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 b...
Jun 27, 2019•27 min•Season 2Ep. 8
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 Museu...
Jun 13, 2019•18 min•Season 2Ep. 7
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 ...
May 23, 2019•29 min•Season 2Ep. 6
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 understa...
May 09, 2019•12 min•Season 2Ep. 5
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 La...
Apr 25, 2019•22 min•Season 2Ep. 4
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 ridin...
Apr 11, 2019•32 min•Season 2Ep. 3
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.
Mar 29, 2019•8 min
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. Ou...
Mar 28, 2019•13 min•Season 2Ep. 2
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 thunderclap...
Mar 14, 2019•22 min•Season 2Ep. 1
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!
Feb 05, 2019•50 sec
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 ...
Dec 20, 2018•15 min•Season 1Ep. 20
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...
Dec 13, 2018•24 min•Season 1Ep. 19
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 te...
Nov 22, 2018•15 min•Season 1Ep. 18
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 NA...
Nov 08, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 17
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’...
Oct 25, 2018•21 min•Season 1Ep. 16
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 ...
Oct 11, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 15
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...
Sep 27, 2018•12 min•Season 1Ep. 14
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 Instit...
Sep 13, 2018•30 min•Season 1Ep. 13
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...
Aug 23, 2018•14 min•Season 1Ep. 12
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,...
Aug 09, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 11
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, ...
Jul 26, 2018•12 min•Season 1Ep. 10
People have been spying on each other for for ever . 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. Emi...
Jul 12, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 9
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.
Jun 28, 2018•16 min•Season 1Ep. 8
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...
Jun 14, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 7
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.
May 10, 2018•29 min•Season 1Ep. 6
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 sci...
Apr 12, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 5
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.
Mar 19, 2018•12 min•Season 1Ep. 4
“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...
Mar 08, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 3
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.
Feb 08, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 2
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.
Jan 11, 2018•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1
