NASA’s got big plans to send people to the Moon, and then on to Mars. What are we going to do at the Moon? And how will that lead to footprints on the Red Planet? Let’s ask the person in charge: the NASA Administrator.

Back in August, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe to study the Sun’s corona—its very outer edge. Parker will sail as close as 4 million miles from the Sun—a record for any space agency in the world—and survive temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. In this week’s episode of Gravity Assist, 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!

NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green sits down with Dr. Kelly Fast, a planetary astronomer to discuss planetary defense and Oumuamua.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer describe the mission and direction of America's space agency after a visit from Vice President Mike Pence. The two agency leaders discuss commercialization, human missions to the Moon, and the difference between NASA and Space Force. This episode was recorded on August 23rd, 2018.

Jon Olansen and Jenny Devolites, leads for the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) crew module and AA-2 launch abort vehicle test mission, discuss the critical test of the abort system if a failure were to happen while the Space Launch System rocket was ascending. This episode was recorded on July 20th, 2018.

NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green sits down with solar scientist Alex Young to discuss the Sun’s powerful explosions.

Listen closely to hear the whistling sound of superfluid helium-3 oscillating, getting louder and quieter. The oscillation occurs when the helium-3 is pushed through perforated membranes in a special container. UC Berkeley scientists used the world's most sensitive microphone, which picked up sounds of the equipment, ground and building motion that you hear as background noise. The whistling sound was magnified so the human ear could hear it.

For episode 60, Dr. Peter Norsk, Senior Research Director and Element Scientist at Baylor College of Medicine based here at NASA, describes the hazard of altered gravity fields and its effects on the human body. This is part three of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. This episode was recorded on June 25, 2018.

For episode 59, Dr. Erik Antonsen, element scientist and emergency physician, discusses the hazard of traveling farther away from Earth an ever before, especially how to provide appropriate medical care with limited resources and challenging communications. This is part three of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. This episode was recorded on June 28th, 2018.

For episode 58, Dr. Tom Williams discusses isolation and confinement. His focus is on habitability and behavioral health and performance risks to space flight, and he leads a research team that looks into isolation. This is part two of a five-part series on the hazards of human spaceflight. This podcast was recorded on June 22, 2018.