On the Gravity Assist podcast we have interviewed dozens of scientists, engineers, and others dedicated to the mission of NASA space exploration. After five years, the show is coming to a close. Here are some final thoughts and episode highlights from the podcast team.

Gravity Assist Finale: Thanks for All the Gravity Assists

The James Webb Space Telescope awed the world on July 12 with its first images and data. And it’s just getting started with its exploration of the cosmos. Dr. John Mather, the observatory’s senior project scientist, has been working toward this milestone for more than 25 years.

Gravity Assist: Meet a Webb Scientist Who Looks Back in Time

The world will get a first glimpse of the universe as never before when the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope come out on July 12. And this is only the beginning — the telescope will deliver all kinds of insights about galaxies, planets, and more, for years to come.

Gravity Assist: How We Make Webb (and Hubble) Images

Uranus and Neptune are two of the many exciting and mysterious objects in our universe that the James Webb Space Telescope will soon begin to explore. Learn more about these planets and the Webb telescope’s upcoming observations from astrophysicist Naomi Rowe-Gurney, our guest on this week’s Gravity Assist.

Gravity Assist: It’s Raining Diamonds on These Planets

Nina Lanza

With two microphones aboard the Perseverance rover, we can listen to Mars from its surface like never before. In addition to hearing how wind sounds on Mars, we can also listen to Perseverance driving on the surface, the Ingenuity helicopter flying nearby, and more.

Gravity Assist: This is What Mars Sounds Like, with Nina Lanza

Astronauts on the International Space Station have been conducting experiments to grow food, including peppers and radishes. Christina Johnson, a NASA postdoc fellow at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, has been working on a variety of techniques to grow food in space. Learn what she thinks about the future of growing food beyond our planet.

Gravity Assist: What Will We Eat on Mars?

Space botanists are working on strategies to grow crops on the lunar surface, as NASA makes strides toward sending astronauts to the Moon through the Artemis program.

Gravity Assist: How to Grow Food on the Moon

An ice shelf collapsed in East Antarctica in March 2022, concerning scientists who track melting glaciers, sea level rise, and other effects of climate change.

Gravity Assist: Walking on Broken Ice, with Catherine Walker

Ravi Kopparapu

On a quest to find out if we are not alone in the universe, Ravi Kopparapu at NASA Goddard studies how we could use telescopes to detect signs of life beyond our solar system.

Gravity Assist: Do Other Planets Make Pollution? With Ravi Kopparapu

Neyda Abreu

How do we know if a rock came from the Moon, Mars, or an asteroid? Planetary scientist Neyda Abreu has looked inside all kinds of meteorites to understand where they came from and what’s inside them. She also traveled to Antarctica to hunt for space rock treasure.

Gravity Assist: These Space Rocks Have Seen It All, with Neyda Abreu

NASA’s interplanetary talk show, hosted by Chief Scientist Jim Green, introduces you to space professionals working to take exploration into the future.

This is the best podcast for space science. Awesome topics and very very good questions answered. Pure science. Just try it

Such a great podcast

Great subjects and the right questions asked. I enjoy it immensely

Joel W

Gravity Assist

Our virtual tour of the solar system continues with Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. Since it’s tough to observe Mercury except at dawn or twilight, most of what we know about Mercury is from NASA’s Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions.

Gravity Assist Podcast, Mercury with Faith Vilas

Why do we see only one face of the Moon? What would happen to Earth if the Moon didn't exist? We dive into questions you asked on social media.

Gravity Assist Podcast: Your Moon Questions Answered

David Grinspoon

The next stop on our virtual tour is Venus, the closest planet to Earth and the hottest planet in our solar system, with surface temperatures scorching enough to melt lead.

Gravity Assist Podcast, Venus with David Grinspoon

Walter Kiefer

Just like earthquakes help scientists figure out what's going on inside our home planet, moonquakes have taught scientists a lot about the interior of the Moon.

Gravity Assist: The Moon Quakes! With Walter Kiefer

Jim Green is joined by lunar expert Sarah Noble to discuss how the Moon was formed, lava tubes and moonquakes, the “dark side of the Moon,” and mysteries we have yet to solve about Earth’s nearest neighbor.

Gravity Assist: The Moon with Sarah Noble

Dave Draper

Early in its history, the Moon was molten, with “fire fountains” erupting from its surface. How did the Moon cool down and become the quiet, cratered world we know today? NASA’s Chief Scientist Jim Green chats with NASA’s Deputy Chief Scientist Dave Draper about the Moon’s volcanic past and what we have learned from Apollo lunar samples.

Gravity Assist: Fire Fountains on the Moon, with Dave Draper

Bruce Jakosky

Michael Meyer

With Jim Green today is the “man about Mars,” Bruce Jakosky from the University of Colorado.  Bruce is the principal investigator of NASA's MAVEN mission. Joining them is Michael Meyer the lead Mars scientist at NASA Headquarters.

Gravity Assist: Mars with Bruce Jakosky and Michael Meyer

Robin Canup

Learn about how the Moon formed in this conversation with Robin Canup of the Southwest Research Institute.

Gravity Assist Podcast: Why Do We Have a Moon? With Robin Canup

Jake Bleacher

It's been 50 years since humans walked on the moon. Now NASA is planning to return, this time to stay. What will future lunar missions look like? Why do we go back at all?

Gravity Assist Podcast: Beyond Apollo with Planetary Geologist Jake Bleacher

Tom Wagner

NASA not only seeks to unravel the secrets of the solar system and the universe, we have a robust program to better understand how Earth works as a system, how it’s changing, and to assist when natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes occur.

Gravity Assist: Earth with Tom Wagner

Jon Jenkins

Listen to Chief Scientist Jim Green and a co-investigator on the Kepler and TESS missions, Jon Jenkins, discuss exoplanet-hunting and all the amazing discoveries Kepler has made.

Gravity Assist: Exoplanet Hunting with Jon Jenkins

Bruce Banerdt

With its seismometer and heat probe instruments, InSight will investigate the deep dynamics of Mars, helping scientists discover what lies within its core and learn more about how rocky bodies form throughout the solar system.

Gravity Assist: Mars and InSight with Bruce Banerdt

Kelsey Young

Besides learning how to live in space, astronauts training for Artemis missions to the Moon will need to become experts in geology, so they know what to look for when they're scoping out rocks and other features. Kelsey Young of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center describes her experience of teaching astronauts through analog sites, places on Earth

Gravity Assist: Astronauts Go Back to Moon School, with Kelsey Young

Thomas Zurbuchen

Thomas Zurbuchen, the Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, joins NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green to discuss the mysterious we still need to solve about the Sun, and more!

Gravity Assist: The Sun’s Mysteries with Thomas Zurbuchen

Melinda Kahre

Listen in as NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green discusses the Mars dust storm with a dust storm expert, Melinda Kahre.

Gravity Assist: Mars Dust Storm with Melinda Kahre.

Jared Espley

As large as 1,000 Earths, Jupiter is the heavy hitter of the solar system. Even its Great Red Spot is larger than Earth, yet it’s shrinking! In this episode of Gravity Assist, Planetary Science Director Jim Green talks with Jared Espley of NASA’s Juno mission.

Gravity Assist: Jupiter with Jared Espley

On Monday, April 16th, NASA is scheduled to launch its newest exoplanet hunter: the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

Gravity Assist: TESS & Exoplanets with Martin Still

Maria Zuber

Recent maps of the Moon's gravity have taught us a lot about its overall shape, and have been invaluable for lunar exploration. Maria Zuber, principal investigator of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, reflects on  the twin spacecraft and their implications for future investigations.

Gravity Assist: The Moon's Holy GRAIL, with Maria Zuber

Linda Spilker

With me today is Dr. Linda Spilker from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  She's the project scientist for our Cassini Mission, which as everyone knows, had a recent spectacular finale at Saturn.

Gravity Assist: Saturn with Linda Spilker

Alan Stern

In this episode of Gravity Assist, Jim Green talks with New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern about what we’ve learned about Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69.

Gravity Assist: The Kuiper Belt with Alan Stern

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