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NASA's Curious Universe

NASA's Curious Universe

NASA's Curious Universe audio podcast episodes

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) · NASA

108 episodesEN-USserial

Show overview

NASA's Curious Universe has been publishing since 2020, and across the 6 years since has built a catalogue of 108 episodes, alongside 6 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 45 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a monthly cadence, with the show now in its 11th season.

Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 19 min and 32 min — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Science show.

The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 weeks ago, with 19 episodes already out so far this year. Published by NASA.

Episodes
108
Running
2020–2026 · 6y
Median length
23 min
Cadence
Monthly

From the publisher

Come get curious with NASA. As an official NASA podcast, Curious Universe brings you mind-blowing science and space adventures you won't find anywhere else. Explore the cosmos alongside astronauts, scientists, engineers, and other top NASA experts who are achieving remarkable feats in science, space exploration, and aeronautics. Learn something new about the wild and wonderful universe we share. All you need to get started is a little curiosity. NASA's Curious Universe is an official NASA podcast hosted by Padi Boyd and Jacob Pinter. Discover more original NASA shows at nasa.gov/podcasts

Latest Episodes

View all 108 episodes

Roman Series: Liftoff!

Sep 5, 202621 min

Roman Series: Why NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Will Make Unexpected Discoveries

Aug 27, 202626 min

Roman Series: The Technology Inside NASA’s Newest Space Telescope

Aug 25, 202632 min

Roman Series: Jupiters Around Other Suns

Aug 18, 202630 min

Roman Series: NASA’s New View of the Dark Universe

Aug 11, 202638 min

Launching Soon: NASA’s Roman Space Telescope

Aug 4, 20264 min

There’s More Space in Your Life Than You Think

Jul 21, 202633 min

Meet the Artemis III Crew

Jun 12, 202652 min

Catching Up With Perseverance on Mars

Jun 2, 202640 min

Bonus: Behind the Scenes of Artemis II with NASA Experts

May 2, 202631 min

Update: Artemis II Crew Comes Home

Apr 15, 202615 min

Update: Artemis II Crew Flies Around the Moon

Apr 8, 202639 min

S11 Ep 7Artemis II: How NASA’s Moon Mission Returns to Earth

Liftoff! NASA’s Artemis II mission launched on April 1, 2026, carrying four Moonbound astronauts. After an approximately 10-day mission, Artemis II ends with a splash. Lili Villarreal, the recovery and landing director for Artemis II, leads the team that will bring home the astronauts and their spacecraft. She describes the recovery playbook, which includes many contingency plans, and the rehearsals that have prepared her team for the mission. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Apr 2, 202625 min

S11 Ep 6Artemis II: The Ground Teams Powering NASA's Moon Mission

Behind NASA’s Artemis II mission and the astronauts who will fly around the Moon, teams on the ground are essential. Explore some of the epic equipment that makes Artemis II possible—the mobile launcher, crawler-transporter, and NASA’s barge Pegasus—and meet a few of the many specialists who act as the shoulders lifting astronauts into space. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Feb 17, 202633 min

S11 Ep 5Artemis II: How NASA Will Study the Moon—And the Astronauts Going There

During Artemis II, four astronauts will see the lunar surface as few humans have—and possibly, parts of the Moon’s far side that no one has seen before. Learn what lunar science questions NASA hopes to answer through the astronauts' eyes with lunar geologist Kelsey Young. And those astronauts will also be subjects of science. Jancy McPhee, associate chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program, explains how studying human health on Artemis II will prepare us for exploration deeper into space than ever before. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Feb 3, 202652 min

S11 Ep 4Artemis II: Inside NASA’s New Ride to the Moon

During Artemis II, humans will fly Orion—NASA’s next-generation spaceship designed to take us to the Moon and beyond—for the first time. Tour Orion with Branelle Rodriguez, the vehicle manager for Artemis II, to hear about the support systems that keep astronauts alive and how exactly you use the bathroom en route to the Moon. Then, pop the hood of NASA’s most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System, with David Beaman, one of its key architects. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Jan 27, 202634 min

S11 Ep 3Artemis II: What NASA Learned From Launching Artemis I

In 2022, NASA launched Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight of the rocket and spacecraft that will send humans to the Moon. Go inside Firing Room 1—the nerve center for Artemis launches—and hear from the engineers who launched Artemis I, including the intricate procedures they developed just to fuel the rocket correctly. Now NASA is preparing to launch Artemis II—and to send humans around the Moon. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Jan 20, 202629 min

S11 Ep 2Artemis II: Meet the Moonbound Astronauts

This year, four NASA astronauts will fly around the Moon and back for the first time since the Apollo program. Their mission is called Artemis II. It’s a key test flight that will set the stage for humans to land on the lunar South Pole for the first time and set up a long-term presence there. In this episode, meet your intrepid Artemis II crew: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Jan 13, 202651 min

S11 Ep 1Launching Soon: Artemis II

trailer

This year, four NASA astronauts are flying around the Moon and back—and Curious Universe is bringing you along for the ride. The mission is called Artemis II. It’s a key test flight that will set the stage for future missions to land on the lunar South Pole for the first time and set up a long-term presence there. In this limited series, get to know your Artemis II astronaut crew, go behind the scenes at NASA facilities across the country and discover the teamwork, passion and problem-solving fueling humanity’s return to the Moon—and beyond. For Artemis II news and the latest launch information, visit nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Jan 8, 20263 min

S10 Ep 1Cosmic Dawn with Nobel Laureate John Mather

The James Webb Space Telescope is doing something astronomers dreamed about for decades: peering into our universe’s early past, a period known as cosmic dawn. A new NASA documentary—also called Cosmic Dawn—chronicles the inside story of Webb’s design, construction, and launch. John Mather, who won the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics, proposed the telescope and led its science team for decades. In this interview, Mather talks about his life, his research, and the pre-dawn phone call telling him he had won the Nobel Prize. Find more at nasa.gov/cosmicdawn This episode was updated on Dec. 19, 2025, to provide a video version on platforms that support video.

Dec 19, 202518 min
NASA