Blast off with these 7 space-centric podcasts in honor of the 64th anniversary of NASA

This July, we’re honoring the 60th anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Act with several NASA podcasts. The National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics was brought into NASA, and it was already sending pilots into the atmosphere by 1958. NACA transformed into NASA, and spacecrafts took flight. These are just some of the historical moments covered in our round-up of NASA podcasts.

All explorers are welcome to stream NASA’s curious and interplanetary podcasts. On our list, hear passionate astronauts, scientists, engineers, and more discussing the latest missions. Glimpse through telescopes, learn about communication technologies, how to grow food on the Moon, walk through the Space Station, and join more adventures with these NASA podcasts.

NASA’s Curious Universe

Journey through “NASA’s Curious Universe” with astronauts, engineers, and scientists on weekly episodes. There were recent episodes on James Webb Space Telescope’s first detailed cosmic images, rocket experiments with a space physicist, questioning extraterrestrial life, and growing plants in space. Padi Boyd hosts the series, and you can check out over 40 episodes now streaming.

Houston We Have a Podcast

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas presents updates on spaceflight, what’s happening in the skies, and more on “Houston We Have a Podcast.” Check out episodes with scientists, astronauts, and engineers. In July, the podcast’s team picked their favorite moments from over 250 episodes over the podcast’s last 5 years, a nice summary episode for new listeners.

On a Mission

Scientists share amazing stories from their time “On a Mission” – from the launchpad all the way to the stars. This season is about Mars with episodes covering the Helicopter, the Perseverance rover, the Curiosity rover, and many more journeys in over 40 episodes. Season 2 focused on asteroids and season 3 trekked to Earth’s outer limits to share all about the planet’s unique and unexpected qualities.

NASAcast Audio

“NASAcast Audio” is your one-stop-shop for NASACast content like news, info on NASA’s missions, and episodes from “This Week @NASA’s” reel. Tune in for fantastic interviews, updates on the Commercial Cargo Spacecraft docking to the Space Station, Space Station crewmembers taking a spacewalk, news on NASA’s plan to launch the Artemis I mission, and more.

The Invisible Network

“The Invisible Network” explores the often overlooked technologies from NASA that enable communication and navigation in spacecrafts. This season focuses on the Deep Space Network at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and shares its origins, structure, evolution, and more. Last season examined Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), and talked about optical communications technology that uses infrared lasers instead of radio waves.

Gravity Assist

NASA’s Chief Scientist Jim Green hosts “Gravity Assist,” an interplanetary talk show chatting with space professionals on how they’re advancing explorations into the future. Since 2017, the show has released over 90 episodes. Tune in to learn if other planets create pollution, how to grow crops on the moon, what it’s like to track melting glaciers, what Mars sounds like, and more.

Small Steps, Giant Leaps

Check out over 85 episodes of “Small Steps, Giant Leaps,” all about NASA’s technical workforce building missions ready for new discoveries. There are episodes detailing NASA’s role in weather research, climate research, and agriculture. This summer, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Chief Håvard Grip talked about the rover. NuStar Principal Investigator joined an episode to share about NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope.