AirSpace

In the 1930s, rocketry was basically a joke among the scientific establishment in the U, but that didn't stop a rag tag group out of Pasadena from trying to build rockets. That group would first be known as The Suicide Squad (for all the dangerous experiments they conducted on campus) and later as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Over its first decade, the JPL story includes funding challenges, communist intrigue, brushes with the occult, building weapons, building engines and ultimately--building rockets. Buckle in, this one's a wild ride.

Thanks to our guests in this episode:

• Fraser MacDonald, Author, Escape from Earth: A Secret History of the Space Rocket

• Erik Conway, JPL Historian

• Interview with Frank Malina from the Caltech Archives and Special Collections

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AirSpace will be back in two weeks with brand new epsiodes. In the meantime, enjoy this episode from our friends at the podcast, This is Love.

When twin rovers named Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars twenty years ago, they were only supposed to last 90 Martian days. But years passed, they were still alive, and engineers kept taking care of them. “I remember telling myself, ‘Please don’t die, Opportunity. Please don’t die.’”

Find more information about this episode here.

AirSpace is from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

While we get Season Nine ready for you, we turned to our friends at Sidedoor to bring you a story of running and running and running and running…in Space! We’ll let them take it from here:

Until the 1970s, women were barred from competing in U.S. marathons because of the belief that the "violent movements" of running would wreak havoc on their reproductive system, "thus defeating a woman’s true purpose in life, i.e., the bringing forth of strong children." Through a series of steps, stumbles—and one epic tackle—running pioneers like Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb and Kathrine Switzer blazed the trail for women marathoners who followed, including Sunita Williams—the first person to run the Boston Marathon in space!

• Sunita Williams, astronaut

• Jennifer Levasseur, curator, Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

• Peter Sagal, marathoner; host of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

• Bobbi Gibb, first woman to run the Boston Marathon

• Kathrine Switzer, first women to officially run the Boston Marathon

—

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You’ll have new AirSpace episodes soon, but since they may have found Amelia Earhart’s plane(!!!) we thought we’d revisit our episode on her and Eleanor Roosevelt’s somewhat unlikely friendship.

On a spring evening in 1933, Amelia Earhart took first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on a joyride. Imagine two women—dressed for dinner at the White House (white gloves and all)—stealing away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to pilot and co-pilot a nighttime flight to Baltimore. On this episode of AirSpace, we’re detailing the high-flying friendship of these two women – from their shared background as social workers to their mutual love of flight and advocacy of women’s empowerment and social justice. Amelia and Elanor took the business of being role models seriously, leading by example and using their influence to elevate important societal issues. Talk about an influencer power couple!

Thanks to our guests who helped us contextualize their history and friendship – biographers Allida Black and Susan Butler.

AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

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As we look forward to the upcoming total solar eclipse over North America, AirSpace is looking back in time to a much much older eclipse. In 1142 a total solar eclipse with much the same path as the one coming up April 8. It was also the sign in the sky the Seneca needed to join the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a representative democracy that would govern six tribes below Lakes Erie and Ontario. Before a 1997 journal article, Western Historians insisted the eclipse that decided the Seneca happened much later in the 15th or 16th century. We talk to one of the authors of the paper about the tradition, evidence, and astronomy behind the more accurate date.

Thanks to our guest in this episode:

• Dr. Barbara Alice Mann, Professor Emerita-University of Toledo

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Did you know that it takes the Earth 365-ish days to orbit the sun? It’s that ‘ish’ that makes February 29 a thing every four years. We talk to one of the Museum’s astronomy educators to get the low down on Leap Day.

Thanks to Astronomy Educator Shauna Brandt Edson for joining Emily for this episode.

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Afrofuturism is a cultural movement that explores the possibilities of Black futures and pasts and presents through art, literature, music, film and pop culture. And a lot of Afrofuturism has a lot of space in it. Today we're talking about Afrofuturist space and Afronauts and walking through the Afrofuturism exhibit by our friends at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Thanks to our guests in this episode:

Dr. Kevin Strait, Curator National Museum of African American History and Culture

Tim Fielder, Author and Artists Matty’s Rocket

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Hollywood is in love with airports and airplanes and we are too! How many rom-coms can you name where the meet cute, the almost meet, the epic chase or the long distance relationships happens thanks to a terminal or twist of fate seat assignment? We can name at least six. And if we missed your favorite, drop us a comment on Instagram or Twitter!

Thanks to our guest in this episode:

Scott Meslow, Author From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of the Romantic Comedy

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From when it started in 1981, MTV used an iconic neon scribbled astronaut as its channel ID for years. And even today the award you get when you win a VMA is a statuette of an Apollo era astronaut, but why is MTV obsessed with the Moonman? And why do we have two of those statuettes in our collection? We're digging into the history of cable's giant leap, today on AirSpace

Thanks to our guest in this episode:

Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, National Air and Space Museum Space History Chair

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Hurricanes are a fact of life in the Caribbean but in 2017, the season was so bad that it changed everything for the people of Puerto Rico. Only two weeks after another major hurricane, Maria barreled into the island bringing more than 200 mile per hour winds, rain and flooding. In the aftermath, the Coast Guard with their helicopters are crucial to search and rescue, aid drops and surveying damage. We spoke to two Coast Guard members, as well as one of our own colleagues, about what the hurricane was like, and what happened after.

We’re joined by Vanessa Parés, Digitization Coordinator NASM

Thanks to our guests for this episode:

• Captain Ed Aponte, U.S. Coast Guard

• Avionics Technician First Class Mari DeLong, U.S. Coast Guard

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In January 1942 a B-314 flying boat operated by Pan American World Airways landed in New York after making arguably the first around the world flight by a commercial airliner. But when they set out from San Francisco in 1941, they never intended to hold that record. Trapped in the Pacific by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Captain Bob Ford and his crew were forced to return home flying west. It took them more than a month and several tight spots to get their important aircraft back to the U.S.

Thanks to our guest in this episode:

Ed Dover, former Pan Am Radio Operator and Author of The Long Way Home: A Journey into History with Captain Robert Ford

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In a lot of political and financial circles space exploration is often talked about in terms of human space exploration VERSUS robotic space travel. But most scientists and engineers who work on space missions think this question is better answered with a yes, and. We're diving into the pros, cons and uses of both human and robotic space exploration today on AirSpace.

We’re joined by Dr Erica Jawin, Postdoctoral Research Geologist at NASM’s Center for Planetary Studies

Thanks to our guests for this episode:

• Dr Brett Denevi, Geology Lead Artemis III, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

• Bobak Ferdowsi, Systems Engineer on Robotic Space Missions

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Today is a very special day, parade day of course! The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a holiday staple for almost 100 years, and the balloons have been a part of it for nearly as long. We got the download on these helium-filled works of art that aren't all that different from the hot-air cousins.

Thanks to our guest on this episode:

• Kathleen Wright, Director of Production Operation at Macy’s Parade Studios

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Space is dangerous. And as long as we've been sending people into space, we've also been thinking about what we can do to make sure they're prepared for it, and make sure they will come home again. The main way that manifests is in training astronauts before they go up, and contingency planning on how to rescue them if something goes awry.

We’re joined by Dr. Emily A. Margolis, Curator of Contemporary Spaceflight.

Thanks to our guests on this episode:

• Major Nick Barwikowski, Commander, Army SERE School

• Chief Warrant Officer, Retired Mike Christanson, Head Instructor, Army SERE School

• Grant Cates, Senior Project Manager at The Aerospace Corporation

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When the Boeing 747 first came out it revolutionized the already revolutionary Jet Age. Able to carry more than twice as many passengers as it's predecessors, the 747 was initally designed for cargo. Boeing thought it would be quickly outstripped by the U.S.'s SST. But when the 'American Concorde' was scrapped in favor of breathable air and no sonic booms over major cities (see our episode Boom, Clap for deets), the 747 became the plane of choice for high passenger load routes. Now that Boeing's retired her, we're looking back on the more than 50 year history of the original Jumbo Jet.

Thanks to our guest on this episode:

• Michael Lombardi, Boeing Historian

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Europa Clipper is soon to be on its was to the outer solar system to study one of Jupiter's most interesting moons. In addition to the really awesome science it will do ('sniffing' gases with a mass spectrometer to find out what they're made of?!? How cool is that??), the spacecraft will carry a "message in a bottle" etched with your names and a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. Icy moons, science, and poetry, all our favorite things!

Thanks to our guest on this episode:

• Dr. Bob Pappalardo, JPL, Project Scientist-Europa Clipper

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AirSpace is looking up! (We know, we know, we're usually looking up what with the air and the space-ness of our podcast) But today we're exploring how we hang really big, priceless artifacts from the ceiling in the museum. We asked two friends whose jobs are to do just that to talk to us about just what it takes to put airliners, spacecraft, X-wings and more up on the ceiling.

Thanks to our guests on this episode:

• Tony Carp, Museum Specialist, National Air and Space Museum

• Hannah O’Toole, Exhibit Designer, National Air and Space Museum

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AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

We’re extending our Hot Barbie Summer by looking back on this gem from season seven.

When Barbie first became an astronaut in 1965, she was more than a decade ahead of NASA sending a woman to space. Since then, there have been several versions of astronaut Barbie — from a spangly 80s doll to one who had a jumpsuit just like the one they give you at Space Camp. Today, astronaut Barbie actually went to the International Space Station! And she's joined by a collection of dolls that represent actual people who really contributed to space science like Sally Ride and Katherine Johnson. We're talking about all those versions of Barbie today on AirSpace. (Follow along with pictures of all of these dolls on our Instagram.)

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Desde que llegó a los cines en 1977, la Guerra de las galaxias ha sido adoptada y adaptada por muchos grupos. En los últimos años, una explosión de películas, series y libros de la Guerra de las galaxias ha aportado más diversidad que nunca al universo. En estos lanzamientos recientes, los actores y las historias latinas han tomado protagonismo. En este episodio de AeroEspacial, nos adentramos en el pasado y el presente de la representación latina en el universo de la Guerra de las galaxias.

Gracias a nuestros invitados en este episodio: 

• Dra. Michelle Martínez, Profesora de Estudios de Cine y Medios de Comunicación en la Universidad Estatal de Arizona

• Dra. Genevieve Carpio, Profesora de Estudios Chicanos de la UCLA

•Daniel José Older, autor y arquitecto de historias

AeroEspacial es una serie de cuatro partes, de AirSpace, que presenta relatos de la historia, cultura y gente latina centradas en la aviación y el espacio. Este proyecto recibió apoyo federal del Fondo de Iniciativas Latinas, administrado por el Museo Nacional del Latino Estadounidense de la Smithsonian.

AirSpace es posible gracias al generoso apoyo de Olay.

From the moment it hit theaters in 1977, Star Wars has been adopted and adapted by many groups. In the past several years an explosion of Star Wars movies, shows, and books have brought more diversity into the universe than ever before. In these recent releases, Latino actors and storylines have taken center stage. We're jumping in to the past and present of Latino representation in the Star Wars universe.

Thanks to our guests on this episode:

• Dr Michelle Martinez, Instructor of Film and Media Studies Arizona State University
• Dr Genevieve Carpio, Professor of Chicano/a Studies UCLA
• Daniel José Older, Author and Story Architect

AeroEspacial is a four-part series from AirSpace that presents stories of Latino history, culture, and people at the heart of aviation and space. This limited series received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino.

AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

Artists frequently use their mediums to tell stories, send messages, or imagine futures unlike our present. For Latino Futurist artists, drawing on the past is key to creating futures that connect heritage, experience, and indigeneity to the present and future in constantly circling time. In a society that imagines the past as ancient history, these artists are challenging what and who art is for. We explore this genre of art with artists and art commentators.

Thanks to our guests on this episode:

• Dr Catherine Sue Ramirez, Professor and chair of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz

• Beatriz Cortez, multimedia artist

• Clarissa Tossin, multimedia artist

AeroEspacial is a four-part series from AirSpace that presents stories of Latino history, culture, and people at the heart of aviation and space. This limited series received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino.

AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

Los artistas con frecuencia utilizan sus medios para contar historias, enviar mensajes o imaginar futuros distintos de nuestro presente. Para los artistas futuristas latinos, recurrir al pasado es clave para crear futuros que conecten el legado, la experiencia y la indigenidad con el presente y el futuro en un constante círculo temporal. En una sociedad que imagina el pasado como historia antigua, estos artistas desafían lo que es el arte y para quién es el arte. En este episodio de AeroEspacial, exploramos este género artístico con artistas y comentaristas de arte.

Le agradecemos a nuestros invitados en este episodio:

• Dr. Catherine Sue Ramírez, profesora y catedrática de Estudios Latinoamericanos y Latinos en la Universidad de California, Santa Cruz

• Beatriz Cortez, artista multimedia

• Clarissa Tossin, artista multimedia

AeroEspacial es una serie de cuatro partes, de AirSpace, que presenta relatos de la historia, cultura y gente latina centradas en la aviación y el espacio. Este proyecto recibió apoyo federal del Fondo de Iniciativas Latinas, administrado por el Museo Nacional del Latino Estadounidense de la Smithsonian.

AirSpace es posible gracias al generoso apoyo de Olay.

En 2020, una devastadora rotura de cable significó el final de uno de los radiotelescopios más icónicos del mundo. Protagonizó películas, nos protegió de los asteroides y escuchó en busca de vida extraterrestre. La ciencia hecha en el Observatorio de Arecibo fue y continúa siendo increíblemente importante, y tener el Observatorio en Puerto Rico es un motivo de orgullo para los locales. En el primer episodio de AeroEspacial, le damos un vistazo a la historia, ciencia e importancia social de Arecibo, y hablamos sobre cuál puede ser el próximo capítulo del observatorio.

Gracias a nuestros invitados de este episodio:

-       Dr. Edgard G. Rivera-Valentín, científico planetario

-       Dr. Christopher Salter, radioastrónomo retirado

-       Dr. Tapasi Ghosh, radioastrónomo retirado

-       Pia Salter-Ghosh, «hija del observatorio»

-       Olga Figeroa Miranda, directora actual del Observatorio de Arecibo

AeroEspacial es una serie de cuatro partes, de AirSpace, que presenta relatos de la historia, cultura y gente latina centradas en la aviación y el espacio. Este proyecto recibió apoyo federal del Fondo de Iniciativas Latinas, administrado por el Museo Nacional del Latino Estadounidense de la Smithsonian.

AirSpace es posible gracias al generoso apoyo de Olay.

In 2020, a devastating cable break led to the end of one of the most iconic radio telescopes in the world. It starred in movies, kept us safe from asteroids, and listened for extra-terrestrial life. The science done at Arecibo Observatory was (and continues to be incredibly important), and having the observatory in Puerto Rico is a point of pride for locals. We take a look at the history, science, and social importance of Arecibo, and talk about what the observatory’s next chapter may look like.

Thanks to our guests on this episode:

• Dr. Edgard G. Rivera-Valentín, planetary scientist

• Dr. Christopher Salter, retired radio astronomer

• Dr. Tapasi Ghosh, retired radio astronomer

• Pia Salter-Ghosh, “child of the observatory”

• Olga Figeroa Miranda, current director of Arecibo Observatory

AeroEspacial is a four-part series from AirSpace that presents stories of Latino history, culture, and people at the heart of aviation and space. This limited series received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino.

AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

It takes a little faith, trust, and a visa waiver. In the early 1960s, more than 14,000 unaccompanied children left Cuba and their families behind, fleeing the Castro regime. These children came to the United States on visa waivers from the U.S. government in one of the largest state-sponsored refugee programs in American history. They were also the first refugees to come largely by plane. In this episode of AeroEspacial, we tell some of the stories of Operation Pedro Pan and dig into the forces that made it unique.

Thanks to our guests on this episode:

• Dr. Victor Triay, author, professor of history at Middlesex Community College

• Dr. Carlos Eire, Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University

This limited series received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the National Museum of the American Latino.

AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

Se necesita un poco de fe, confianza y una exención de visa. A principio de los sesenta, más de 14,000 niños sin acompañante dejaron Cuba y a sus familias, huyendo del régimen castrista. Estos niños vinieron a los Estados Unidos con exenciones de visa del Gobierno de Estados Unidos en el marco de uno de los programas para refugiados patrocinados por el Estado más grandes en la historia de Estados Unidos. También fueron los primeros refugiados en llegar, en gran parte, en avión. En este episodio de AeroEspacial, contamos algunas de las historias de la Operación Pedro Pan e investigamos las fuerzas que la hicieron única.

Gracias a nuestros invitados de este episodio:

• Dr. Victor Triay, autor, profesor de Historia en el Middlesex Community College

• Dr. Carlos Eire, profesor de Historia y Ciencias de la Religión en la Universidad de Yale

AeroEspacial es una serie de cuatro partes, de AirSpace, que presenta relatos de la historia, cultura y gente latina centradas en la aviación y el espacio. Este proyecto recibió apoyo federal del Fondo de Iniciativas Latinas, administrado por el Museo Nacional del Latino Estadounidense de Smithsonian.

AirSpace es posible gracias al generoso apoyo de Olay.

Coming soon to this podcast feed AeroEspacial, a second limited series from the creators of AirSpace! Published in both English and Spanish, this four-part series presents stories of Latino history, culture, and people at the heart of aviation and space.

¡Próximamente en el podcast AeroEspacial, una segunda serie limitada de los creadores de AirSpace! Publicada en inglés y en español, esta serie de cuatro partes presenta historias de la aviación y el espacio que se desarrollan en el mundo Latino.

We’re gearing up for Season 8 and we have a special project in the works that you’ll hear sooner but today we’re looking back to one of our favorite Season Six episodes, a topic you may have heard about in the news more recently.

It’s been nearly 50 years (!) since humans last walked on the Moon.  But NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions will soon return astronauts to the lunar surface. Artemis isn’t just about going back – it’s about science! So to answer all of our burning questions about what Artemis astronauts will do, where they will go, and what makes this all different from Apollo, we spoke to the Artemis science lead, Dr. Sarah Noble.

Season seven is over but don’t despair! We have some fun new things headed your way soon. In the meantime, we borrowed this episode from our friends at Smithsonian’s Sidedoor to tide you all over.

It took pride, deceit, and a giant catapult to set off the feud between the Wright brothers and the Smithsonian. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made history when he flew over 800 feet across a blustery beach in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The airplane he flew that day is now a centerpiece of the National Air and Space Museum’s collection. This is the story of how it nearly wasn’t.

When Barbie first became an astronaut in 1965, she was more than a decade ahead of NASA sending a woman to space. Since then, there have been several versions of astronaut Barbie — from a spangly 80s doll to one who had a jumpsuit just like the one they give you at Space Camp. Today, astronaut Barbie actually went to the International Space Station! And she's joined by a collection of dolls that represent actual people who really contributed to space science like Sally Ride and Katherine Johnson. We're talking about all those versions of Barbie today on AirSpace. (Follow along with pictures of all of these dolls on our Instagram.)

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AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

From Dante to Matt Damon, Percival Lowell to Perseverance, humans have long wondered about, studied, and eventually explored our closest planetary neighbor, Mars. In celebration of Matt's new book "For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet," we're taking you through how humans have shown Mars in stories, movies, and art through the centuries.

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In 1969, nearly 600 million people tuned in to watch the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Four of these rapt viewers were a family of Indian immigrants in Delaware. Four months later that family was driving through Ohio and decided to stop and knock on Neil Armstrong’s parent's door — because why not? This story, as told in the short film One Small Visit, has been making the rounds at film festivals and screenings around the world. Matt and Emily talk to the woman whose family knocked on that door and her friend who turned it into a film.

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AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

Imagine this: It’s 1936 and you’re taking a luxurious three day flight from Germany to the United States in the Hindenburg. But instead of landing in New Jersey as expected, you dock to the top of the tallest building in the world: the Empire State Building. This didn’t actual happen — turns out that’s a logistical and safety impossibility — but that didn’t stop the builders of the Empire State Building from using the potential of a mooring mast to advertise the building. After all, they had to really stick it to the Chrysler Building. Matt and Emily are joined by the Museum’s lighter-than-air flight curator to talk about airships, Zeppelins, mooring masts, and, a first for us, architecture!

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Welcome to Animal Air! We invite all passengers to waddle, trot, sashay or mince aboard the aircraft as we prepare for takeoff. Make sure all tails and tail feathers are out of the aisle and remain inside the aircraft at all times.

A duck in a hot air balloon. A cat in an airship. A lion cub in an airplane. Our animal companions have been up in human created aircraft even longer that we have. Since these stories do great on social media, we brought in our social media manager to help us tell five stories of animals taking flight.

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Thanks to GPS, ecologists today can track thousands of animals all the time with tracking devices that can be smaller than a quarter. But in 1970 there was just a weather satellite, a 23 pound collar, and an elk named Monique. Between spooky elk herds, inconsistent darts, a rowdy press gaggle, angry letters, an upside-down collar, and a couple of upsetting deaths, Monique’s tracking didn’t exactly go off without a hitch. Back then scientists really didn’t know where animals went, and tracking them on the ground, even with radio, was arduous and provided incomplete data. So even if it wasn’t perfect Monique’s tracking was a huge breakthrough.

Today, ecologists like the ones at Smithsonian’s Movement of Life Initiative and the ICARUS project track animals from pole to pole and from the tops of mountains to deep under the sea. Insights from these trackers help with habitat conservation and breeding but might also be able to predict the next pandemic. On this episode of AirSpace, we talk to some of the scientists who use space to track animals here on Earth.

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The Juno spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter almost didn’t have a camera, and boy would that have been a shame. Any time you launch something into space, weight is money. And when Juno was proposed and funded, a visible light camera wasn’t really needed to meet the mission’s science goals. But, thanks to the insistence of adamant Juno team members, Juno got JunoCam. And we’re so glad it did. On this episode of AirSpace, we unpack how JunoCam has contributed to science and completely changed the way we view this beautiful gas giant.

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AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

In the fifties and sixties to get hired as a stewardess put you in a club that was akin to being a movie star. Around this time, a highly qualified woman, top of her training class, beautiful and poised, didn't understand why she wasn't being hired, until an instructor told her it was because she was Black. The lawsuit that followed opened the door to Black women being hired as stewardesses, but the result was less of a floodgate and more of a trickle. By the mid-1960s, most US airlines had hired their first Black flight attendant, but these women continued to face discrimination and their representation in the industry hardly mirrored the overall population. On today’s episode, we explore the history of Black women flight attendants by hearing directly from some of the first to serve.

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The pigeon – ubiquitous bird, oft city-dweller, and… war hero? You might even consider the humble pigeon to be the first military aviator. Before radio, homing pigeons were one of the most reliable forms of communications for sailors at sea and troops in trenches. The American use of these feathered aviators really took off during World War I when trench warfare made it dangerous for human runners to deliver messages from the front line. And these birds were not only integral to communications, some even rose to the level of heroism. On today’s episode, Emily and Matt take you through the history of this often overlooked military asset and tell the story of one hero bird, Cher Ami.

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We’ve all seen the breathtaking Hubble and JWST images of our universe, but have you ever wondered how these pictures are made? If you were to travel to the “Cosmic Cliffs” of the Carina Nebula or the “Pillars of Creation” of the Eagle Nebula, your eyes wouldn’t see the beautiful colors and patterns displayed in these popular images. But, that doesn’t make these pictures any less real.  In today’s episode we explain how image processors take invisible (to us) light and data from space telescopes and translate it into something that's better than what our naked eyes can see. And we discuss how these images are made even more accessible through detailed alt-text, 3D printing, and sonification.

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AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

At the turn of the 20th century, astronomy got a serious glow-up. An influx of money and scientific advancements led to building bigger, better telescopes at newly-founded observatories across the country. Astronomers could see farther than ever before, and this led to a debate about exactly what they were seeing. Were these nebulous, fuzzy-looking discs in the sky part of the Milky Way? How big is our universe? On today’s episode, we’re telling the story of how the work of many astronomers contributed to a complete redesign of how big we know our universe to be and what we think it looks like.

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AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

Welcome to Season 7 of AirSpace! We’re kicking off with an episode that really gets to the core of what AirSpace is all about – drilling down to unpack scientifically questionable movies we love... or at least love to hate. At its crust, this episode’s pick has all the makings of an epic disaster flick — an all-star cast (hello, Stanley Tucci), an epic Space Shuttle scene, and a fictional element called “unobtainium.” But trust us – despite a lot of questionable science, The Core isn’t the pits. In fact, it’s one of Emily’s favorite movies! Join us, as we journey to the center of the Earth.

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AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

Season 7 of AirSpace will be in your feeds starting December 8th!

AirSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

Just two more weeks until a brand new season of AirSpace! But today, we’re excited to bring you a special bonus drop from our friends at the National Portrait Gallery’s podcast PORTRAITS.

George Takei went boldly where no man had gone before when he broke racial stereotypes to play Mr. Sulu on Star Trek. But he's also lent his celebrity to a stack of social causes. George traces his activism to a single, searing injustice-- his internment, along with thousands of other Japanese-Americans, during WWII. He was five years old.

Look for more episodes of PORTRAITS wherever you get your podcasts!

Season 7 of AirSpace is just around the corner, but today we have a special bonus drop from our friends at the Sidedoor podcast! You’ve likely seen recent awe-inspiring images from the James Webb Space Telescope, but this episode focuses on its predecessor: the Hubble Space Telescope. Sidedoor explores how America's first large space telescope went from a "billion-dollar blunder" to one of history's most important scientific instruments. Look for more episodes of Sidedoor wherever you get your podcasts!

Picture this: it’s Halloween eve, 1938, and you’re gathered with your family around the radio to listen to the evening programs. All of a sudden, the broadcast is interrupted by a breaking news bulletin. First, a report of explosions on Mars, then news of a meteorite landing in New Jersey, and suddenly a correspondent is attacked live on air by a Martian heat ray!

Obvious spoiler: there was no Martian attack that night. But there was a radio play — a performance of Orson Welles’ adaptation of “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells. If you’ve heard of this production before, it’s likely due to the widespread panic it supposedly caused — radio listeners running out of their homes, jamming the interstates, and tying up the phone lines all in a frenzy about what they presumed to be a real Martian attack on Earth. But… is that really what happened? Learn what really went down on today’s episode of AirSpace!

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On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik. This early Space Race milestone sparked a lot of reaction – it was unsettling for some, but for others it inspired an interest in rocketry and brought many scientists into the space industry. One of those people was Homer Hickam, a high schooler in a small West Virginia mining town who would go on to work for NASA, write a memoir, and inspire a movie. On today’s episode we unpack that film – October Sky. If you went to high school in the last 20 years, there’s a chance you saw it in a chemistry or physics class. But, turns out, that wasn’t the case for Matt, Emily, or Nick! It’s rare for these three to unpack a space movie after all seeing it for the very first time. Tune in to hear their initial impressions, what was mispronounced, and what could have been better!

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You can’t fly really fast without a big boom. In 1964 continual sonic booms spelled a tremendous headache for the residents of Oklahoma City. For six months the US Air Force flew an airplane at supersonic speeds over the annoyed midwestern metropolis, often multiple times a day, in a series of tests called Project Bongo. The tests were part of the United States’ research into developing supersonic transport (civilian passenger aircraft that go faster than the speed of sound). Huge spoiler – things did NOT go well. Think: damages, lawsuits, and a general disturbance of the peace. Ultimately, Project Bongo was one of the reasons the US never developed supersonic transport like Britain and France’s Concorde. The story of how and why the tests happened is a wild ride, and we’re breaking it down for you today on AirSpace.

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Sleeping in space goes back almost as far as there have been people in space (specifically, a cosmonaut who caught some shuteye in 1961). Astronauts have slept in capsules, shuttles, space stations, and even on the Moon. Sleep is an important part of an astronaut’s health, particularly for longer duration missions. But from noisy crewmates to spaceship sounds and even the sheer excitement of it all, sleeping in space hasn’t always been easy. To find out what it’s really like we speak with former astronaut Mike Massimino who relates his shuttle sleeping experience to a big slumber party.  We’re catching Zs in zero-G, today on AirSpace.

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In 1971 an Apollo 14 astronaut took about 500 tree seeds into orbit around the Moon. When he got back, those seeds were distributed, germinated, and planted all around the United States. And then… they were mostly forgotten about, even by NASA. That is, until the mid-1990s when a teacher at a Girl Scout camp in Indiana wondered what was up with this “Moon Tree” at her local camp. On this episode, we speak with the NASA planetary scientist who received her question, and as a result, started a database to track down the Moon Tree locations. Today, there are 67 known, living, first generation Moon Trees all over the United States – maybe even in your town!

AND JUST THIS WEEK NASA announced more tree seeds will fly with the Artemis 1 mission, continuing the Moon Tree legacy started in the Apollo era. We’re giving lunar Johnny Appleseed vibes, this week on AirSpace.

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Skywriting is something you might witness at the beach, or a sporting event, or an outdoor concert. A popular form of aerial advertising and even the occasional marriage proposal, skywritten messages can have a BIG impact (and with letters approximately 1500 feet tall… we mean that quite literally).  But maybe you didn’t know that it originated with the military and dates wayyy back to the early days of aviation in 1910. This episode will be your exhaustive look into everything you’d want to know about skywriting – how it works, who does it, the most popular examples, and even its code of conduct. And to learn all about it, we speak to a skywriting pilot whose family has been in the business since nearly the beginning.

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Every day, satellites orbit Earth taking pictures. These images are used for everything from intelligence to weather prediction and even today’s topic – archeology. When you hear the term “space archeology” you might envision a khaki-clad astronaut excavating the Moon.  But, space archeologists are actually Earth-bound researchers who use satellite and other aerial imagery to assist in archeological applications right here on our home planet. This imagery is used to find new archeological sites, track changes on already discovered ones, and even helps fight looting. On today’s episode, we hear from a researcher using this technology in Central America to see below the trees and assess where ancient structures may have been. And we talk to a Smithsonian scholar who uses satellite data for cultural heritage preservation.

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It’s been nearly 50 years (!) since humans last walked on the Moon.  But NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions will soon return astronauts to the lunar surface. Artemis isn’t just about going back – it’s about science! So to answer all of our burning questions about what Artemis astronauts will do, where they will go, and what makes this all different from Apollo, we spoke to the Artemis science lead, Dr. Sarah Noble.

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A decade ago it was pretty rare to see an all-electric car on the road. Now that you see them all. the. time. we wondered – what about electric vehicles in the *sky*? Several companies are working to overcome the challenges of all-electric flight, and it’ll likely be a long time before your commercial plane goes electric. But smaller, shorter-distance applications of all-electric air transport might be just around the corner. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Martine Rothblatt to learn how her company is working towards using electric helicopters to deliver the ultimate precious cargo -- transplantable human organs.

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Happy Pride Month! Today, we’re bringing you a special installment of QueerSpace, our limited series featuring stories and people at the intersection of aviation, space, and LGBTQ+ history and culture. Seven years ago this month, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v Hodges that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry under the constitution. If you dig into an amicus brief for Obergefell, you’ll see mention of another case, Norton v Macy. This case set the first precedent ruling that the federal government can’t fire an employee for being gay. We talk a lot about pilots and astronauts who’ve made history, but today’s aerospace trailblazer was a humble NASA civil servant and petitioner named Clifford Norton.

In this episode of QueerSpace, attorney Paul Thompson, lawyer for the Mattachine Society of Washington, DC, and writer of that Obergefell amicus brief, walks us through Norton’s case and explains how its impacts are still seen in our legal system today.

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In 1859 the Sun threw a temper tantrum directed at Earth.  It spewed magnetized plasma into space, which made its way here and triggered effects that *literally* shocked telegraph operators (not to mention knocking down telegraph lines and causing aurora to be seen near the equator). If a geomagnetic storm of this size happened today, it could cause a widespread electrical and communications blackout. Events of that magnitude are rare but the Sun’s activity affects us all the time – from static on the radio to a diverted commercial flight or a wonky GPS app. The good news is scientists are monitoring the Sun to predict when and where effects will be felt. On today’s episode, we speak to experts from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center to learn how and why they stare at the Sun (for science!).

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Brr… it’s cold in here. There must be some thickness to this at-mo-sphere. On today’s episode, we’re cheering for the fraternal twins of the outer solar system. You might know them as the Ice Giants, but really they’re big mush-balls: Uranus and Neptune. And like most siblings, these two planets have plenty in common: both discovered by telescope, both have ring and moon systems, and both were studied by Voyager 2. Scientists have learned a ton about Uranus and Neptune over the last few decades, but since these planets are hard to see and even harder to get to, many questions remain. It’s all about the coolest planets of the solar system today on AirSpace.

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On the scale of thrilling aviation activities, hot air balloon rides normally rank pretty low. But how would you feel if one balloon ride was your ticket to a better life? AND what if you had to not only pilot the balloon yourself, but build it from scratch, in secret? What started with a magazine article about the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta ended with a thrilling aerial escape from East Germany in 1979. On this episode of AirSpace, we hear what it was like from someone who lived it firsthand. And we talk to a modern-day balloonist to learn just how difficult it is to create your own air-worthy balloon.

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Anyone who’s observed the Milky Way or has seen a beautiful Hubble image can understand how space and space imagery can be a source of creative inspiration. When researching QueerSpace, we repeatedly saw creators blending themes of space and themes of queerness in their art. Many of these artists use their art to envision new futures. Futurist thinking uses the experience of the past and present to contextualize and reimagine what the future could be, often creating a future that’s more equitable and radically different than what we have now. In this episode of QueerSpace, Stamatina Gregory from the Leslie-Lohman Museum helps to contextualize the origins of this intersection of space, queerness, and futurism in art. And we hear from photographer Lola Flash and poet Nikki Giovanni on their art, inspiration, and visions of the future.

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Historically, queer-identifying people in the U.S. military have been forced out or forced to hide who they are. It wasn’t until 2011 that gay, lesbian, and bisexual servicemembers could serve openly, and only in the last few years that trans servicemembers could serve at all. And while there’s still a ways to go, last year the Air Force and Space Force formed a working group specifically for LGBTQ+ issues. On this episode of QueerSpace, we speak to the Director of the LGBTQ Initiative Team (LIT), Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, to hear how LIT is working to change policy, change minds, and create opportunities for LGBTQ+ members of the military.

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In science fiction, the possibilities are seemingly endless. Sci-fi writers often create entirely new civilizations where our social constructions can be upended and examined, or just thrown out entirely. They can literally rewrite a world in terms of gender, sexuality, and culture, making something that is more inclusive and often more interesting.  In this episode, we talk to bookseller Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Books about the history of queer worldbuilding in sci-fi literature and get some book recommendations that are headed to the top of our to-read lists.

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We’re working on the next season of AirSpace as we speak, but today, we’re excited to bring you QueerSpace — a limited series from the creators of AirSpace, featuring stories and people at the intersection of aviation, space, and LGBTQ+ history and culture. For the next two months, we’re highlighting the scope and diversity of queer experiences found across human flight and space science.

The first episode spotlights the history and community built by male flight attendants. You may think that the role of flight attendant has always been a women-dominated profession. But that wasn’t always the case. Very early on in commercial aviation, many flight attendants (or stewards as they were then known) were men.  But in the mid-20th century, that changed as airlines began exclusively hiring women for the role. When, in the 1970s, a court case forced airlines to hire men and women on equal terms and more men became flight attendants, gay men created a community within the industry that was uniquely supportive and welcoming. The next few decades would test that community, first with changes to how airlines were allowed to operate, and then by the AIDS crisis.

In this episode, we talk to Plane Queer author Phil Tiemeyer and former flight attendant David Hinson to explore that community.

QueerSpace is made possible by the generous support of Olay.

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We’re hard at work on Season 6 (and a super special project coming in just a few weeks!!). But today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from last year. They’re incredibly dense, super cool, and mind-bendingly-mysterious -- BLACK HOLES! But how do you imagine – let alone study—the unseeable? And seriously—what happened at the end of “Interstellar?”

The concept of black holes isn’t new—scientists first theorized their existence in the early 20th century. But in the last few years our knowledge of black holes has expanded – from confirmation of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way (it really ties the galaxy together) to the first-ever image of a black hole captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. We’re now making direct observations that prove their existence. And scientists even released an image of a black hole in polarized light, with signs of magnetic fields around the event horizon. And if you don’t understand what that means, you’re not alone!! We’re all on this magic school bus of discovery together – come abroad, it’s going to be a wild ride!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the show! Take our listener survey.

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We get it—the early days of aviation were full of outlandish characters, and it can be a little exhausting. But trust us on this one—it’ll be worth it. Wiley Post was an oil-worker and armed robber-turned-recording breaking pilot who discovered the jet stream while wearing a sweet eye-patch and a suit straight out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (it was a lewk). That should be enough but wait! There’s more! That steampunk getup, which Wiley designed and built with tire company BF Goodrich, was the very first successful pressure suit. And it did more than unlock the stratosphere, it laid the groundwork for the first spacesuits—and modern spacesuits aren’t much different. This tall tale keeps getting higher, but again—trust us (we’ve got the suit!). Special thanks to Tested’s Adam Savage, whose answer for “history’s most important spacesuit” was both unexpected and absolutely on the mark.

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On a spring evening in 1933, Amelia Earhart took first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on a joyride. Imagine two women—dressed for dinner at the White House (white gloves and all)—stealing away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to pilot and co-pilot a nighttime flight to Baltimore. On this episode of AirSpace, we’re detailing the high-flying friendship of these two women – from their shared background as social workers to their mutual love of flight and advocacy of women’s empowerment and social justice. Amelia and Elanor took the business of being role models seriously, leading by example and using their influence to elevate important societal issues. Talk about an influencer power couple!

Thanks to our guests who helped us contextualize their history and friendship – biographers Allida Black and Susan Butler.

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Traveling for the holidays? Would you rather take a trip to the Moon? On this episode of AirSpace, we’re breaking down Georges Méliès' iconic 1902 film “Le Voyage dans la Lune.” Silent and only about 13 minutes long, this classic might lack a bit of 21st century movie pizazz but it was absolutely groundbreaking to science fiction and filmmaking.  Based on Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon,” it was the first film to depict space travel. It also features many moviemaking techniques Méliès pioneered in filming, editing, and storytelling that are still used by the film industry today.  We hear lunar weather this time of year is lovely – come on in, the spaceship is fine!

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At AirSpace we absolutely LOVE spotlighting stories about incredible aviators who might not already be on your radar. Today, we’re introducing you to the Chinese aviatrix Li Xiaqing: A literal movie star who learned to fly with the aspiration of serving her country. Li’s story is not only inspiring, it’s practically a screenplay waiting to be written. Born in 1911 into a rapidly changing China, she took flying lessons in Switzerland and the United States before returning to China in the 1930s. Despite being grounded by her home country during the war, she still found a way to use her skills in the war effort barnstorming across the US raising money for China. An actress, aviatrix, and altruist? Now, that’s a true triple threat.

Thanks to our guests - Author Patti Gully for sharing Li’s incredible story and historian Stephen MacKinnon for providing the historical context of China in the early 20th century.  

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93% of televisions in the United States tuned in to see Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon. Can you believe 7% were watching something else? At 11pm on a Sunday?? But as much as we love it now, Apollo 11’s contemporary acclaim wasn’t exactly universal. Many people, all over America, had reservations about spending billions of dollars on space exploration instead of solving problems here on Earth. And some Americans had their eyes on a very different, much more important prize. The rise of Apollo coincided with the peak of the Civil Rights Movement (which technically ended with the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1968—but we all know the struggle and the movement didn’t end there). In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick explore the intersection of these two moments in American history, discuss the protests, activists, and anthems of the time, and talk to Sylvia Drew Ivie about the issues then and how we’re still working to turn it all around.

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Have you always wanted to experience what it’s like to be an astronaut but without the queasy upshot of actually shooting into space? Then we’ve got news for you! Only around 550 people have been to outer space (like, ever!).  But many more can and do participate in simulated space missions right here on Earth—and it turns out they’re super important. While the mission brief might require a little imagination, these analog astronauts perform real science and research, and sometimes go on to become actual high-flying space travelers. And, as it turns out, these virtual versions really capture the (ahem) atmosphere of living and working on orbit (with slightly different views).

One such analog outpost, HI-SEAS, located on Hawai’i, runs simulated space missions to the Moon and Mars to help answer critical questions about what to do and how to do it when we get there. In this episode, we talk to the center’s director, Dr. Michaela Musilova, and one of their former analog astronauts who just this September flew her own crazy-cool and crazy-real mission in outer space as part of the Inspiration 4 crew, Dr. Sian Proctor! That’s right—we knew her way back when.

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Ever wonder what would happen to your body in space without a spacesuit? Given it’s spooky szn, we figured we’d do something a little different for this Halloween episode of AirSpace and dissect one the scariest situations an astronaut could be in. For a crash course in the intersection between astronaut life and rapid decompression we talk to Mary Roach.  And having authored the nonfiction books Packing for Mars, Stiff, and Grunt she’s kind of perfectly qualified to talk about this bizarre venn diagram.

But some peace-of-mind spoilers for our squeamish friends, there’s no threat of exploding or even freezing to death when you’re stuck in space sans suit (despite what literally every tv show has taught us). Don’t let the pressure get to you--just remember to breathe (out).

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Mirror, mirror under the football field, what secrets of the universe will you yield?  Okay, so we’re terrible poets (except maybe Matt). But we are feeling a bit reflective these days, so we’re taking this opportunity to ponder reflecting telescopes of all sizes, shapes, and types. Reflectors use mirrors to gather light and produce an image. Some are meant for space (we’re looking at you Hubble and JWST), and others are used here on Earth. In this episode, we’re taking you into two labs – one under the football stadium at the University of Arizona that makes some of the biggest telescope mirrors in the world, and another under the house (okay, it’s a basement) of someone who makes their own telescope mirrors at home. Same deal, way different scale. We promise this one isn’t a grind!

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100 years ago Bessie Coleman became the first African American woman to earn her pilot’s license. You might remember Bessie from a previous episode of the pod (last season’s Chicago Flyer) – she inspired many of her contemporaries, including those who formed the Challenger Air Pilots Association. But Bessie’s tremendous determination and perseverance is beyond worthy of another episode. In part because she was a woman, and especially a woman of color, Bessie had to travel all the way to Europe to get her flight training. Today on AirSpace, we're looking back on Bessie's experiences in France and Germany in the 1920s and exploring just how far she went to earn her historic license (and inspire generations of pilots along the way).

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Raise a glass and cheers to a new season of AirSpace! And to help us get in the celebratory mood, today's episode is about a truly intoxicating period of American history – prohibition. You might know [we didn’t] that NASCAR has its roots in bootleggers driving illicit hooch in the 1920s. But it turns out, not all bootleggers were driving their contraband around in cars. In addition to rum runners there were also rum flyers (pinot pilots? alcohol aviators? booze-stormers?). And beyond smuggling alcohol, party-planes were also used to get thirsty customers to destinations outside the US where they could drink legally. Today on AirSpace, learn how prohibition and passenger airlines went hand-in-hand.

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We’re just two weeks away from a brand new season of AirSpace!  Today, though, we’re revisiting a favorite from May 2020 – the first installment of the AirSpace Movie Club, our very first episode recorded from our respective pandemic bunkers. At this point, we’re old hands at remote recording and thankfully our techniques have improved since this first go round but we love this episode nonetheless. Join us on this trip down memory lane and listen to Emily, Matt, and Nick break down the Voyager-referencing, Bowie-fueled, and endlessly endearing Troop Zero. And don’t miss new episodes of AirSpace beginning September 9th!

We’re hard at work on Season 5 (launching this September!) but before then, we’re giving you a second bite at a topic we spent a long time thinking about this year: what’s in a name? Earlier this season we explored how planetary bodies and their geological features get named. And to our surprise, it’s not all Greek and Roman mythology (we’re looking at you, Titan’s hills Gandalf and Bilbo). We also recorded an explainer on how NASA names their spacecraft, but we just didn’t have time for it in the original episode. So, what do Snoopy, Spider, and Gumdrop have in common? Find out in this bonus episode!

We have a flair for the dramatic here at AirSpace (Who… US?!). And we’d be lying if we told you we don’t occasionally daydream about the end of the world. But, like, scientifically speaking. We’ve seen plenty of sci-fi depictions of what the end might look like, but what will actually happen when the Sun engulfs the Earth? And what does the “end of the universe” even mean? To dissect these grim questions, we’re diving into a sci-fi series that offers a lot of hopeful examples of humanity’s perseverance: Doctor Who.  

Is this an elaborate ploy to do an episode about one of our favorite television series? You bet it is! But it’s the last episode of the season and we want to go out with a bang. Strap in, we’re going to the end of it all. This is the end of the world according to Doctor Who.  

Earth’s twin or Earth’s evil twin? It depends on who you ask. And no, we’re NOT talking about Mars (take a break from the news cycle, Ingenuity). We’re talking about the beautiful, enigmatic, and hot (VERY hot) VENUS. Not one but TWO NASA spacecraft are heading to Venus later this decade (NASA’s first Venus missions since the early 90s!). But, how do you study a planet whose surface is too hot for robots and whose atmosphere is too dense for the visible light observation? On today’s episode we’re taking a look at the wonder of Venus and the magic of radar.  

We’re all movie buffs here at AirSpace *gestures to extensive movie episode back catalog.* And while we’re not exactly film critics, we know what we like—and we love when people see themselves represented in their favorite stories. And a long time ago (2013), and not so far away (New Mexico), a group embarked on a quest of their own: to translate Star Wars: A New Hope into Navajo. Their goal was to help preserve the language by introducing it to new generations and audiences beyond the reservation. In this episode, we’ll recount our decade+ hero’s journey from the call to action, to seeking a greenlight from Lucasfilm, to finding the translators and voice actors, creating whole new words for terms like “lightsaber” and “droid,” and finally the triumphant fanfare of a live audience seeing the famous opening crawl for the first time in their language. A herculean grassroots effort to create the first indigenous translation of a major motion picture has become a movement to interpret other indelible pieces of pop culture from Finding Nemo to Baby Shark. Hear how it all started today on AirSpace.

In the early days of aviation flying was dangerous and expensive. Even if you could afford it, societal barriers in the United States kept many would-be pilots grounded. In this episode, we’re telling the story of how pioneering Black aviators improvised, innovated, and overcame those barriers to fulfill their dreams of flight. Across the U.S., Black aviators banded together to form clubs to instruct others and grow interest in aviation. In Chicago, the Challenger Air Pilots Association cultivated a community that has since helped thousands of Black pilots learn how to fly. And it all started with a broken down car.

If you’ve flown commercial, you’re familiar with the preflight safety spiel (and if you’ve only ever flown private, we wanna know why, but it’ll have to be a different episode). You know the moves: stow your tray tables, life vests are under the seat, insert the metal end into the buckle until it clicks, and please don’t forget the nearest exit may be behind you. Frequent fliers can probably recite these instructions in their sleep, and we have a whole selfcare philosophy based around securing your own oxygen mask before helping others. But in the last 15 years or so, the safety presentation has become a cinematic celebre -- with everything from famous actors, eye-catching FX, and even Marvel superheroes. Emily, Matt, and Nick dive into the history of the inflight safety briefing to better understand the evolution from straight-forward instruction to Hollywood production, and an expert in cabin safety weighs in on whether these flashy videos  actually make air travel safer. Please note the no smoking light will remain on throughout today’s episode, and remember to remain seated until the pilot turns off the seatbelt sign.

Did you know the National Air and Space Museum has a huge art collection? Yeah, we keep that secret pretty well. It all STEMs (see what we did there?) from a program organized by NASA beginning in the 1960s where a small number of American artists got tons of access to launch sites, clean rooms, space suits, spacecraft—you name it, they painted it. The result was thousands of works that represented some (but not all, not by a long shot) of the most important art ever inspired by space exploration. On today’s show, we sketch out the origin story of a space agency art’s program, explain where our museum enters the picture, and explore works within and beyond the NASA art scene.

Any child of the 80s or 90s knows about Space Camp. Even if you didn’t attend, you likely have an image of it burned into your brain – the flight suits, the teamwork, the spinning contraption that makes you hurl (aka the multi-axis trainer). Born at the dawn of the Shuttle era, Space Camp has given nearly a million campers a taste of astronaut life, inspired thousands of students to pursue STEM fields, and even gave some real astronauts an early boost. But, what’s its origin story? And how did it become such a part of the millennial zeitgeist? (Even Mary Kate and Ashley solved a Space Camp mystery—spoiler alert: it was woodpeckers). Emily, Matt, and Nick break it down.   

Have you ever wondered how the stuff in space gets named? Sure, names like Earth, Venus, and Mars have been canon for *forever.* But lest you think naming is all about Greek and Roman mythology, think again. Six of Titan’s hills are named after Lord of the Rings characters. Seriously. These days, there’s one organization that approves and keeps track of ALL of the official names from stars and asteroids to mountains on Mars and geysers on Enceladus. We break down the naming process and some of our favorites on today’s episode!

Today we’re tackling something we’ve wanted to talk about for a long time (which is relative, because time and space lose all meaning there). They’re incredibly dense, super cool, and mind-bendingly-mysterious -- BLACK HOLES! But how do you imagine – let alone study—the unseeable? And seriously—what happened at the end of “Interstellar?”

The concept of black holes isn’t new—scientists first theorized their existence in the early 20th century. But in the last few years our knowledge of black holes has expanded – from confirmation of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way (it really ties the galaxy together) to the first-ever image of a black hole captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. We’re now making direct observations that prove their existence. And just yesterday(!) scientists released an image of a black hole in polarized light, with signs of magnetic fields around the event horizon. And if you don’t understand what that means, you’re not alone!! We’re all on this magic school bus of discovery together – come abroad, it’s going to be a wild ride!

Did you hear they found water on the Moon? Or was it Mars? No wait, Mercury? An asteroid? It seems like every time there’s big news from outer space, it’s that we found water some place—as traces of ice or wisps of vapor, embedded in rocks or bound up in dry-as-dirt-regolith. What’s so special about a few molecules of H20 trapped in the ground millions of miles away? How do we even spot that from Earth? Today, Matt, Nick, and Emily explore how we search for wet spots in the solar system, what they can tell us about our home planet, and why they’re the key to making our way in the universe. Today on AirSpace: Water—where is it and why we care?

We’ll admit that we’re getting a little nostalgic about even the most mundane aspects of air travel – like how many times the pre-flight safety video reminds you that smoking is NOT permitted onboard. But that got us thinking – that wasn’t always the case. So what changed? It took decades of research, lobbying, and litigation to prove the dangers of secondhand smoke, and a lot of that work happened at cruising altitude. In this episode, we’ll hear how flight attendants were instrumental in the fight to get smoking OUT of the skies, and how the lawsuit they brought against the tobacco companies had huge ripple effects in the smoke-free public places we enjoy today.

Did you know AirSpace has a newsletter?!? Get on the list HERE.

This week the Perseverance Rover will touch down on the surface of Mars, bringing an end to its seven-month journey AND this mixtape. Once it lands, Percy will send back thousands of images, giving us Earthlings a close-up view of the Martian terrain. In 1897 author H.G. Wells imagined a different way to see Mars in his short shorty, “The Crystal Egg.” Writing around the same time as his famous novel, “War of the Worlds,” he introduces us to two humans who discover a mysterious egg-shaped crystal that allows them to view the surface of Mars – and the strange creatures that inhabit it.

About Voyages to Mars: On July 30, 2020 NASA’s Perseverance Rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Jezero Crater, Mars. To accompany Percy on seven-month journey, we’re compiling a literary mixtape of Martian-themed sci-fi set to music by DJ Kid Koala. Voyages to Mars is made possible by the support of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Orlando Regional Council.

Welcome to Season 4 of AirSpace!

Right now COVID-19 vaccines are traveling across the country and around the world – and air travel is a critical component of this supply chain. These vaccines were not only developed in record time (shout out to SCIENCE!) but some of them also have to be kept at record cold temperatures. To meet this challenge, distributors are relying on the cold chain – a supply line that keeps things cold (and sometimes super cold) from ‘source to sink’ (and hopefully soon, into your arm). On today’s episode we’re breaking down the history of the cold chain and how air safety plays a part (particularly with all that dry ice). And Emily has the best analogy of a lipid bilayer that you’ve ever heard.

Over the summer we collaborated with the artist Diplo on a companion album to his new record MMXX. It’s called Under Ancient Skies and it’s available wherever you stream music. But we also created an audio tour of the night sky for a series of small, outdoor concerts Diplo performed. It’s ethereal, it’s relaxing, and it’s just what we need to get us through the winter doldrums. Lie back, listen, and pretend it’s summer – we certainly are.

We’re only ONE month away from the Perseverance Rover touching down on Mars! The search for life is a pillar of Mars exploration. But our search isn’t only confined to the planets of our solar system. Radio telescopes search for signals of intelligent life from far away planets, orbiting other stars. One such telescope, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, collapsed on December 1, 2020. In his story, “The Great Silence,” science fiction author Ted Chiang features the telescope as he considers the significance of the animal life that surrounds it.

About Voyages to Mars: On July 30, 2020 NASA’s Perseverance Rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Jezero Crater, Mars. To accompany Percy on seven-month journey, we’re compiling a literary mixtape of Martian-themed sci-fi set to music by DJ Kid Koala. Voyages to Mars is made possible by the support of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Orlando Regional Council.

Season four of AirSpace is just around the corner, but we have a special bonus drop for you today!

Our friends at the PBS podcast NOVA Now have been giving us a behind-the- scenes look at the work of scientists, engineers, technologists, and more who are using their work to address the most pressing questions of our time. Listen to this episode where host Alok Patel explores how satellites have shaped our understanding of the modern world, and what lies ahead at the intersection of justice and space.

Look for NOVA Now wherever you get your podcasts or visit them at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/podcast/.

What a year it has been (alt: Ugh, what a year!). Back in April, we launched our AirSpace Movie Club—and critiquing our favorite air-and-space-films was a fun way to stay in touch remotely until we could get back into the studio for Season 3. Well, 16 episodes and eight months later, we’re still recording from home, so we thought we’d end season 3 back where we started: at the movies!

It’s safe to say that the AirSpace pod loves Galaxy Quest, but doesn’t everyone!? It has it all: sci-fi, action, and comedy, an underdog who saves the day, and feel good story with space aliens! For the Trekkies among us, it’s an unswerving love letter to the importance of fans in any successful franchise. In the final episode of season 3, Emily, Matt, and Nick discuss why this is the movie to watch with your family this holiday season.

Also! We’ll be baaaaack! This is the end of season 3, but we won’t be gone for long! We have a few tricks up our sleeve in January (and Voyages to Mars continues!). And then, we’ll be back before you know it in February! See? So soon!!

Interplanetary road trips take a WHILE. So for this episode of Voyages to Mars, while we cruise onward towards the Red Planet, we’re listening to some poetry that pays tribute to long duration space travel. Our selections in this episode come from Orrery, a brand-new collection from author Donna Kane that pays homage to the Pioneer 10 space probe launched by NASA in 1972. Kane was inspired by Pioneer 10 to explore themes of consciousness, materiality, and transformation.

About Voyages to Mars: On July 30, 2020 NASA’s Perseverance Rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Jezero Crater, Mars. To accompany Percy on seven-month journey, we’re compiling a literary mixtape of Martian-themed sci-fi set to music by DJ Kid Koala. Voyages to Mars is made possible by the support of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Orlando Regional Council.

Did you learn the constellations as a child? Odds are, if you lived in a city, you saw more stars in the classroom—or a planetarium if you were lucky—than by looking at the night sky (and if not, we’re jealous). Fact is, most of us live in places that give us a less than ideal view of the stars because of light pollution from our cities and suburbs. But keeping our skies dark is important for so many reasons – for nocturnal animals, for science and astronomy, and for cultural traditions around the world. In this episode, we’re shining a light on the cultural importance of the night sky for native Hawaiians. Turn down the lights and enjoy!  

This month marks the 20th birthday of the International Space Station! That’s 240 straight months—which is exactly how long 2020 feels so far. We all need a little self-care these days, so in honor of the ISS anniversary, we’ll tell you about what astronaut life is like when they aren’t doing the extraordinary science, essential maintenance, and extraterrestrial chores necessary to sustain our home in space. Believe it or not, astronauts get days off too! Find out how they spend their downtime on this episode of AirSpace.

We’re back with the fourth installment of our literary mixtape, Voyages to Mars! The Perseverance Rover is on its way to the Red Planet and space agencies around the world hope that someday in the not too distant future, humans will join it. Mars is a popular destination for humans in sci-fi literature. Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, published a few years before the world’s first satellite was even launched (!), remains one of the most influential stories of human settlement on Mars ever published. In two selections from the Chronicles  – “The Settlers” and “The Green Morning” – Bradbury considers what the motivation for settling Mars might be, what those first human settlers might be like, and how they might transform Mars into something more in line with life as we know it on Earth.

About Voyages to Mars: On July 30, 2020 NASA’s Perseverance Rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Jezero Crater, Mars. To accompany Percy on seven-month journey, we’re compiling a literary mixtape of Martian-themed sci-fi set to music by DJ Kid Koala. Voyages to Mars is made possible by the support of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Orlando Regional Council.

THE SETTLERS and THE GREEN MORNING from THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES © 1950, renewed 1977 by Ray Bradbury; Broadcast by permission of Don Congdon Associates, Inc. on behalf of Ray Bradbury Literary Works LLC.

On this episode of AirSpace we’re spotlighting the heroic service and enduring legacy of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. More than 1000 of these fearless women flew as civilians for the Army Air Forces during World War II. These skilled pilots performed jobs on the home front – ferrying planes, towing targets, transporting personnel – flying almost every type of military aircraft. Yet despite filling a crucial wartime role, these women weren’t recognized as veterans for more than 30 years. And their campaign to be permitted burial in Arlington National Cemetery lasted even longer.  In this episode, we’re welcoming our first ever guest host, historian and author Dr. Katherine Sharp Landdeck. And we’ll hear firsthand from three women connected to the WASP legacy, including a WASP herself, Nell “Mickey” Bright.

Can 650 episodes of a tv show fix society’s deepest, ugliest ills? Maybe not, but it turns out that it’s a pretty good place to start a conversation. We’re all fans of something—movies, tv shows, video games, comic books, sports teams, you name it!—and that can help us connect with new people with shared interests and frames of reference. In this episode, we’re talking about how and why fan communities form, and what happens when the barrier to entry turns toxic and targeted. “Fandoms” aren’t new—they stretch back at least a century in their modern form—but the internet provided a new kind of platform for geeking out, and unfortunately, for airing underlying and overt biases. Misogyny, racism, agism, ableism—all of the problems we struggle with as a society at large happen in fan spaces, but fandoms also create opportunities to connect across divisions. We’ll talk to Blerdcon co-founder Hilton George about creating a dedicated space for the Black nerd experience, and journalist and This American Life producer Bim Adewunmi about the obstacles for engaging with each other through our favorite media—and how we can do better. It’s gatekeeping and pulling down barriers—today on AirSpace.

We're back with the third installment of our literary mixtape, Voyages to Mars! Humans aren't yet able to go to Mars ourselves, so we’re reliant on the help of rovers and landers to be our eyes and ears on the surface - our mechanical “boots on the ground.” This episode is our ode to ROBOTS!

Our two stories today come from a time before the word “robot” had even entered our vocabulary. L. Frank Baum (of Wizard of Oz fame) introduces us to a wind-up man named Tik-Tok in Ozma of Oz. And in The Steam Man of the Prairies, author Edward Ellis sets his steam powered man against the backdrop of the industrialization of the American West.

About Voyages to Mars: On July 30, 2020 NASA's Perseverance rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Jezero Crater, Mars. To accompany Percy on its seven-month journey, we're compiling a literary mixtape of Martian-themed sci-fi set to music by DJ Kid Koala.

Voyages to Mars is made possible by the support of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Orlando Regional Council.

There have been great movies about military aviation for almost as long as there have been movies and airplanes—seriously, the very first Best Picture Oscar went to a WWI aero-epic called Wings (and if you ever win bar trivia with that, buy us a drink). Eventually, the US military realized that high adventure onscreen could boost their recruiting efforts, and began to officially cooperate with films featuring flying service members. In this episode, we’ll look at two movies staring iconic aviators—Top Gun and Captain Marvel—and discuss how the military leans into their role as supporting players on the silver screen.

About 82,000 American service members are listed as Missing in Action – 72,000 from World War II alone. Many of these MIAs were lost at sea when their aircraft were shot down over open water. Recent technologies like robotic submersibles, advanced sonar, and DNA matching are making it easier for recovery operations to find the downed airplanes, and identify the remains of service members. In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick tell the story of one of those service members, from an aerial battle in the Pacific in 1944, to recovery and repatriation more than 70 years later. And we hear from the head of one of these recovery organizations who describes the herculean effort and coordination that goes into each recovery operation, all with the goal of providing an honorable homecoming to the fallen.

We’re back this month with the second installment of our side project, Voyages to Mars!

Leaving Earth on your way to Mars, the first pit stop you might make is the Moon’s orbit. In this episode, we follow three Mars-bound space travelers from Mark Wicks’ novel, “To Mars via the Moon.” We see the Moon through the eyes of two Englishmen and a Scotsman as they explore the lunar surface with a combination of stretched scientific speculation and science fiction imaginings.  

About Voyages to Mars: On July 30, 2020 NASA’s Perseverance rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Jezero crater, Mars. To accompany Percy on its seven-month journey, we’re compiling a literary mixtape of Martian-themed sci-fi set to music by DJ Kid Koala.

Voyages to Mars is made possible by the support of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Orlando Regional Council.

If you’re a Broadway fan (or have been ANYWHERE near a theater in the last couple years), you’ve likely heard about Come From Away—the Tony-award-winning smash hit musical with a story firmly rooted in generations of aviation history. On September 11, 2001, 38 commercial airliners were diverted out of US air space to a small town with a big airport called Gander, Newfoundland. Come From Away puts a spotlight on Beverley Bass, American Airlines’ first woman Captain who commanded one of the aircraft. Nick sits down with Beverley to hear the story of her incredible career firsthand, and Emily talks to Come from Away’s writers, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, to learn how they were inspired to write an entire musical about the biggest aviation hub you’ve likely never heard of. Early aviation history, pioneering pilots, and one community’s story of unity on a day of infamy—there’s a lot going on in this episode (but still no intermission).

If you had $500 MILLION dollars to spend going anywhere in the solar system (rocket not included), where would YOU go? That’s exactly what NASA asks scientists in its Discovery Program – a (relatively) low budget, but influential, class of missions designed to increase our understanding of our stellar neighborhood through creative concepts that don’t quite fit anywhere else.  Think of them as the indie movies of space exploration…they may cost less, but they more than make up for it with bold ideas and chutzpah. Emily, Matt, and Nick discuss the four potential missions currently under consideration, and Emily speaks with Dr. Louise Proctor, the principle investigator of the proposed Trident mission to Neptune’s moon Triton.

And now for something a little different. On July 30, 2020 NASA’s Perseverance rover launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Jezero crater, Mars. To accompany Percy on its seven-month journey, we’re compiling a literary mixtape of Martian-themed sci-fi set to music by DJ Kid Koala.

In this first installment of Voyages to Mars, we hear launch stories from two famous science fiction novels written long before the invention of modern rockets. From Percy Greg’s 1880 novel, Across the Zodiac, we get a detailed account of one of the first imaginary ships ever to travel from the Earth to Mars in literature. In Jules Verne’s 1865 novel, From the Earth to the Moon, we find one of the first descriptions ever written of what it might be like to witness a launch. Strap yourself in and come along for the ride.

Special thanks to Lizzie Peabody of Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast.

Voyages to Mars is made possible by the support of the Secretary of the Smithsonian and the Smithsonian Orlando Regional Council.

With everyone quarantining, it’s like spring cleaning never ended this year—and as important as cleanliness is here on Earth, it’s really, really important when you’re headed for outer space.  We’ve talked about planetary protection on the pod before, but it’s never felt closer to home than now, so we’re digging a little deeper into what it takes to keep our planet safe from space germs and keep space safe from Earth germs. On today’s show Emily, Matt, and Nick get into the (dirty) details of how we ensured that our astronauts didn’t bring home bugs from the Moon with our Apollo curator Teasel Muir-Harmony, and look at the (squeaky clean) ways we make sure terrestrial microbes aren’t hitchhiking their way to Mars with NASA Planetary Protection Officer Lisa Pratt. Wash your hands and enjoy!

At least someone's big summer trip isn't cancelled—NASA is sending another rover to Mars! The shiny new robot Perseverance (who looks like a lot its cousin Curiosity) is headed for Jezero Crater—the location of an ancient Martian lake—to search for signs of microbial life. Emily, Matt, and Nick (who'd rather be lakeside themselves—j/k, they've never been outdoorsy types) will break down all the details of the mission, including soil sample caches and the very first helicopter on Mars (if we don't have Martian aerials on our Apple TV screensavers this time next year, we will be so, so disappointed). We'll also tackle the burning question: do we call our new robot friend "Percy" or "Vera" for short? All of that and more, today on AirSpace!

Welcome to Season 3! Today we’re talking about secret space shuttles--seriously! The Soviet space program (and its Russian successor) is rightfully known for significant achievements like the first man and woman in space, the first spacewalk, and the longest spaceflight…but space shuttles? Not as well known as these other milestones is the Soviet shuttle program, or “Buran” (which is Russian for ‘snowstorm’—thanks, Matt). Developed in secret, launched only once, then mothballed (and worse), the sad tale of Buran occasionally surfaces on the internet, but remains shrouded in mystery for many—even within the space community. From the steppes of Kazakhstan to the banks of the Rhine river, from international intrigue to amusement park attractions, we’re going to peel back the layers surrounding this curious relic of the Cold War arms race.

We’re back for one last installment of the AirSpace Movie Club!  Today we’re talking about Sully, the movie based on the real-life emergency water landing of US Airways flight 1549 which ditched in the Hudson River in January 2009. Emily, Matt, and Nick break down how the portrayal in the film compares to the real-life “Miracle on the Hudson” and how the experience of the crew and pilots like Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger can save lives.  

While this is our last foray (for now) into the silver screen, don’t despair! AirSpace is coming back in July with an all new SEASON 3!!!

In this addition of our at-home movie club, we explore the world of the sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer. This French graphic novel, turned Korean action film, and now TV series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where all that is left of humanity is endlessly circling the globe in a train. Emily, Matt, and Nick break down this distopian future, geoengineering gone wrong, and how learning to survive in extreme environments applies to space travel.

Note to our listeners - This episode is about the world of Snowpiercer which is common to the books, film, and new TV show. We hope you find this world as interesting as we do, but before you go and watch the 2013 film, please note it is rated R for violence and is definitely not suitable for kids. If that's not your thing, you might enjoy the TV show or graphic novels instead.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... well, you know the rest. Emily, Matt and Nick talk about the Man of Steel in his appearance in this 1978 classic. From stellar evolution, to the radiation power that makes Clark Kent super, and rocks not doing accurate rock things, the AirSpace hosts dive into the science (some of it accurate, but mostly not) behind Superman: The Movie.

AirSpace goes to the movies! But not really because we're all stuck at home just like you. In the first episode of this mini-series hosts Matt, Nick, and Emily talk about the movie Troop Zero and the real history behind the voices on the Voyager Golden Record. Spoiler: they weren't actually the voices of Birdie Scouts from rural Georgia. 

They say that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, particularly when you’re looking for signs of extraterrestrial life. Is that a Martian bacterium you just found, or is it an Earth bug accidentally along for the ride? An Israeli spacecraft recently crashed on the Moon, unintentionally spilling a payload of adorable, microscopic extremophiles called tardigrades (aka water bears or moss piglets). Tardigrades can survive a lot of harsh environments, including the hard vacuum of space, and may now be alive on the lunar surface. In the final episode of season 2, Emily, Nick, and Matt discuss the implications of tardigrades on the Moon, and why scientists are working hard to ensure that microbes from Earth aren’t contaminating our search for life in the solar system. Water Bears on the Moon! Planetary Defense! Outer Space Law!

There are more than a dozen Earth-born satellites orbiting Mars. Why send another? Today’s episode highlights a movie with answers…Science to be done! Engineering challenges to overcome! National prestige! Personal Moonshots! Because it’s there! 

Based on India’s 2014 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), the new Hindi-language film Mission Mangal has all of this and more, plus all the energy and charm of a genre-melding Bollywood feature. Why do countries invest in space exploration, why do people devote their careers to places millions of miles away, and what does all of this have to do with fried bread?  Emily, Matt, and Nick unpack story behind their new favorite space movie (yes, it’s even better than Armageddon!).

Today on the show, we tackle the meaning of life. Well… not really. But definitely matters of consequence. We are talking about the beloved children’s book that taught us the meaning of friendship and the value of a child-like perspective – The Little Prince. Odds are you’ve read the book – but do you know the story behind the parable? Nick sits down with biographer Stacey Schiff and journalist Martin Buckley to unravel the larger-than-life story of the book’s author (and famous flier) Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Hear how this hero of early French aviation called on his life experience and personal philosophy to pen one of the most widely read stories of ALL time. PLUS crash landings, asteroids, and war stories!

Alt title: ADAM SAVAGE IS IN THIS EPISODE! Today we’re talking about a really cool project that brought together one former-Mythbuster, a couple of Smithsonian units, and makers across the country to reimagine an incredible piece of Apollo engineering.  The hatch (aka door) on the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia is SUPER complex and basically irresistible if you’re into solving mechanical puzzles – so much so that master builders Adam Savage and Jen Schachter wanted to recreate it with the help of a few dozen friends. They brought together 44 artists and engineers from across the country to fabricate individual components of the hatch using 3D-scan data from the Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office. Then Adam and team assembled it live at the Museum in DC during the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. On this episode we hear what happens when lasers, power tools, and a live studio audience (safely) collide!

P.S. Want to build your own Apollo 11 hatch? Visit 3d.si.edu/apollo11cmhatch to view the 3D model and download the .stl files and drawings used by the Project Egress team. Post your photos and tag #ProjectEgress!

Today (tonight?) we’re talking about a chilling chapter from flight history— Night Bomber Regiment 588. They were a group of about 80 Soviet women who flew combat missions during World War II. Led by famous Russian pilot Marina Raskova, these fearless aviatrixes would fly across German lines under cover of darkness and drop bombs from their WWII bi-planes, striking targets on the ground and terror in the hearts of their enemies. They became so feared by the German army that they were dubbed the die Nachthexen, or the Night Witches. This isn’t a lame Halloween story, this is badass history.

Next week is the 50th anniversary of our first steps on the Moon! In our last exciting episode, we explored all the science the Apollo astronauts performed on the lunar surface. In part two, we’re talking about the important science still happening with Apollo Moon rocks here on Earth a half-century later. Of all the 842 pounds of lunar material the astronauts collected up there, three samples were sealed away for scientists to study far in the future. And the future is now! We’ll speak to two scientists from NASA Goddard who will be working with the heretofore sealed samples, which are still in pristine, untouched condition from when astronauts of yesteryear plucked them off our nearest celestial neighbor. And Emily speaks to Lunar geologist Dr. Jennifer Whitten who’s working on a proposal to send a rover back to the Moon to carry on Apollo’s legacy of lunar exploration. Lunar science of the future happens now!

50 years ago this July, humans set foot on the Moon for the first time. You probably know the highlights – Kennedy’s moonshot challenge, Armstrong’s first small steps, three astronauts returned safely to Earth – but there was more to the Apollo program than getting there and back. When we landed Americans on the Moon, there was a lot we didn’t know about our nearest celestial neighbor. Would the astronauts sink into the lunar dust like quicksand? Would they encounter extraterrestrial germs and bring them back to infect the Earth? What would could rocks and dirt (regolith, actually) tell us about how the Moon formed? To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, AirSpace examines what we knew then, what we know now, and what mysteries of lunar science still remain. And we’ll admit, we’re just a *little *excited about the upcoming anniversary. So much so, this is part ONE of TWO.

What music would you take along on a quarter-million mile road trip? For the crew of Apollo 11, it was a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, and a little bit of… theremin?! In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick discuss the music of the cosmos, or at least what makes a good lunar soundtrack. Matt interviews one of his childhood heroes—Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull—who breaks down his song inspired by Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot (and first director of the National Air and Space Museum!), Michael Collins. And we find out what visitors to the world’s largest space party would put on their Moonshot mixtape.   

Some of the world’s best pilots are the ones you hope never to see. They fly into places too dangerous for others to navigate, braving extremes to save human lives. In this episode, we’re talking about air rescue. Nick speaks to Chris Kilgore, a Coast Guard search and rescue pilot who evacuated survivors from an oil tanker collision in Galveston Bay. And we hear from AirSpace listener and air ambulance pilot Brian Shaw who serves remote communities in Canada, sometimes flying into airports that are not much more than a clearing in the trees.

Be advised, this episode contains dramatic rescue stories and has descriptions that some listeners might find disturbing.

Space exploration is a geocentric endeavor. Everywhere we look in the solar system, we learn something new about Earth. Scientists believe our planet has a metallic inner core, but we can’t exactly crack it open and check. Instead, NASA is sending a mission to an asteroid named Psyche, which appears to be a nickel-iron planetary core a lot like the one at the center of the Earth. Heavy metal fans Emily and Matt discuss this mission to pick up the pieces of an early protoplanet to better understand the ground beneath our feet.

Special thanks to: Exzel Music Publishing for use of Chopin Scherzo no.1, also Noise Noir, Bristol Stories and Scampsie.

In this special episode recorded at SXSW, Emily, Matt, and Nick recount stories of failure and how they’ve inspired a whole lot of success in science and space exploration. From how the failed Concorde led to important scientific research and a better understanding of our world, to how the crew of Apollo 13 overcame malfunction by having simulated every possible scenario, the hosts explore how failure doesn’t always mean catastrophe. And special guest Bobak Ferdowsi from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory discusses how the NASA culture embraces the possibility of failure by testing and planning for every conceivable outcome.

Special thanks to our host, the Aerospace Industries Association!

On this episode of AirSpace we’re talking about the most *exclusive *form of public transportation – presidential flight. When you’re the President, flying on Air Force One has its perks, but what about when you’re the one at the controls? And what’s it like to hitch a ride on one of the most recognizable aircraft on Earth?

Air Force historian Dr. Brian Laslie explains how Air Force One became an icon of aviation, and former NPR White House reporter Scott Horsley talks about his experience riding in the press cabin (spoiler – no checked
luggage!). And Nick caught up with former Marine One pilot Matt Howard who recounted what it’s like to fly the President in good times and during one of the worst times imaginable.

As you may have heard, astronauts Christina Koch and Anne McClain were scheduled to perform a spacewalk today. It would have been the first all-woman spacewalk in history. Based on feedback from McClain following her March 22 spacewalk, NASA decided to alter the astronaut assignments. Why the change? AirSpace hosts Emily, Matt, and Nick break down the multiple factors at play.

AirSpace listeners know that no space mission is complete without a cool name, and there’s no “higher” recognition than having a space probe named in your honor (see what we did there?). When we heard that the European Space Agency named its new Mars rover after our favorite British molecular biologist Rosalind Franklin, we were so stoked. Franklin played a key role in unraveling of the structure of DNA, but she hasn’t always gotten the recognition she deserved for that critical contribution. Our intrepid hosts explore the legacy of the real Rosalind Franklin, who helped us understand life on Earth, and the future of her namesake robot, who is going to search for signs of life on Mars.

Welcome to SEASON 2 of AirSpace! We’re back with more stories that defy gravity, and in this exciting episode, we’ll hear about one man’s terrifying ordeal trying to get back down to the ground.

Longtime listeners know that bailing out of an airplane is a last resort that pilots take very seriously. But what happens when you unwittingly eject straight into a thundercloud? The already-harrowing journey to safe ground becomes a rollercoaster of howling wind, pounding hail and deafening thunderclaps. Emily, Matt, and Nick will talk to experts who know just how dangerous cumulonimbus clouds can be, and explore the story of William Rankin, who found out firsthand.

We're hard at work on new episodes of AirSpace! We’ll be back with SEASON 2 in March! Can’t wait that long? Check out our instagram @airspacepodcast for behind-the-scenes content!

You probably know that shooting stars aren’t really stars, but what ARE you seeing? Emily, Matt, and Nick give a download on why meteor showers occur, when’s the best time to watch, and what you’re looking at (spoiler: most meteors are A LOT smaller than you think). So bundle up, grab your headphones, and get a crash-course on everything you need to know while enjoying the Ursid shower on December 22nd.

We’re hard at work on new episodes! AirSpace will be back with SEASON 2 in March! Can’t wait that long? Check out our instagram @airspacepodcast for behind-the-scenes content!

Flying in space is precise, technical, and surprisingly personal. Most astronauts are pilots, scientists, or engineers, but they’re also, you know, people. And seeing the Earth from space for the first time is invariably a profound experience. In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick will unpack the often philosophical, sometimes spiritual reactions to viewing of Earth from above. We’ll start with Nick’s all-time favorite Christmas story, Apollo 8’s 1968 Christmas Eve broadcast from the Moon, and the mission’s famous photo of Earth that sparked an ecological revolution here on the ground. We’ll also chat with astronaut Nicole Stott about her experience in orbit, and how it influences her life and work back on Earth.

Have you heard? NASA’s InSight lander is set to touchdown on Mars next Monday, November 26. So, grab your popcorn and leftover turkey and get ready to witness the latest Martian robot land on the Red Planet. InSight, aka Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (holy acronyms, NASA!), is on a quest to understand the insides of the planet. Scientists aren’t exactly sure what Mars looks like beneath the surface or how that material is layered. In layperson’s terms - is Mars more like a hard-boiled egg or a soft-boiled egg? Food metaphors aside, discovering how much of Mars's core is liquid is one question (among many) that can help us better understand how planets age, cool, and change, ultimately providing huge insight into our own Earth.

This fall has got us hooked on space movies. So, Emily, Matt, and Nick decided to rewatch the 1998 film Armageddon to see how many inaccuracies they could find. And if we needed an excuse for this exercise (really, we didn’t), Armageddon just celebrated its 20th birthday (and now we feel old). In this episode, we list our favorite inaccuracies and highlight a few things that seemed ridiculous, but actually turned out to be true.  Also, Nick talks with Bobbie Faye Ferguson, who was the official NASA liaison on the film, about what it was like to bring Hollywood to real NASA locations and why the agency chose to be so closely involved with a popcorn movie. And Matt can’t help but repeatedly serenade us with the sweet musical stylings of Aerosmith. You don’t want to miss this one!

AirSpace hosts give their take on First Man, the new biopic about the original Moon-walker Neil Armstrong. Starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy and directed by Damien Chazelle, First Man recounts Armstrong’s life during the eight-year period before the Moon landing in 1969. In this episode,  Emily, Matt, and Nick share what the movie got right and provide a little more background on some of the historical players, other NASA missions, and cultural context that don’t get a full treatment. If you’ve seen the film, consider this a supplement that makes it even better. And if you haven’t, we’ll give you enough of the highlights to be dinner-party literate. But beware, spoilers!

Wildfire season is getting longer, according to the US Forest Service, making firefighting a bigger, more vital operation each year. In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick take a look at how the pros fight wildfires with everything from large water-carrying airtankers and helicopters to daring smokejumpers who parachute into the blaze strapped with axes, shovels, and chainsaws. We’ll introduce you to a few of the people who put their lives on the line to keep us and our forests safe and discuss how changes in technology, climate, and communication are impacting aerial firefighting.

We’ll hear from Chelsea Cough, a smokejumper based in Missoula, Montana, about what it’s like to parachute into forest fires too remote to reach over land. And Matt travels out to Utah to the site of an active wildfire where over 1000 people were involved in coordinated air and ground efforts to contain and suppress the flames.

As part of NASA’s Teacher in Space Program, Christa McAuliffe prepared lesson plans and lectures to beam into classrooms from orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. She, and the rest of the Challenger crew, were lost when the Shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch. This episode is about the lessons she had planned to perform in space, which now form an important part of her legacy.

Christa planned six science activities, known as the six lost lessons, that were to be used as educational resources for students around the world. The Challenger Center, in partnership with NASA and STEM on Station, worked with astronauts Ricky Arnold and Joe Acaba to film these demonstrations on the International Space Station and complete these lessons.

Emily, Matt, and Nick reflect on the Teacher in Space program, the lost lessons, and the impact McAuliffe had on a generation of students, teachers, and astronauts.

You can find more information about Christa McAuliffe’s lost lessons, including videos, lesson plans, and other STEM resources at challenger.org.

Want to know what it’s like in outer space? Your best bet is under the sea. Life on a deep-space mission may be a lot like life in a deep-sea submersible, and the extreme environments found on the sea floor may give us clues as to where to look for life on other planets. In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick talk deep-sea diving, marine microbes, prog rock, and Emily’s favorite – ocean worlds. Guests include oceanographer and microbiologist Dr. Julie Huber of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik.

Did you know that the first flag on the Moon was Swiss? Well, *kind of. *But, the international community has contributed more to the exploration of space and our understanding of the universe than you might think. From India to Israel, lots of countries are sending missions to Mars, landing on comets, and observing Earth from orbit. Emily, Matt, and Nick explore space agencies from around the world, including a mission from Japan’s JAXA that just arrived at an asteroid after a 3-year, 2 billion-mile journey…and that’s not the half of it.

It took a certain amount of pure grit to be a pilot in the early days of aviation – and even more for the women who had to defy convention just to get up in the air. And that’s why early aviatrixes are at the top of our badass list. And if you’re thinking the only aviatrix was Amelia Earhart – think again. She was just one of a daring group of women aviators who were walking on wings, flying under bridges, breaking altitude records, and racing across the country – in the 1920s!

Join Emily, Matt, and Nick as they explore the history of the Ninety-Nines, the organization of women pilots originally led by Earhart and still active today. Documentary-maker Heather Taylor sets the scene of the thrilling and dangerous first Women’s National Air Derby in 1929. And Emily discovers an amazing view in her first non-commercial flight (in a tiny four-seater!) with modern-day Ninety-Nine Judy Shaw.

NASA launched TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, on April 18, 2018, continuing our search for planets outside of our solar system (aka exoplanets). Over a two-year period, TESS will survey the entire sky looking for drops in the brightness of stars that indicate the presence of a passing, or transiting, planet. On this episode Emily, Matt, and Nick unpack TESS, discussing space telescopes, exoplanets, and the search for life in our universe (also: Goldilocks, crud-eating enzymes, and Dan Brown books).

People have been spying on each other for forever. This episode is about what changed when spies upped their game (literally), rising into the sky. We’ll hear from Museum curator and aviation historian Tom Crouch on how the military application of balloons was first demonstrated to Abraham Lincoln right outside our front door in DC. And, we’ll talk to former SR-71 Blackbird pilot Buz Carpenter on what it was like flying a spy plane 80,000 feet up while going three times the speed of sound.  Emily, Matt, and Nick provide the intel on our eyes in the sky and the high-flying hi-tech that makes it possible.

Did we just find life on Mars? No. But NASA did announce two exciting new discoveries on the Red Planet—just before a Martian dust storm engulfed the planet. In this episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick will break down the meaning of the recently discovered organic molecules and mysterious methane, discuss the emotional attachment we invest in our roving robot friends, and explore the daunting challenges and enduring allure of exploring the fourth rock from the Sun.

Space is a mess. At this moment, there are literally thousands of human-made objects cluttering up Earth orbit. There's the big stuff you would expect, like satellites. But, when two of these large objects collide, they can create millions of tiny orbiting pieces. And all of these little particles can cause big problems.

This episode is all about orbital debris, a.k.a. space junk – where it comes from, how we’re trying to solve the debris problem, and what happens when it comes back to Earth. We’ll talk with Donald Kessler, the former NASA scientist who first modeled the dangers of space junk, and historian Lisa Rand, who shares the creative ideas on how to clean it up (think – lasers… and gecko feet).

You’ve heard about a gastropub, but what about an astropub? Nobody becomes an astronaut for the food, but space cuisine has come a long way since the 1960s. You can now find espresso and tortillas aboard the International Space Station, but there is sadly no astronaut ice cream. In this episode, we’ll explore the Museum’s space food collection with curator Valerie Neal. And we’ll hear from Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt on what it was like to eat on the Moon.

It’s the 50th anniversary of one of the slowest, strangest, and yet, most referenced science fiction films of all time – 2001: A Space Odyssey. It may be your FAVORITE movie, or, quite possibly, you’ve never actually seen it in its 142-minute entirety. Emily, Matt, and Nick break it down for you – Cliff’s Notes on the plot, the collaborations that made the film so realistic, and the first peeks at technologies that really exist today. Become cocktail party conversant about why a 50 year old science fiction movie remains so relevant and what current sci-fi says about our world today and the years ahead.

Professor Stephen Hawking died on March 14 at the age of 76. Hawking's contributions to science centered on his search for a unified theory of the universe, but his impact spanned far beyond the scientific community. To the many around the world, he was an expert science communicator and even a pop-culture icon. In this special episode, Emily, Matt, and Nick reflect on Hawking's enduring impact on science and culture.

“Eject, eject, eject!” Most of us are experienced at bailing out of social situations, but what about airplanes? Fewer than 1% of military pilots ever pull the eject handle, but they all know what comes next.The canopy blows, and the pilot is (literally!) rocketed up and out. Now what? In this episode, we’ll learn how pilots train to get out and back down to Earth safely, and we’ll hear from someone who did it (upside down, at 23,000 feet!). Join Emily, Matt, and Nick as they discuss the ins and outs of bailing out.

Update: We heard from a squadron mate of Chris’, who reminisced about the first time he heard the story (over the radio before Chris and Snake bailed out, and after they were safely recovered). He enjoyed the retelling, but corrected us about one thing: the canopy of an F-14 can actually hover momentarily above the cockpit in the event of an ejection, specifically when the aircraft is in a flat spin, as seen in Top Gun. The procedure for F-14 crews in the event of a confirmed flat spin was to release the canopy manually a few seconds before pulling the eject handle. Many thanks to this listener for correcting the record. We welcome listener feedback anytime via [email protected].

The criteria to become an astronaut has evolved over the years, but it’s still one of the toughest jobs to land. 18,000 people applied to be a part of NASA’s most recent astronaut class and only 12 were selected. In this episode, we’ll explore how the right stuff has changed with the times and get a taste of what hopefuls go through to make the cut.

No human has ever set foot on Mars, but scientists have been working there for years. A day on the red planet is about 40 minutes longer than here on Earth, which wreaks havoc on your workweek. Hosts Emily, Matt, and Nick will explore how scientists have adapted to the challenge of working on “Mars Time.”  In this episode find out what it takes to be a professional Martian without ever leaving your home planet. 

The National Air and Space Museum is launching a podcast! You can subscribe to the feed now. Our first episode is coming January 11.

The National Air and Space Museum contains the largest and most significant collection of air- and spacecraft in the world. Behind those amazing machines are thousands of stories of human achievement, failure, and perseverance. Each episode, join Emily, Matt, and Nick as they demystify one of the world’s most visited museums and explore why people are so fascinated with stories of exploration, innovation, and discovery.