NASA's Curious Universe

In the space between stars, dark clouds of gas, dust, and ice mingle in a chemical laboratory unlike any on Earth. Ewine van Dishoeck, an astronomer who studies molecules in space and who helped develop an instrument aboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, explains how Webb is revealing new details about the formation of stars and planets. This research could help unlock a key question about Earth: how did our planet end up with water and the ingredients for life?

Some exoplanets—like a gas giant with rain made of glass and 5,000-mile-per-hour winds—sound like worlds dreamed up by a science fiction writer. But they’re real. From light-years away, scientists can uncover details about planets orbiting distant stars and even ask whether some exoplanets could support life. Néstor Espinoza, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, explains how NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is revealing new details about exoplanets, especially rocky worlds like Earth.

In space, microgravity changes the body. Body fluids shift from the legs toward the head, the back of our eyes flatten, we lose muscle strength, our bones lose some of their density, and even the amount of blood pumped by the heart with each beat drops. To learn more about how microgravity affects the human body and develop new ways to help astronauts stay healthy, scientists are asking dozens of volunteers to spend 60 days in bed with their heads tilted down at a specific angle. This research approach tricks the body into reacting very similarly to how it would if a person was aboard the International Space Station for a longer-term mission. Join Andreas Joshi, a volunteer who agreed to be part of this bedrest work, and two NASA scientists leading the study. They’re investigating different ways to combat space-based muscle loss and improve astronauts’ sense of balance by, among other things, teaching volunteers like Joshi to play video games with their feet.

Take a deep breath, and you’re inhaling oxygen from Earth’s atmosphere. Take a walk outside, and the atmosphere is shielding you from harmful radiation. NASA research provides crucial data to understand air quality and the intricate processes happening in the sky above us. In this episode, hear the inside story of NASA’s research into the ozone layer. Left unchecked, our reliance on ozone-depleting chemicals threatened to expose the entire planet to dangerous UV radiation. We’ll also fly along with Laura Judd, a NASA scientist studying air quality in the U.S. and around the world.

Life all over the planet—even far from the coasts—depends on the oceans. A pair of NASA satellites, PACE and SWOT, is giving us a fresh look at Earth’s water. PACE tracks color changes driven by tiny plankton, which give us a big-picture view of ocean life. By measuring sea level height from space, SWOT shows ocean currents and other features in new detail. NASA scientists Cecile Rousseaux, Kelsey Bisson, and Josh Willis dive into new research with a lot of color and a little bit of rock and roll.

There’s one planet NASA studies more than any other: Earth. With our unique vantage point from space, NASA collects information about our home in ways nobody else can. In this podcast miniseries, celebrate our home planet by learning how NASA studies Earth—including unique views of ocean color and sea level, land data that help farmers improve crop production, and researching our atmosphere from the air we breathe to layers high above us that protect every living thing on the planet.