urban corridor in Italy shines with the metropolitan areas of Milan and Turin and their surrounding suburbs. Crew members aboard the orbital lab have produced hundreds of thousands of images of the land, oceans, and atmosphere of Earth, and even of the Moon through Crew Earth Observations. Their photographs of Earth record how the planet changes over…

Joshua Santora:You might credit some modern technology to NASA, but have you ever wondered how that technology got from use in space exploration to you. And do you think you could you go an entire day without using NASA technology? Next, on the Rocket Ranch. Dr. Phil Metzger:These are spacecraft that can keep on going forever and ever in space, and they will open up the resources of the solar system to humanity so we don’t have just one planet any more. Launch Countdown Sequence:EGS Program Chief Engineer, verify no constraints to launch. EGS Chief Engineer team has no…

NARRATOR There is perhaps no one better than Jim Garvin to outline the unique opportunities for research that the Artemis missions to the Moon could provide scientists on Earth. Jim is chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and a tireless champion for crewed exploration of the Moon. What follows is a talk Jim gave at the most recent American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco. There, he spoke to the importance of network-based communications and navigation services for the Artemis missions and NASA’s journey from the Moon to Mars and beyond. A couple of…

A conversation with Komal Sadhwani, an attorney at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Transcript Matthew Buffington: You’re listening to NASA in Silicon Valley episode 97. This week our guest is Komal Sadhwani, an attorney here at NASA Ames. Komal specializes in commercial law, but in reality, ends up doing a large mix of things that need a lawyer’s point of view. We discuss terrestrial law, or law that occurs on Earth for the benefit of space exploration. We also talk about her work throughout NASA that includes HR, finance, procurement and, of course, being a part of…

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.…

Transcript (music) Narrator: Our planet Earth is a child of the Sun. We sprang from the same interstellar cloud of gas and dust that created our parent star. This cloud was caught in a shockwave when a nearby star reached the end of its life and exploded. (sound FX explosion) Narrator: The supernova blast caused our birth cloud to spin and heat up, and most of the material in the cloud’s compressed center ignited into our Sun. (sound FX solar ignition) Narrator: The remaining disk of material swirling around the young Sun eventually formed the planets of our solar…

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 382, an experienced commentator of more than 80 shuttle flights shares lessons of communications and leadership ahead of his retirement. This episode was recorded March 14, 2025. Transcript Gary Jordan Houston, we have a podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, episode 382, this is Mission Control Houston.…

Joshua Santora: NASA has been given its loftiest charge since the 1960s and KSC has a critical role… Mark Wiese:We know we’re standing on the shoulders of giants and it’s pretty nostalgic and pretty emotional. Joshua Santora:Next, on the Rocket Ranch. Launch Countdown Sequence:EGS Program Chief Engineer, verify no constraints to launch. EGS Chief Engineer team has no constraints. I copy that. You are clear to launch. Five, four, three, two, one, and lift-off. All clear. Now passing through max q, maximum dynamic pressure. Welcome to space. Joshua Santora: NASA’s accelerating a human return to the Moon and will…

NARRATOR I interviewed dozens of NASA professionals to gather content for the second season of the podcast. It would be impossible to pick a favorite, but I definitely have a particular fondness for NASA Chief Historian Bill Barry. He spoke to the unique role of the History Office at NASA and helped me to understand the profound shift in NASA’s ambitions between the Apollo missions of 50 years ago to the Artemis missions of today. At its core, the History Office ensures that — even as we look forward to the Moon, Mars and beyond — we always stay…

A conversation with James De Buizer, the science planning and instrument support manager for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy or SOFIA. Transcript Abby Tabor:Welcome to NASA in Silicon Valley episode 98. This week we’re talking with Jim De Buizer about SOFIA, our flying telescope that is currently studying the southern skies from Christchurch, New Zealand. Jim is the science planning and instrument support manager for SOFIA. He explains why SOFIA goes to New Zealand and tells us about some of the exciting observations the team has planned while they are there. Now let’s listen to our conversation with…

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. Jim Green:NASA loves interns, and we employ hundreds of them across all the activities that we do, including the history of NASA. Felicia Ragucci:One of the big questions…

Transcript (sound FX: Costa Rica jungle) [0:03] Narrator: Earlier this year, a team of scientists trekked through the dense jungle of northwest Costa Rica, where active volcanoes loom over the landscape. Josh Fisher, a JPL ecologist, led the expedition. Josh Fisher:I work on terrestrial ecosystems — anything to do with plants, soils, water, nutrients, carbon. Narrator: He was seeking to answer a question about carbon dioxide, or CO2, that’s been bugging him for years. (sound FX: mosquito and slap) [0:36] Josh Fisher:The biggest uncertainty in the Earth system and projections of Earth’s climate, when it comes to the land…

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 383, four NASA flight controllers discuss specialized operations like spacewalks and spacecraft arrivals that keep the International Space Station running. This episode was recorded December 17, 2024. Transcript Kenna Pell (Host) Houston, we have a podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, episode 383, Mission Control Special Operations.…

Joshua Santora: It’s easy for take for granted the challenge of assembling the International Space Station at 17,500 miles per hour. Charlie Quincy: If it gets to space and it doesn’t work, what do you do? Joshua Santora: Next on the “Rocket Ranch.” Launch Countdown Sequence: EGS Program Chief Engineer, verify no constraints to launch. Three, two, one, and liftoff. Welcome to space. Joshua Santora: Amidst a flurry of new charges and ambitious goals for the future, we’re taking a few episodes to reflect on some past accomplishments as we reach noteworthy milestones. Next month, we’re celebrating the 50th…

MISSION CONTROLLER 1 And SpaceX we still [have a] nominal descent rate. 200 meters. Brace for splashdown. MISSION CONTROLLER 2 SpaceX copies. Brace for splashdown. … NARRATOR Last week, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission returned from the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon undocked from the orbiting laboratory, descended through the atmosphere, unfurled its parachutes, and gently splashed down off the coast of Florida. The mission returned NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi home to Earth after a nearly six-month stay in space. The momentous return of this mission comes just…

A conversation with Jon Galazka, project scientist for NASA’s GeneLab, and Ruth Globus, a rodent research project scientist, at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Transcript Host (Abby Tabor):Welcome to NASA in Silicon Valley episode 99! This week we’re talking with two scientists, Ruth Globus and Jon Galazka. Ruth is the Rodent Research project scientist here. She advises researchers, engineers and others on how to carry out their experiments on the International Space Station. That lets them study how gravity and other aspects of the space environment influence biological systems. Jon is the project scientist for NASA’s GeneLab.…

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.…

Transcript (sound FX: ocean waves) [0:03] Narrator: Last June, Astronaut Kathy Sullivan traveled to the deepest part of the ocean. It’s the opposite direction you’d expect an astronaut to go, but then again, the deep ocean is not unlike outer space – an alien realm full of mysteries, infinitely dark, with hostile conditions, and largely unexplored. Her roughly 4-hour journey would have gone something like this: (sound FX: water splash) (music) As we sink beneath the surface waves, we travel through the realm where the bulk of ocean life exists.Tiny plants known as phytoplankton harvest the sunlight that can…

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 384, a NASA scientist discusses how imagery and data collected from the International Space Station can support natural disaster response teams on the ground. This episode was recorded February 28, 2025. Transcript Dane Turner Houston, we have a podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, episode 384, Natural…

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] [ Bird cries ] Joshua Santora:Fifty years ago, NASA was on the precipice of mankind’s most historic small steps. Woman: EGS Program Chief Engineer verify no constraints to launch. Man: 3, 2, 1, and liftoff! Man #2: Welcome to space. Joshua Santora: Today we take you inside the control room and onto the ocean during the Apollo 11 mission. We’re taking a look back at the work done here on Earth to ensure our heroic astronauts succeeded on mankind’s most daring adventure. In a few minutes, we’ll hear from Milt Heflin and Melissa Jones…