MESSENGER: An Audio Tour
Listen to MESSENGER mission updates! Here you will find podcasts, radio broadcasts and other audio clips related to MESSENGER and the science team discoveries. QUICK LINKS: [365 Days of Astronomy Podcasts] [Science Update Podcasts] [Other Radio Broadcasts and Podcasts]
365 Days of Astronomy Project Podcasts
MESSENGER Overturns Origin of Mercury; November 11th, 2011
Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks to Research Scientist Patrick Peplowski at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory about new findings from the MESSENGER spacecraft that contradict the most popular theories on the origins of the planet Mercury.
Hollows on Mercury; October 14th, 2011
Podcaster Bob Hirshon speaks with David Blewett, a planetary scientist from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and member of the MESSENGER science team, about a new landform discovered on the surface of Mercury.
Orbiting Between the Fire and Frying Pan; August 12th, 2011
Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with MESSENGER Mission Specialist Eric Finnegan at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory about the challenge of putting a spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mercury and keeping it there.
Prize Winning Planetary Research; July 8th, 2011
Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with planetary geologist Scott Murchie of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Murchie was recently awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Award, NASA’s highest honor for non-government personnel. Murchie discusses his work on imaging systems for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the MESSENGER Mission to Planet Mercury.
One Giant Leap For Mission Design; June 24th, 2011
Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with the SciBox team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. SciBox is a revolutionary mission planning tool that allows scientists to pack over five times more data gathering activity into a planetary exploration mission, while reducing planning costs. In other words, more science for less money.
MESSENGER Orbit Live; March 23, 2011
Science Update host Bob Hirshon reports from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, as the MESSENGER spacecraft arrives at the planet Mercury. Featuring interviews with key mission scientists, including Principle Investigator Sean Solomon.
MESSENGER Meets Mercury; March 11, 2011
After a trip of over six and a half years, the MESSENGER spacecraft finally goes into orbit around the planet Mercury on the morning of March 18, Universal Time, or the evening of March 17th Washington, DC time. Bob Hirshon spoke with Deputy Project Scientist Louise Prockter about the preparations for orbital insertion during these climactic final days.
Planetary Science at AGU 2010 Conference; December 17th, 2010
This week, the American Geophysical Union held its annual conference in San Francisco and intrepid 365 Days of Astronomy podcaster Bob Hirshon was there. In this podcast, he brings us highlights from the sessions and posters, including a planned mission to the rings of Saturn and a chat with a scientist who consults on Hollywood films.
Mercury is for Art Lovers; November 12th, 2010
Where can you find Picasso, Stravinsky and Mark Twain all together—aside from the Smithsonian? On the surface of the planet Mercury. The International Astronomical Union decreed that all craters on the planet should be named for notable artists, musicians and writers. Bob Hirshon spoke with planetary geologist David Blewett, a scientist working on the MESSENGER mission to planet Mercury, about how scientists are matching famous names to craters and other land forms.
Googling the Solar System; September 10th, 2010
Google Earth is a powerful tool for exploring our planet and, increasingly, a way to visit other planets as well. In this episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast, AAAS radio producer and media education director Bob Hirshon interviews Google’s Eric Kolb, a key player in the Google Earth project and a planetary geologist by training. Hirshon heads up a project to add Mercury to the family of planets offered by Google, along with a suite of Mercury tours and games.
Bringing Children to Mercury; August 13th, 2010
This summer, a team of educators from across the United States came to Washington, DC to learn about the MESSENGER Mission to Planet Mercury and a set of learning materials designed to send K through 12 students on a (virtual) mission to the planet. Podcaster Bob Hirshon met with the MESSENGER Fellows and the project’s manager to learn more about it.
A Champion at Keeping Cool; July 9th, 2010
July is hot enough here in Washington, DC, but nothing compared to the heat the MESSENGER spacecraft must endure as it prepares to orbit Mercury. This episode of the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast explores the techniques used to keep the spacecraft operational at temperatures hot enough to melt lead, along with new work on an even hotter mission: the Solar Probe, which will have to withstand temperatures four times hotter.
The Hunt For Vulcanoids; March 12th, 2010
For nearly a hundred years, scientists have wondered if there might be a band of asteroids as large as 60 km wide orbiting the Sun, in a gravitationally stable zone that’s closer to the sun than the orbit of Mercury. The MESSENGER mission to the planet Mercury is now hunting for the elusive objects, and could soon solve the mystery.
Mercury: Close Encounter for the Third Time; October 20th, 2009
On September 29th, the MESSENGER spacecraft made its third and final flyby over the surface of the planet Mercury, in preparation for orbital insertion in March of 2011. The mission is the first attempt to put a spacecraft in orbit around the planet. The planet’s small size and proximity to the Sun make this task incredibly difficult to achieve. Today’s podcast takes you live to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where the MESSENGER Engineering and Operations team follows the spacecraft as it makes its third flyby of Mercury.Science Update Podcasts
Mercury Special Report; October 6th, 2011
Podcaster Bob Hirshon speaks with MESSENGER science team members David Blewett, Thomas Zurbuchen, and Patrick Peplowski about new discoveries on Mercury’s surface and in its magnetoshpere.
Mercury Hollows; October 4th, 2011
David Blewett, a science team member for NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, talks about newly identified mysterious hollows on the Mercury’s surface with podcaster Bob Hirshon.
Mercury Origins; October 3rd, 2011
Learn about the surprising details MESSENGER is revealing about the origins of the planet Mercury in an interview with NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft science team member Patrick Peplowski by Bob Hirshon.Other Radio Broadcasts and Podcasts
