Whack! It kinda hurts to get hit by a slingshot, even when you're a giant interstellar whale--even if it did wake you up so you won't be late to an appointment in a neighboring galaxy. But Starwhale is out of energy and no matter how hard he tries he can't get up to speed. Takeoff after takeoff, his new friend watches. Then, he gets an idea of how to get up to speed from the most unlikely place. 

Themes: Gravity Assist, Gravity

Moon dwellers need sports too! Starwhale observes a colony whose sport is much like soccer, only played while driving spaceships around like bumper cars on a lunar playing field. All seems in order until the players realize they've miscalculated the weight of their ball. After series of mishaps and lost balls they finally figure out how to get the gravity right but in the process, they create another massive problem. Starwhale intercedes with some advice and, well, the rest is sports history. 

Themes: Gravity, Mass vs Weight, Newton's Second Law of Motion, Escape Velocity, Sports Innovation

Starwhale is lost. He somehow stumbled into a dark region of the universe and cannot find his way out. Up, down, forward, backward... these all mean nothing when there is no light and no way to orient yourself. After bumping into several planets in the dark he comes up with a plan for how to illuminate this dark corner of the universe. 

Themes: Gravity, Star Formation/Birth, Nuclear (Hydrogen) Fusion

After finding the large rover's landing site (episode 26) Starwhale meets some locals and learns about its significance. And as he heads into space and looks back he sees the big picture and how this one planet's exploration fits into a larger arc--all the perseverance of this civilization then comes into focus. 

Perseverance: "Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition."

Special Episode Series: This episode is part 3 of a 3-part series about exploring neighboring planets. The first installment (episode 25) aired 2/13/2021, the second (episode 26) airing 2/16/2021, and last, Thursday 2/18. The final story will air at the touchdown time of NASA's Perseverance Rover's on Mars (2/18/2021)

Themes: Landing Crafts, Rovers, Historical Markers/Memorials, Mars Perseverance Rover (though not specifically about Mars or NASA), Planetary Exploration

Starwhale's sharp eyes catch a trail across a seemingly barren planet. As he follows the trail his excitement builds as he gets closer and closer to catching up to whatever it is. And once he catches up to it he's surprised to learn not only what it is but how long it has been there. 

Special Episode Series: This episode is part 1 of a 3-part series about exploring neighboring planets. This episode airs Saturday 2/13,  with the next two installments on Tuesday 2/16, and Thursday 2/18. The final story will air at the touchdown time of NASA's Perseverance Rover's on Mars (2/18/2021)

Themes: Probes, Landing Crafts, Rovers (even though this isn't about Mars specifically)

Starwhale's sharp eyes catch a trail across a seemingly barren planet. As he follows the trail his excitement builds as he gets closer and closer to catching up to whatever it is. And once he catches up to it he's surprised to learn not only what it is but how long it has been there. 

Special Episode Series: This episode is part 1 of a 3-part series about exploring neighboring planets. This episode airs Saturday 2/13,  with the next two installments on Tuesday 2/16, and Thursday 2/18. The final story will air at the touchdown time of NASA's Perseverance Rover's on Mars (2/18/2021)

Themes: Rovers, Craters, Mars (even though this isn't about Mars specifically)

Have you ever misplaced something very important? Starwhale's latest and greatest find (spoiler--be sure to listen to Ep.23 before this one!) gets misplaced. And it takes a string of moons and quite a bit of searching before he realizes why it's so hard for him to find his lost treasure. 

Theme: Tidal Locking

Starwhale is curious to the core, literally. And Comets, well they have cores (a nucleus). So what's at the core of this comet? Starwhale decides to stick around a planetary system to see and what he finds after all that ice and dust melts will surprise you!

Themes: Comets, Elliptical Orbits, and First Encounters...

A ship floats on the outer edge of a gas giant's atmosphere and suddenly is scuttled and begins plunging into the deep hydrogen sea of the gas giant. Starwhale speeds to the rescue and chases it into the dark and unknown realms of the gas giant's inner atmosphere. Will he save the ship? How does the atmosphere of a gas giant behave? Listen to find out!

Themes: Gas Giant Planets and Atmospheres and Properties, Probes

Did you know asteroids can have moons? It's not too uncommon. But the moons orbiting this asteroid are different and unnatural. Starwhale sets out to uncover their mystery and this leads to an incredible history that leads to a surprising discovery--for both Starwhale and the inhabitants of an advanced, yet forgetful, civilization. 

Themes: Asteroids, Asteroid Moons, Near-Earth Object Preparedness, Civilizations' Forgetfulness, 243 Ida and 2020 BX12 Cameos