On a Mission artwork

On a Mission

45 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★ - 697 ratings

A journey to the stars doesn’t just begin at the launchpad. Discover new worlds through epic stories told by scientists on missions to outer space.

Science jet propulsion laboratory nasa jpl insight mars mars missions mars lander mars exploration mars nasa missions
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Episodes

Secrets of the Mars Rovers – S4E12

March 08, 2023 22:07 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MB

In this season 4 finale, Gentry Lee and Rob Manning reveal how surprises, hidden flaws, and uncertainties have always been a part of rovers and the exploration of Mars.

Digging In: When Rovers Get Dirt on Mars - S4E11

January 12, 2023 19:38 - 53 minutes - 73.9 MB

Aaron Yazzie and others explain how, by scooping dirt and drilling rocks, rovers are digging deeper into the mysteries of Mars.

The Power of the Rovers – S4E10

November 14, 2022 22:54 - 41 minutes - 57.1 MB

How does a rover keep driving on a planet with no gas stations? Shonte Tucker, Sabah Bux and Rob Manning power us through the ways Mars rovers keep going.

Before You Can Drive, First You Have to Fly – S4E9

October 03, 2022 20:21 - 56 minutes - 77.3 MB

Before a rover can make tracks on Mars, it first has to rocket off Earth, speed through space, and then alight gently on the planet’s surface. Al Chen and Swati Mohan guide us through the many stages of a rover’s flight to Mars.

How to Drive a Mars Rover – S4E8

August 25, 2022 15:31 - 41 minutes - 56.6 MB

Buckle up for a Mars tour with rover driver Vandi Verma, and learn how NASA’s rovers have evolved to better explore this alien world.

Flying with Ingenuity: the Mars Helicopter – S4E7

July 20, 2022 19:43 - 58 minutes - 80.1 MB

Bob Balaram and Teddy Tzanetos share stories of how the Mars helicopter came to be, and transport us on Ingenuity’s flights through dusty Martian skies.

The Promise of Perseverance – S4E6

June 08, 2022 22:34 - 52 minutes - 72.7 MB

The Perseverance rover holds many promises: to look for evidence of life on Mars, to collect rock samples meant to be sent to Earth one day, and to test technology that could be used in a future human Mars mission.

A Ton of Curiosity - S4E5

April 21, 2022 20:26 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MB

The Curiosity rover is a big nerd at heart, fitted with a science lab to take in the planet Mars. Get the inside scoop on the mission’s many discoveries and dramas after a decade on the Red Planet.

A Lifetime on Mars: The Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity - S4E4

March 16, 2022 18:35 - 53 minutes - 73.2 MB

Born together, the Spirit and Opportunity twin rovers followed divergent paths after they landed on opposite sides of Mars. Opportunity’s journey was marked by good fortune, while Spirit’s was troubled from the start.

Rise of the Twins: Spirit and Opportunity - S4E3

February 16, 2022 21:42 - 43 minutes - 59.9 MB

After two failed missions to Mars, NASA tried to double its odds for success by sending twin rovers to the Red Planet. Part one of the story of Spirit and Opportunity takes us from their birth to their launch from Earth.

First Steps: Sojourner - S4E2

January 18, 2022 22:07 - 43 minutes - 60 MB

NASA’s first rover on Mars was a cute little bundle of robotic joy. Many thought it was likely to fail. Instead, Sojourner revolutionized how we explore Mars, and marked the start of 25 years of Mars rover adventures.

Driven to Mars - S4E1

December 20, 2021 19:23 - 43 minutes - 59.4 MB

Episode one launches with Jennifer Trosper in the driver’s seat. As she looks in the rearview mirror at twenty-five years of exploring with NASA’s Mars rovers, she reveals how their progression has kept pace with milestones in her life.

Season 4 Preview: Mars Rovers

December 14, 2021 00:14 - 1 minute - 1.64 MB

In the fourth season of “On a Mission” we’ll be transported to the Red Planet with all five of NASA’s Mars rovers.

Season 3, Episode 10: A Voyager’s View of Earth

December 22, 2020 17:00 - 41 minutes - 57 MB

The Voyager 1 spacecraft has traveled farther away from Earth than any human-made object. Candy Hansen and David Grinspoon talk about the Voyager mission, and its humbling perspective of our planet as a tiny blue dot in the blackness of space.

Season 3, Episode 9: Life Bound

December 15, 2020 17:00 - 35 minutes - 49.3 MB

We hike in the Australian Outback with Abigail Allwood to visit the most ancient fossils on Earth, and track the imprint of life over space and time with David Grinspoon.

Season 3, Episode 8: Fueled by Fire

December 08, 2020 17:00 - 41 minutes - 57.5 MB

From fires in outer space to raging wildfires on Earth, fire experts Gary Ruff and Natasha Stavros reveal how fingers of flame reach out around our world.

Season 3, Episode 7: Storm Warning

December 01, 2020 17:00 - 36 minutes - 50 MB

Get swept away as we fly into massive hurricanes, and hear how the rumblings of climate change will cause clouds to gather into ever more powerful storms.

Season 3, Episode 6: Air and Shield

November 24, 2020 17:00 - 42 minutes - 58.8 MB

As we fly around with NASA pilots, we’ll explore Earth’s air space with scientists Annmarie Eldering and Armin Sorooshian -- from wispy clouds high above, to tiny particles that make up air pollution.

Season 3, Episode 5: Frozen in Time

November 17, 2020 20:00 - 38 minutes - 52.9 MB

Bundle up! We’ll be diving into ice-covered waters with an upside-down robot, and exploring Greenland’s massive ice sheet with oceanographer Josh Willis.

Season 3, Episode 4: A World Shaped by Water

November 10, 2020 18:00 - 40 minutes - 56.2 MB

Dive to the deepest point of the ocean with an astronaut, brave the high seas with an oceanographer, and meander through sparkling rivers with a hydrologist.

Season Three, Episode 3: On the Surface

November 03, 2020 18:00 - 37 minutes - 51.8 MB

Like waves of the ocean, our planet’s surface is in constant motion. In this episode, we’ll travel to tropical rainforests to dig into soils with an ecologist, and fly drones with an earthquake expert to spot shifts in the ground beneath our feet.

Season Three, Episode 2: Genesis

October 27, 2020 16:50 - 33 minutes - 46.4 MB

Have you ever wanted to see the awesome spectacle of an erupting volcano? There’s no better guide for such an adventure than JPL volcanologist Rosaly Lopes.

Season Three, Episode 1: An Astronaut’s View of Earth

October 20, 2020 14:15 - 41 minutes - 56.8 MB

You might think you know Earth, but astronaut’s views from outer space help us see our world in a whole new light.

Season Three, Episode 0: To the Ends of the Earth

October 14, 2020 03:31 - 28 seconds - 671 KB

In season 3, we’ll travel to the ends of the Earth with scientists who explore different aspects of our unique planet.

Season Two, Episode 10: Comets: A Love Story

December 10, 2019 22:03 - 43 minutes - 99.4 MB

Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker’s love of exploration changed our understanding of the cosmos.

Season Two, Episode 9: Hunting in the Dark for Monsters

December 03, 2019 15:41 - 42 minutes - 96.8 MB

Finding black rocks in the darkness of space isn’t easy, but new methods could help spot them all.

Season Two, Episode 8: Diamonds in the Ice

November 26, 2019 18:11 - 40 minutes - 92.9 MB

Every year, intrepid Antarctica explorers hunt for space rocks that have fallen to Earth.

Season Two, Episode 7: Planet Asteroid

November 19, 2019 16:27 - 34 minutes - 78.3 MB

What’s in a name? Whether you call it a planet or an asteroid, missions that explore small worlds are always exciting.

Season Two, Episode 6: The Prospects of Heavy Metal

November 12, 2019 15:55 - 32 minutes - 75.1 MB

Asteroids, ho! Pioneering space miners dream of Psyche, the largest metal asteroid in the solar system.

Season Two, Episode 5: Catch a Falling Star

November 05, 2019 13:12 - 31 minutes - 72.4 MB

Why are missions like OSIRIS-REx bringing pieces of an asteroid back home?

Season Two, Episode 4: Deflecting Disaster

October 29, 2019 19:38 - 31 minutes - 72.7 MB

Unlike the dinosaurs, we have a space program. There are many ways we could steer an asteroid off its path towards Earth.

Season Two, Episode 3: Bracing for a Crash

October 22, 2019 12:25 - 34 minutes - 46.9 MB

If a big asteroid is heading our way, how does NASA prepare for the oncoming disaster?

Season Two, Episode 2: Impact!

October 15, 2019 19:55 - 28 minutes - 38.9 MB

What happens when a giant asteroid hits Earth?

Season Two, Episode 1 - The Sky Is Falling

October 08, 2019 15:43 - 27 minutes - 62.8 MB

Earth is in a cosmic shooting gallery. With so many asteroids zipping around, how can we find them all before they find us?

Season Two, Episode 0 - Asteroids!

October 03, 2019 03:58 - 1 minute - 1.48 MB

The upcoming season will feature stories of asteroid exploration.

Bonus episode: InSight’s Insights

October 02, 2019 01:06 - 45 minutes - 105 MB

What's happened with InSight since it landed on Mars?

Arrival

November 20, 2018 02:09 - 23 minutes - 32.7 MB

InSight is lining up to land on Mars. The trip from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars is 6-and-a-half minutes of sheer terror.

We Are the World

November 20, 2018 01:34 - 19 minutes - 45 MB

Missions to outer space have come a long way since the days of Cold War competition. Farah Alibay finds that building relationships is a big part of building spacecraft.

Worlds of Wonder

November 13, 2018 22:24 - 20 minutes - 45.9 MB

Technology can take you to unexpected places. The MarCO cubesats, flying towards Mars with InSight, are breaking new ground on how far these small satellites can go.

Robots Lend a Hand

November 13, 2018 22:04 - 24 minutes - 55.6 MB

Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu is in charge of the InSight mission’s robotic arm and hand. His work on space robots has led him to give a helping hand back home.

A Matter of Life and Death

November 05, 2018 20:58 - 24 minutes - 34 MB

Earth is a living, dynamic world thanks to volcanoes and the planetary heat that fuels them. The InSight mission wants to see if Mars also has a heartbeat deep inside its cold exterior.

True Grit on the Road to Mars

November 05, 2018 20:08 - 29 minutes - 67.6 MB

Space missions often defy the odds, overcoming all obstacles. The people who work on these missions also face challenges to get where they are today. Marleen Martinez Sundgaard, the testbed lead for InSight, personifies this tenacious spirit.

Music of the Spheres

October 29, 2018 19:04 - 26 minutes - 59.8 MB

The Earth "rings" when earthquakes strike, just as vibrations through a bell create a ringing sound. The InSight mission will see if tremors cause Mars to chime with its own planetary song.

The Danger of Going to Mars

October 29, 2018 16:30 - 19 minutes - 43.8 MB

Many spacecraft have died trying to get to Mars. The current record for Mars missions is 18 successes, and 25 failures. The InSight mission hopes to improve the odds.

Episode 0, Trailer

October 16, 2018 19:30 - 1 minute - 3.59 MB

Eight stories, one mission to outer space. “On a Mission,” a new podcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, launches October 29.