NASA on Soundcloud

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!

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.

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.

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.