NASA or What?

Image by: Seth Shostak

NASA or What?

Series: Big Picture Science
From: Big Picture Science
Length: 00:54:01

NASA in motion: the GRAIL mission takes us back to the moon, and – can you dig it? The rover Curiosity can. It’ll hunt for evidence of Martian life … with a jackhammer. Plus, private space rockeeters – competition or complementary? Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Podcast Version

Promos

Playing: NASA or What?
From: Big Picture Science

Nasaorwhatweb_small "Making space for everyone” could be NASA’s motto. But as commercial spaceships get ready to blast off, that populist idea is being tested. Space cowboys in the private sector say they’re the ones who can provide unfettered access to space, for tourists and scientists alike.

Meet a scientist who already has a ticket to ride on SpaceShip Two and discover what he hopes to learn about asteroids during his five minutes of weightlessness.

Plus, NASA in motion: it’s back to the moon as the GRAIL mission probes the interior of our lovely lunar satellite. Also, can you dig it? The rover Curiosity can. It’s headed to Mars to hunt for clues to alien life … with a jackhammer.

Also, as the Hubble Space Telescope shuts down, the James Webb Space Telescope revs up. Or does it? The telescope is designed to study the birth of galaxies and hunt for evidence of water on far away worlds. But will Congress pull the plug?

Guests:

• James Oberg – former Space Shuttle Mission Control engineer, and space expert

• Maria Zuber – Planetary scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator of NASA’s GRAIL mission

• Joy Crisp – Geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Principal Investigator on the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity

• Massimo Stiavelli – Astronomer at the Space Science Telescope Institute, and Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope

• Dan Durda – Planetary scientist, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado

Playing: NASA or What?
From: Big Picture Science

Nasaorwhatweb_small "Making space for everyone” could be NASA’s motto. But as commercial spaceships get ready to blast off, that populist idea is being tested. Space cowboys in the private sector say they’re the ones who can provide unfettered access to space, for tourists and scientists alike.

Meet a scientist who already has a ticket to ride on SpaceShip Two and discover what he hopes to learn about asteroids during his five minutes of weightlessness.

Plus, NASA in motion: it’s back to the moon as the GRAIL mission probes the interior of our lovely lunar satellite. Also, can you dig it? The rover Curiosity can. It’s headed to Mars to hunt for clues to alien life … with a jackhammer.

Also, as the Hubble Space Telescope shuts down, the James Webb Space Telescope revs up. Or does it? The telescope is designed to study the birth of galaxies and hunt for evidence of water on far away worlds. But will Congress pull the plug?

Guests:

• James Oberg – former Space Shuttle Mission Control engineer, and space expert

• Maria Zuber – Planetary scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator of NASA’s GRAIL mission

• Joy Crisp – Geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Principal Investigator on the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity

• Massimo Stiavelli – Astronomer at the Space Science Telescope Institute, and Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope

• Dan Durda – Planetary scientist, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado

Playing: NASA or What?
From: Big Picture Science

Nasaorwhatweb_small "Making space for everyone” could be NASA’s motto. But as commercial spaceships get ready to blast off, that populist idea is being tested. Space cowboys in the private sector say they’re the ones who can provide unfettered access to space, for tourists and scientists alike.

Meet a scientist who already has a ticket to ride on SpaceShip Two and discover what he hopes to learn about asteroids during his five minutes of weightlessness.

Plus, NASA in motion: it’s back to the moon as the GRAIL mission probes the interior of our lovely lunar satellite. Also, can you dig it? The rover Curiosity can. It’s headed to Mars to hunt for clues to alien life … with a jackhammer.

Also, as the Hubble Space Telescope shuts down, the James Webb Space Telescope revs up. Or does it? The telescope is designed to study the birth of galaxies and hunt for evidence of water on far away worlds. But will Congress pull the plug?

Guests:

• James Oberg – former Space Shuttle Mission Control engineer, and space expert

• Maria Zuber – Planetary scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator of NASA’s GRAIL mission

• Joy Crisp – Geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Principal Investigator on the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity

• Massimo Stiavelli – Astronomer at the Space Science Telescope Institute, and Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope

• Dan Durda – Planetary scientist, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado

Also in the Big Picture Science series

Caption: To Earth and Back, Credit: Seth Shostak

To Earth and Back (00:54:02)
From: Big Picture Science

Meet the NASA officer whose task is to keep Earth, Mars - and the entire solar system - free of hitchhiking bacteria.

Caption: That's So Random!, Credit: Seth Shostak

That's So Random! (00:54:03)
From: Big Picture Science

We crave order in things, but we can’t iron out every chaotic crease, nor would we want to: from brain cell activity to the evolution of species, discover why randomness is ...

Caption: Skeptic Check: Forget with the Program, Credit: Seth Shostak

Skeptic Check: Forget with the Program (00:54:02)
From: Big Picture Science

Just remember this: Even our memories of dramatic events that seem to burn themselves directly into our brain are riddled with errors.

Caption: Group Think, Credit: Seth Shostak

Group Think (00:54:02)
From: Big Picture Science

If two is company and three a crowd, what’s the ideal number for to write a play or invent a new operating system? Experts disagree whether creativity is a group or solitary ...

Caption: Early Adapters, Credit: Seth Shostak

Early Adapters (00:54:02)
From: Big Picture Science

How Homo sapiens can wield technology to adapt to the onslaught of climate change, a growing population, and the blitz of hi-tech.

Caption: Humans Need Not Apply, Credit: Seth Shostak

Humans Need Not Apply (00:54:03)
From: Big Picture Science

It’s silicon vs. carbon as intelligent, interactive machines out-perform humans in tasks beyond data-crunching – find out what jobs are left for humans.

Caption: Second that Emotion, Credit: Seth Shostak

Second that Emotion (00:54:02)
From: Big Picture Science

Why flies in milk gross you out and other voyages through human emotion.

Caption: Life Back Then, Credit: Seth Shostak

Life Back Then (00:54:01)
From: Big Picture Science

Time keeps on ticking, ticking … and as it does, evolution operates to produce remarkable and transformative changes in species.

Caption: Found in Space, Credit: Seth Shostak

Found in Space (00:54:02)
From: Big Picture Science

From Google to GPS – how modern mapping is reshaping our world view.

Caption: Catch a Wave, Credit: Seth Shostak

Catch a Wave (00:54:02)
From: Big Picture Science

What your eye sees is but a narrow band in the electromagnetic spectrum. Discover what the rest reveals about the secrets of the universe.

Piece Description

"Making space for everyone” could be NASA’s motto. But as commercial spaceships get ready to blast off, that populist idea is being tested. Space cowboys in the private sector say they’re the ones who can provide unfettered access to space, for tourists and scientists alike.

Meet a scientist who already has a ticket to ride on SpaceShip Two and discover what he hopes to learn about asteroids during his five minutes of weightlessness.

Plus, NASA in motion: it’s back to the moon as the GRAIL mission probes the interior of our lovely lunar satellite. Also, can you dig it? The rover Curiosity can. It’s headed to Mars to hunt for clues to alien life … with a jackhammer.

Also, as the Hubble Space Telescope shuts down, the James Webb Space Telescope revs up. Or does it? The telescope is designed to study the birth of galaxies and hunt for evidence of water on far away worlds. But will Congress pull the plug?

Guests:

• James Oberg – former Space Shuttle Mission Control engineer, and space expert

• Maria Zuber – Planetary scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator of NASA’s GRAIL mission

• Joy Crisp – Geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Principal Investigator on the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity

• Massimo Stiavelli – Astronomer at the Space Science Telescope Institute, and Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope

• Dan Durda – Planetary scientist, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado

Broadcast History

new episode

Additional Files

Listing - NASA or What? (NASA_or_What.docx)

Additional Credits

Seth Shostak – Host and Producer
Molly Bentley – Co-Host and Executive Producer
Gary Niederhoff – Producer
Barbara Vance – Production Assistant
Jay Weiler - Assistant