NASA's Curious Universe

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA's Curious Universe audio podcast episodes

  • 36 minutes 8 seconds
    Europa Clipper's Voyage to Jupiter's Ocean Moon

    As NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft leaves Earth, it carries a message: we, too, are made of water. Europa—one of Jupiter’s moons—is a top candidate to support life, thanks to its ocean of liquid, salty water capped by a layer of ice. Lynnae Quick-Henderson, a planetary scientist at NASA, explains how Clipper will search Europa for the building blocks of life. The mission is also a message in a bottle, bringing a greeting from one ocean world to another. Hear how Ada Limón, the Poet Laureate of the United States, used NASA’s mission as inspiration for her poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa” and why she thinks everyone—even space nerds—should step back and appreciate our connections to the universe and each other. 

    1 October 2024, 1:03 pm
  • 39 minutes 8 seconds
    An Asteroid by Any Other Name With Special Guest Latif Nasser

    The idea of an asteroid from outer space crashing into Earth has captured the imaginations of science fiction directors for decades. But here at NASA, we take potentially hazardous near-Earth objects seriously. We have a planetary defense office that plans for every scenario—we’ve even practiced nudging an asteroid off course with spacecraft. But there are tens of thousands of objects in near-Earth space, and the first step in protecting against potential impacts is spotting, tracking and managing every single one of them. Learn how NASA does just that from Joe Masiero, a scientist on the asteroid survey mission NEOWISE. Then, join friend of the show Latif Nasser, co-host of the podcast Radiolab, to untangle the mystery of a strange space rock that’s not quite a moon but not quite a normal asteroid, either.

    17 September 2024, 1:44 pm
  • 35 minutes 42 seconds
    Sun Series: Bonus: Dispatches from the Path of Totality
    On April 8, 2024, North America experienced its last total solar eclipse until the 2040s. As the Moon’s shadow fell across the U.S., NASA sent Curious Universe producers out into the field across the path of totality to talk to space nerds and eclipse scientists. In this special bonus episode of our Sun Series, we’ll relive the special day together.
    3 May 2024, 4:00 am
  • 35 minutes 50 seconds
    Sun Series: Soaring Toward the Sun
    For the first time, a NASA spacecraft is flying through the Sun's atmosphere. Nour Raouafi, project scientist for Parker Solar Probe, explains why the Sun's corona is the source of one of the biggest mysteries in all of space science. So, what does it take to build a probe that can touch the Sun—including surviving temperatures of 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit and barreling through sudden eruptions of solar plasma—and live to tell the tale? We'll also go inside the fleet of NASA spacecraft studying the Sun from many angles, including the rescue mission to save a wildly spinning observatory before it became lost in space forever.
    23 April 2024, 12:51 pm
  • 34 minutes 29 seconds
    Sun Series: What is Space Weather?
    From Earth, the Sun can seem steady and predictable. But when you look at our star close up, there’s a lot going on. Go behind the scenes with NASA’s Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office, a team monitoring space weather—eruptions of radiation and plasma from the Sun that can wreak havoc on spacecraft and pose dangers to astronauts. We’ll also revisit the most powerful geomagnetic storm on record, an 1859 event that produced northern lights visible in the tropics and made electrical systems go haywire. This is episode fiof the Sun and Eclipse series from NASA’s Curious Universe, an official NASA podcast.
    16 April 2024, 4:00 am
  • 11 minutes 57 seconds
    Sun Series: Minisode! Countdown to Total Solar Eclipse 2024
    It’s time. On April 8, 2024, millions of people across North America will see a total solar eclipse. Get the most out of totality with this special bonus episode. Listen up for safety tips, learn how to make your own pinhole projector to safely view the eclipse and learn how anyone—including you!—can contribute to NASA research through citizen science. And if you’re not in the path of totality, watch NASA’s live broadcast starting at 1 p.m. EDT. NASA’s Curious Universe is an official NASA podcast. See when the eclipse starts where you are with NASA’s Eclipse Explorer: go.nasa.gov/EclipseExplorer
    6 April 2024, 4:00 am
  • 44 minutes 36 seconds
    Sun Series: You (Yes, You!) Can Help NASA Study the Sun
    How often do you think about your nearest star? Though it may not seem like it from here on Earth, our trusty Sun is a place of mystery. Take a good look at its influence on our planet – through the otherworldly experience of eclipse, maybe, or the aurora – and you might get "sucked" in... to a citizen science project, that is. Join NASA Sun scientists like Liz Macdonald and volunteers like Hanjie Tan to listen to crickets fooled by the false night of an eclipse, discover new colors in the aurora, and hunt for comets hiding in the plasma of our Sun’s atmosphere. And learn how you can get involved in NASA science while experiencing our nearest star firsthand. This is episode three of the Sun and Eclipse series from NASA’s Curious Universe, an official NASA podcast.
    2 April 2024, 4:00 am
  • 41 minutes 12 seconds
    Sun Series: How to Experience a Total Solar Eclipse
    On April 8, 2024, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, casting a shadow across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Total solar eclipses have fascinated human beings for thousands of years. Watching the Moon eclipse the Sun is a surreal, multi-sensory experience that you’re not likely to forget. But Eclipses also offer unique opportunities for NASA to study the relationship between our star and home planet. Join current and former NASA sun scientists Kelly Korreck, Fred “Mr. Eclipse” Espenak and Cherilynn Morrow on a journey through time and space to solve eclipse mysteries.
    26 March 2024, 1:24 pm
  • 36 minutes 22 seconds
    Sun Series: The Sun, Our Star
    The Sun is our closest star. Billions of years ago, it shaped the formation of our home planet and the beginning of life on Earth. Today, it provides the heat and energy that powers our civilization, but it can also disrupt our technology and spacecraft through explosive outbursts of radiation. Join NASA Sun scientist Joe Westlake on a journey from the surface of Earth to the Sun’s core to learn how intricately we’re connected to our star and the progress we’ve made unraveling its mysteries. This is episode one of the Sun and Eclipse series from NASA's Curious Universe, an official NASA podcast.
    19 March 2024, 4:00 am
  • 2 minutes 44 seconds
    Here Comes the Sun Series
    Meet the Sun. Even if you think you know our star, our new mini series from NASA’s Curious Universe will show you why Sun science is heating up in 2024—and why NASA experts have so much more to discover. Get ready for the hair-raising experience of a total solar eclipse, and learn how anyone can pitch in through citizen science. See the vibrant and sometimes chaotic close-up details of the Sun, and hear how NASA keeps astronauts and spacecraft safe from solar outbursts. And go inside a pioneering mission to touch the Sun’s atmosphere and investigate some of its biggest unanswered questions. NASA’s Curious Universe is an official NASA podcast. Discover more adventures with NASA experts at nasa.gov/curiousuniverse
    11 March 2024, 4:00 am
  • 37 minutes 45 seconds
    Planet Hunting with Host Padi Boyd
    In this special episode, we turn the tables and put host Padi Boyd in the interview seat. Padi shares stories from her time with NASA’s groundbreaking Kepler mission, which showed us many more exoplanets—planets orbiting other stars—than we had previously discovered. She also tells us about her dream astronomical dinner companion and her go-to karaoke song. Plus, we'll wrap up another season of wild and wonderful adventures by answering questions from listeners like you and sharing behind-the-scenes tidbits from Season 6 episodes. For the first time, this episode of Curious Universe is also available as a video podcast. Check it out at nasa.gov/curiousuniverse and NASA’s YouTube channel: youtu.be/h0wLZJeYGxw
    21 February 2024, 4:00 am
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