Science@NASA Feature Stories Podcast

Imagine cutting retractable doors in the side of a 747 airliner, installing a 17-ton telescope, and flying to the stratosphere to solve one of astronomy's greatest puzzles. That's what NASA and the German Aerospace Center plan to do with a cutting-edge airborne observatory named SOFIA. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

The argument that the Moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water. At a press conference today, researchers revealed data from NASA's LCROSS mission indicating that water exists in a permanently shadowed lunar crater. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

On Monday, NASA will begin transmitting commands to its Mars exploration rover Spirit as part of an escape plan to free the venerable robot from its Martian sand trap. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

The 2009 Leonid meteor shower peaks on Nov. 17th with a sprinkling of meteors over North America and a possible outburst over Asia. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

Long ago, something calamitous happened to Mars, transforming a hospitable world into the apparently lifeless desert we see today. Many scientists believe the Red Planet lost most of its atmosphere, but how? A new NASA mission named MAVEN is specifically designed to answer that question. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

The MESSENGER spacecraft's third flyby of the planet Mercury has given scientists an almost complete view of the planet's surface and revealed some dramatic changes in Mercury's comet-like tail. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

NASA's next Mars rover, a super-capable robot named "Curiosity," will push Mars exploration to a new level. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

It might not be obvious to the naked eye, but the sun is a variable star. A sensor slated for launch onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory will probe the sun's "sneaky variability" with better time and spectral resolution than ever before. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

NASA is planning a mission to study the Moon's fragile atmosphere--before it's too late. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

Caused by debris from Halley's Comet, the 2009 Orionid meteor shower peaks on Wednesday, Oct. 21st, and forecasters say it could be an unusually good show. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

How do you fly on a world with no atmosphere? Wings won't work and neither do propellers. The space agency is perfecting the art of "airless flying" using a prototype lunar lander at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

NASA's IBEX spacecraft has discovered a vast, glowing ribbon at the edge of the solar system. One mission scientist calls the discovery "shocking" and says theorists are "working like crazy" to explain the finding. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

NASA scientists have figured out how to extract water from lunar soil. Their approach is as easy as using a microwave oven. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

Just when you thought every big thing in the Solar System had already been discovered, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found an extraordinary new ring around Saturn. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.

Archeologists are using NASA satellites and supercomputers to crack the mystery of the ancient Maya. New findings suggest the Maya may have played a key role in their own downfall. Please vote for this podcast at PodcastAlley! Get this podcast story.