Ep. 296: Space Stations, Part 1 — Salyut and Skylab

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) It’s one thing to fly into space, and another thing entirely to live in space. And to understand the stresses and strains this puts on a human body, you’re going to need a space station. In this three-part series, we explore the past, present...

Ep. 258: Viking Landers

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Last week we talked about the orbiter portion of the Viking Missions. But that was only half the adventure. Each Viking spacecraft carried a lander as well, which touched down on the surface of Mars, searching for evidence of past and current life. And what...

Ep. 257: Viking Orbiters

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity get all the news now, but it was NASA’s Viking Missions that gave us our first close up view of the surface of Mars. These twin missions, both made of orbiter and lander set the stage for the exploration of Mars,...

Ep. 232: Galileo Spacecraft

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) In last season’s thrilling cliff hanger, we talked about astronomer superhero Galileo Galilei. Will a mission be named after him? The answer is yes! NASA’s Galileo spacecraft visited Jupiter in 1995, and spent almost 8 years orbiting, changing...

Ep. 229: Cassini Mission

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Last week we talked about the Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini. This week we’ll talk about the mission that shares his name: NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft. This amazing mission is orbiting Saturn right now, sending back thousands of high...

Ep. 222: The Decadal Survey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) In episode 198 we explained how space missions are chosen, and introduced the Decadal Survey. Since the time we recorded that episode, the full Decadal Survey for planetary science has been released, explaining the science goals for planetary geologists...