BROADCAST
DATE | SUBJECT | DESCRIPTION |
|---|
| January 7
| Supernova Remnants
| Great shells of plasma, gas and dust are blasted into space by exploding stars. The Chandra Xray Observatory satellite has been studying these. (Courtesy CXO) |
| January 7
| Roving Mars Episode 102
| A look back at five years of activities of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. |
| January 7
| Lunar Landing Research
| What is being done to enable future landings on the Moon. (Courtesy JPL) |
| January 7
| Twin Asteroid Belts
| A star with two asteroid belts. (Coutesy SSC) |
| January 14
| Comet Lulin
| Description of the comet c/2007 N3 and its closest approach expected in 2009 February. |
| January 14
| Huygens To Titan
| A retrospective of the Huygens spacecraft that landed on Saturn's moon Titan. |
| January 14
| Integral's Results
| The mission objectives and results of the European Space Agency's Integral gamma ray satellite. (Courtesy ESA) |
| Janaury 14
| Dim Dwarfs
| Scientists using the Spitzer Space Telescope and an Australian ground based telscope have been observing very dim dwarf stars. (Courtesy SSC) |
| January 21
| Mars is Alive
| The discovery of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. (Courtesy MSFC) |
| January 28
| Great Observatories Satellites
| How the Chandra Xray Observatory satellite has contributed to NASA's great observatories programme. (Courtesy CXC) |
| January 28
| Making Cosmic Gamma Rays Visible
| The Integral satellite and what it can "see" in gamma rays. (Courtesy ESA) |
| February 4
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 47
| Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond consider the theme Propulsion Requirements. Byron Wood (Boeing Rocketdyne) and Michael Martin, President, Aerojet) share their expertise on what type of rocket power will be needed to explore the Solar System. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| February 11
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 48
| Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond again consider the theme Propulsion Requirements. The difference between different types of nuclear propulsion technologies explained before Jim Mosquera (Executive, Naval Reactors) advocated the use of nuclear thermal rockets to explore the Solar System. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| February 11
| Roving Mars Episode 103 (Five years On Mars)
| John Callas (MER Project Manager, JPL), Scott Maxwell (Rover Driver, JPL), Steve Squyres (MER Principal Investigator, Cornell University) and Ashley Stroupe (Rover Driver, JPL) celebrate five years of successful surface operations of the two Mars Exploration Rovers. (Courtesy JPL) |
| February 18
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 49
| Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond teaze out the opinions of three expert witnesses the theme Propulsion Requirements. Byron Wood (Boeing Rocketdyne) and Michael Martin, President, Aerojet) and Jim Mosquera (Executive, Naval Reactors) discuss whether future rocket development should be done by NASA. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| February 18
| STS 119 Rollout and Countdown Test
| Preparations for the launch of the space shuttle Discovery's STS 119 mission. |
| February 25
| The Orbiting Carbon Observatory
| The aims of the OCO, the Taurus launch vehicle, and the failure to reach orbit. |
| February 25
| Comet Lulin
| Comet c/2007 N3 Lulin described, and how to observe it. |
| February 25
| NOAA-N Prime
| An overview of the objectives of, and coverage of the launch of, NOAA's latest meteorological satellite. |
| March 4
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 50
| Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond consider the theme Prospects for Space Prosperity. Stan Rosen (Chairman, California Space Authority) gave his thoughts on the topic. James Benson (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SpaceDev) gave a narrative account of his company's experience in setting up an entrepeneural space company. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| March 4
| The Kepler Mission
| An overview of the Kepler satellite and its mission to find extrasolar Earth-like planets. (Coutesy NASA) |
| March 11
| STS 119
| Novelty items being flown aboard Discovery's STS 119 mission. |
| March 11
| The Kepler Mission
| The launch of the Kepler satellite, its mission objectives, and the science underpining the search for extrasolar planets. |
| March 18
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 51
| Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond explore the Prospects for Space Prosperity by probing the views of Stan Rosen (Chairman, California Space Authority) and James Benson (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SpaceDev). (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| March 18
| Kepler Mission Update
| Kepler Program Scientist Padi Boyd provides and update on the progress of the recently launched satellite mission to search for extrasolar planets. |
| March 18
| STS 119 Launch
| Coverage of the launch of the STS 119 mission to the International Space Station. Details of the mission objectives given by Robbie Ashley (STS 119 Payload Manager) and John Philips (NASA astronaut). |
| March 25
| STS 119 Mission Activities To Flight Day 9
| A day-by-day account of the progress of the STS 119 mission. |
| April 1
| STS 119 Mission Activities From Flight Day 10
| A day-by-day account of the progress and landing of Discovery's STS 119 mission. |
| April 1
| The Milky Way
| The Spitzer Science Center has produced a new mosaic of the Milky Way Galaxy using imagery retuned by the Spitzer Space Telescope. (Courtesy SSC) |
| April 8
| STS 119 and STS 125
| A summary of the STS 119 mission and the preparations for STS 125. |
| April 8
| Swift
| An update on the Swift satellite's search for gamma ray bursts. (Courtesy NASA) |
| April 8
| Landsat 5
| Comments from many of those involved in the Landsat programme to mark the 25th anniversary of Landsat 5 remote sensing satellite. |
| April 22
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 52
| The topic under consideration before the Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond is Planetary Science. What is the scientific rationale for going to the Moon and Mars, and is solar system exploration best done by humans or robots? David Morrison (Senior Scientist, NASA Astrobiology Institute) and Michael Carr (Astrogeologist, United States Geological Survey) give their views. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| April 22
| Roving Mars Episode 104
| Spirit suffers computer reboots as it continues to explore the "Home Plate" geological feature. |
| April 22
| Grace Mission
| An update on the progress of the Grace satellite mission. (Courtesy NASA) |
| April 29
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 53
| Again, the topic under consideration before the Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond is Planetary Science. Jonathan Lunine (Professor of Planetary Science and Physics, University of Arizona) described space missions and suggested goals the Commission might set for planetary science. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| April 29
| Exploring the Large Magellanic Cloud
| New findings by the Chandra Xray Observatory about the LMC. (Courtesy CXC) |
| May 6
| Mercury
| New findings about the planet Mercury from the Messenger spacecraft. (Courtesy MSFC) |
| May 6
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 54
| Yet again, the topic under consideration before the Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond is Planetary Science. Jonathan Lunine (Professor of Planetary Science and Physics, University of Arizona), David Morrison (Senior Scientist, NASA Astrobiology Institute) and Michael Carr (Astrogeologist, United States Geological Survey) respond to questions put to them by the nine commissioners. One topic raised was public perceptions of NASA's success. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| May 6
| Hubble Update
| Recent events aboard and findings by the Hubble Space Telescope. (Courtsey NASA) |
| May 13
| STS 125 Mission Report
| A comprehensive report on the progress of the Hubble servicing mission. Included descriptions of the work to be done on the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, the Cosmic Origina Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3. Countdown, liftoff and climb to orbit of Atlantis. |
| May 20
| Herschel and Planck
| The launch of two European Space Agency astronomy satellites aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou. |
| May 20
| STS 125 Mission Report
| A comprehensive report on the week's progress of the Hubble servicing mission. |
| May 20
| Roving Mars Episode 105
| Spirit's wheels slipping, embedding it in soft soil. |
| May 27
| STS 125 Mission Report
| The final days of the Hubble servicing mission, and the landing of Atlantis at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Included description of the operations of the hubble Space Telescope. |
| June 3
| Soyuz TMA-15
| The launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Included crew biographies. |
| June 3
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 1a
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| June 10
| ISS Expedition 20
| A look forward to the planned activities of the 20th expedition to the Internationsl Space Station. |
| June 10
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 1b
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| June 17
| Roving Mars Episode 106
| Continuing efforts to extract Spirit from sandy soil, with a report from rover driver Ashley Stroupe. |
| June 17
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 2
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| June 24
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
| Report on the launch of LRO and LCROSS and insertion of LRO into lunar orbit. Included NASA launch commentary and interview with Launch Director Chuck Duval and a history of the development of LCROSS. |
| June 24
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 3
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| July 1
| Mars Science Laboratory Spacecraft Assembly Facility Tour
| Curtis Williams, Quality Assurance Engineer from JPL, takes us on a tour of the building where the Mars Science Laboratory rover is being built. (Courtesy JPL) |
| July 1
| Roving Mars Episode 107
| Continuing efforts to extract Spirit from sandy soil, with an update from rover project magager John Callas. |
| July 1
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 4
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| July 8
| To The Moon - Part One
| A full hour documentary feature on the preparation for flights to the Moon, on the Apollo 11 mission and the impact it had on those involved and on the wider society. |
| July 8
| Roving Mars Episode 108
| Continuing efforts to extract Spirit from sandy soil at Home Plate. |
| July 15
| Attempts to Launch STS 127
| An account of the events leading up to the scrub of the launch of STS 127 due to storm activity in Florida. |
| July 15
| To The Moon - Part Two
| A twenty minute conclusion to last week's documentary feature on the preparation for flights to the Moon, on the Apollo 11 mission and the impact it had on those involved and on the wider society. |
| July 15
| Roving Mars Episode 109
| Continuing efforts to extract Spirit from a sand trap at Home Plate, with another update from rover project magager John Callas. |
| July 15
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 5
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| July 29
| Roving Mars Episode 110
| Continuing efforts to free Spirit from a sand trap at Home Plate, with another update from rover project magager John Callas and rover driver Ashley Stroupe. |
| July 29
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 6
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| August 5
| STS 127 Landing and STS 128 Launch Preparations
| Feature on the space shuttle events of the past two weeks. |
| August 5
| Roving Mars Episode 111
| A large regional storm brewing on Mars may treaten efforts to free Spirit from a sand trap in Gusev Crater. |
| August 5
| Eyes On The Sky - Episode 7
| History of the telescope, to mark the International Year for Astronomy. (Courtesy ESO) |
| August 26
| Roving Mars Episode 112
| Regional dust storm passing over Spirit. |
| September 2
| Launch of STS 128
| The countdown, liftoff, climb to orbit and initial on-orbit operations of the space shuttle Discovery as it headed towards the International Space Station. |
| September 2
| Water On The Moon
| LCROSS Deputy Project Manager John Marlin introduces a song about finding water on the Moon. |
| September 9
| The STS 128 Mission
| In orbit operations of the Space Shuttle Discovery, including comments by astronauts Olivas, Hernandez and Fugelsang. |
| September 9
| MESSENGER To Pass Mercury
| A look at the objectives of the third flyby of the planet Mercury by the MESSENGER spacecraft. |
| September 9
| LCROSS and LRO
| How the LCROSS mission to impact the Moon and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter fit into the plan to return humans to the Moon. |
| September 16
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 55
| At the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond we return to the topic Prospects for Space Prosperity. Stan Rosen (Chairman, California Space Authority) and James Benson (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SpaceDev) respond to questions from the Commissioners about setting up an entrepeneural space company. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| September 16
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
| A children's view of the mission to map the lunar surface. (Courtesy NASA) |
| September 16
| History of the LCROSS Mission
| An introduction to and history of the plan to impact the LCROSS spacecraft into a crater at the lunar south pole. (Courtesy LCROSS Team) |
| September 23
| Determining the Mass of a Black Hole
| How just two numbers are needed to "weigh" a black hole. (Courtesy CXO) |
| September 30
| Soyuz TMA 16 Launch
| Coverage of the launch of Soyuz TMA 16 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazhakstan. |
| October 07
| New Images of Human Artifacts On Moon
| How the LROC intrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance orbiter has taken pictures of Surveyor 1 and of Apollo 11 on the lunar surface. |
| October 07
| MESSENGER At Mercury
| Description of the third flyby of Mercury by the MESSENGER spacecraft. |
| October 07
| Roving Mars Episode 113
| Opportunity has discovered another meteorite, dubbed "Shelter Island", on the martian surface, about 700 metres from the "Block Island" meteorite. Steve Squyres wins Carl Sagan medal for public outreach. |
| October 07
| Solar System Boundary
| How the IBEX spacecraft is mapping the boundary of the solar wind, where it meets the interstellar medium. (Courtesy GSFC) |
| October 07
| Formulhaut Planet
| Discovery of a planet orbiting the star Formuhaut. (Courtesy STScI) |
| October 14
| LCOSS Lunar Impact
| The events at mission control at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, as the LCROSS spacecraft and Centaur rocket stage plunged into the Moon's south polar region. |
| October 14
| Aries 1-X
| Description of the Aries 1-X rocket and the objective of the test flight. |
| October 28
| Aries 1-X Launch Attempt
| A detailed recounting of the trials and tribulations that bedeviled an attempt to launch the Aries 1-X test rocket at the Kennedy Space Center. |
| November 04
| SMOS and Proba 2
| The launch of two ESA spacecraft from Russia. The purpose of each craft described in detail. |
| November 04
| Launch of Aries 1-X
| The successful launch of the Aries 1-X rocket from the kennedy Spacc Center. |
| November 04
| U2 Musician Talks To ISS Crew
| With the musical group U2 about to play a concert in Houston, one of them chats to the crew aboard the International Space Station. |
| November 11
| Rosetta Approaches Earth
| The ESA spacecraft about to make it's third and final flyby of the Earth. Will pass high over Australia, then head out to astroid 21 Lutecia and Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko. |
| November 11
| Fermi Completes First Year
| The GLAST satellite has done many things in its first year in orbit, including timing the speed of gamma ray photons as a test of Einstein's theory of relativity. (Courtesy JPL) |
| November 11
| STS 129
| Preparations for the launch of another mission by the Atlantis space shuttle to the International Spac Station. (Courtsy KSC) |
| November 11
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 56
| Yet again, the topic under consideration before the Commissioners of the United States President's Commission for Moon, Mars and Beyond is Planetary Science. Jonathan Lunine (Professor of Planetary Science and Physics, University of Arizona), David Morrison (Senior Scientist, NASA Astrobiology Institute) and Michael Carr (Astrogeologist, United States Geological Survey) respond to questions put to them by the nine commissioners. The search for alien life was discussed, as was the search for dangerous asteroids. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| November 18
| Water On The Moon
| The findings of the LCROSS lunar impactor spacecraft. |
| November 18
| Roving Mars Episode 114
| Efforts to extricate Spirit from its sand trap. |
| November 18
| STS 129 Launch
| Tha countdown, launch, ascent to orbit and initial on-orbit operations of the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it headed for a resupply mission to the international Space Station. |
| November 25
| STS 129 Mission
| Events aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station. |
| November 25
| WISE
| Amy Mainzer, Deputy Project Manager for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite explains the scientific objectives of this satellite ahead of its expected december launch. (Parts courtesy JPL) |
| December 2
| Taking The Earth's Temperature
| How satellites are monitoring our planet's temperature. (Courtesy GSFC) |
| December 2
| New Display At NASM
| The instruments recovered by the STS 125 astronauts from the Hubble Space Telescope have gone on display in Washington's National Air And Space Museum. (Courtesy NASA) |
| December 2
| Roving Mars Episode 115
| Further evidence adds support to the claim that the ALH84001 martian meteorite recovered from Antactica has fossil life forms. |
| December 9
| Stott's Journey Home aboard STS 129
| About the final days and landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantic at the conclusion of the STS 129 mission. Included a feature by KSC PAO Geogre Diller about former Kennedy Space Center worker Michelle Stott. |
| December 9
| Hayabusa's Troubled Journey Home
| The asteroid lander has experienced ion engine problems as it heads back toward the Earth with samples. |
| December 9
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 57
| William Whittaker, Professor of Robotics at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University argues the case for robotic exploration of the Solar System. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| December 16
| WISE Launch
| The launch of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite. Included satellite description and scientific objectives. |
| December 16
| The one Ring of Saturn
| Discovery of a ring in Phoebe's orbit around Saturn. (Courtesy SSC) |
| December 16
| New Planets Found
| An instrument on one of the telescopes of the European Southern Observatory has discovered more exoplanets. (Courtesy ESO) |
| December 16
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 58
| Rusty Schweickart, former Apollo 9 astronaut and now Chairman of the B612 Foundation, on the opportunities for private enterprise in space. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| December 23
| Michael Barratt's Space Mission
| A description of NASA astronaut Michael Barratt's launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, his stay aboard the International Space Station and his return to Earth. (Courtesy RN) |
| December 23
| Moon, Mars and Beyond - Programme 59
| MRC Greenwood, Provost of the University of California, describes how partnerships can foster the objectives of the Moon, Mars and Beyond initiative. (Audio inserts courtesy Moon-Mars Commission). |
| December 23
| Suzaka
| How this Japanese satellite is acting as an interstellar prospector by indentifying the spectra of the interstellar dust clouds. (Courtesy JPL) |
| December 23
| Galaxies Gone Wild
| Findings about galaxies by the Hubble Space Telescope. (Courtesy STScI) |
| December 30
| Water On The Moon
| The preliminary science results from the LCROSS spacecraft indicate there is water at the Moon's South Pole. |
| December 30
| New Frontiers Mission Candidates
| A description of the finalists in the competition for a new start in NASA's New Frontiers Programme. |
| December 30
| Terra's First Decade
| A description of the Terra earth observing spacecraft, and the results of ten years of operation. (Courtesy GSFC) |
| December 30
| Missions To The Gas Giants
| The objectives of the planned Titan Saturn System and the Europa Jupiter System Missions. |
