NASA's Curious Universe

Ami Choi, a NASA Goddard astrophysicist specializing in cosmology, and Jason Rhodes, a JPL astrophysicist studying dark matter and cosmic structure, explore the universe’s mysterious 95 percent. They discuss how gravitational lensing reveals invisible matter, why dark energy accelerates expansion, and what Euclid and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope may uncover. Could tensions in today’s models point to new physics?

Dominic Benford, a NASA astrophysicist guiding the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and Christian Elliott, a NASA producer and science storyteller, relive Roman’s thrilling Falcon Heavy launch. They revisit decades of preparation, storm-threatened launch plans, emotional liftoff, and the telescope’s commissioning journey toward its new orbit. They also look ahead to Roman’s first images and a worldwide scientific community eager for its data.

Julie McEnery, senior project scientist for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, leads the mission’s science planning. She discusses Roman’s vast survey power and its potential to upend cosmology. She describes plans for huge exoplanet catalogs via microlensing and transit surveys. She also explains coronagraph tech for directly imaging faint planets and why unexpected discoveries are likely.

Ashley Wilhelm, a mechanical engineer who helped build and integrate the Roman Space Telescope, and Mark Melton, a mission systems engineer overseeing integration and testing, walk through Roman’s design and testing. They tour the giant clean room, describe crane lifts and delicate assembly, explain the telescope’s wide-field detectors and stability systems, and outline the intense thermal vacuum and readiness testing that prepare Roman for space.

Bertrand Mennesson, deputy project scientist at JPL specializing in exoplanet instrumentation, and Vanessa Bailey, instrument scientist on Roman’s Wide Field Instrument and coronagraph, discuss Roman’s galactic census that could find ~100,000 new planets. They explore microlensing, transit biases, and an experimental coronagraph that can block starlight to directly image and analyze Jupiter-sized exoplanet atmospheres.

Alina Kiessling, a cosmologist at JPL who builds simulations for dark energy studies, and Josh Schlieder, a NASA scientist shaping Roman’s survey plans, discuss the Roman Space Telescope. They talk about Roman’s huge field of view, how it will map the cosmic web, probe dark energy with supernovae and lensing, and prepare data with large simulations.

NASA is about to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will change the way we see the universe and settle essential questions about some of the biggest mysteries out there. In a new limited series, Curious Universe takes you behind the scenes with NASA scientists and engineers who made Roman a reality—no Ph.D. required. Learn more about the Roman Space Telescope at nasa.gov/roman

In its mission to explore the unknown in air and space, NASA ends up inventing a lot of new things. Then, the agency “spins off” those inventions to companies that produce products to make our lives easier and safer here on Earth. From memory foam mattresses and cordless power tools to wireless headphones and dating apps, NASA Technology is all around you, even if you’re not an astronaut. To read NASA's Spinoff publication, visit spinoff.nasa.gov.

Meet the astronauts who will fly on Artemis III: Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano, and Mission Specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. In this special presentation of Houston We Have a Podcast, the Artemis III astronauts discuss their backgrounds and training ahead of them to prepare for one of the most complex human spaceflight missions in history. For more information about Artemis III, visit nasa.gov/artemis-iii

NASA’s robotic explorers are looking for signs of ancient life on Mars. In its five years and counting on the surface of the Red Planet, the Perseverance rover has collected dozens of rock samples, including tantalizing features that could be signs of past life. Scientists want to keep studying Mars. That’s why NASA plans to send a fleet of next-generation helicopter drones and—one day—astronauts. In this episode, catch up on Perseverance’s biggest discoveries with project scientist Katie Stack Morgan and fly along with Håvard Grip, the pilot for the first-ever flight of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter.  For more information, visit nasa.gov/perseverance