Listen to MESSENGER mission updates! Here you will find podcasts, radio broadcasts and other audio clips related to MESSENGER discoveries.

365 Days of Astronomy Podcasts

Launched in 2009 as part of the International Year of Astronomy, this community podcast brings you content across the years. In 2013, we evolved to add video, and in 2015 we joined the International Year of Light.

To commemorate the end of the MESSENGER mission to planet Mercury, the public is invited to name five important craters on the planet's surface. AAAS Science Update host Bob Hirshon spoke with planetary geologist and MESSENGER team scientist David Blewett, of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

In a series of papers published in Science, scientists from the MESSENGER Mission to Planet Mercury announced the discovery of water ice and organic volatile compounds on the surface of Mercury. AAAS Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with key scientists on the team at a NASA press conference.

At the time of this podcast, the MESSENGER Mission to Mercury was in its second year of orbit around the planet. At this 2012 meeting, the MESSENGER science team discussed the future of the spacecraft, including what they felt were thrilling possibilities for low altitude imaging and data gathering, but also the possibility that new budget constraints may make these plans moot. In this podcast, Bob Hirshon speaks with MESSENGER Mission Design Lead Engineer about the different scenarios.

A unique afterschool program brings together high school students and planetary scientists as they explore incoming data from space probes. Brian Grigsby, Science Department Chair at Shasta High School in California, heads up the program. AAAS Science Update host Bob Hirshon spoke with Brian about the ambitious project, and plans to create a new version that focuses on Mercury.

Ever ask your beleaguered mathematics teacher "What am I going to DO with this stuff in real life?" Mathematician Scott Turner, at the Johns Hopkin Applied Physics Laboratory, has no end of answers. To him, the better question is "What CAN'T you do with math?" AAAS Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with Scott about how he uses mathematics to tackle tough problems presented by interplanetary space exploration.

The exosphere of Mercury has lots and lots of empty space, populated by a few atoms and ions. AAAS Science Update host Bob Hirshon spoke with MESSENGER scientist Ron Vervack, at the Johns Hopkin Applied Physics Laboratory, about the remarkable amount of knowledge to be gained from this rarified environment.

While Superman can see through walls using X-ray vision, instruments aboard the MESSENGER spacecraft used X-rays to do a lot more: they determined the presence and abundance of a host of important elements in the planet's surface. AAAS Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with geologist and MESSENGER post doctoral fellow Shoshana Weider about what the X-ray view reveals about the planet.

The Google Earth platform is useful for more than just checking out Earth-bound topography and features. AAAS Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with ace programmer Jason Smith, of Silicon Valet, about how he converts raw image data of the planet Mercury taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft into KML files that map the imagery onto the Google Earth sphere. The result? A detailed Mercury globe that anyone can take for a spin.

When the Sun emits what is euphemistically called a "coronal mass ejection," belching billions of tons of ionized plasma into space, satellites can fail and power grids can shut down on Earth, 150 km away. So imagine the effects on Mercury, just a third of the distance from the Sun, and defended by a much weaker magnetic field. In this podcast, Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with MESSENGER scientist Daniel Baker, Director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder, about how violent space weather is both an opportunity and a challenge for MESSENGER's mission to Mercury.

At the time of this podcast, the MESSENGER mission to planet Mercury had nearly completed its primary mission: a year of data-gathering while in orbit around Mercury; and had just received NASA's approaval for an extended mission. Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks to MESSENGER Project Scientist Ralph McNutt about the newly approved extended mission that added an additional year of orbital observations, and what the scientists hoped to learn.

Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks to Research Scientist Patrick Peplowski at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory about findings from the MESSENGER spacecraft that contradicted the most popular theories on the origins of the planet Mercury.

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.

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.

Science Update host Bob Hirshon speaks with planetary geologist Scott Murchie of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Murchie was 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.

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 allowed 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.

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.

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 speaks with Deputy Project Scientist Louise Prockter about the preparations for orbital insertion during these climactic final days.

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 today's 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.

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 speaks 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.

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.

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.

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.

Carbon composite materials are light, strong and heat resistant, which is why they are used to make protective cockpits in high performance race cars. But even though they were developed by the aerospace industry, they haven't yet been used to make space capsules. In this podcast, Bob Hirshon speaks with a NASA engineer about the materials and a new project testing their usefulness in next generation space vehicles.

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. Hear how the MESSENGER mission to the planet Mercury is hunting for these elusive objects in an attempt to solve the mystery.

On September 29th, 2009, 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 was the first attempt to put a spacecraft in orbit around the planet. The planet's small size and proximity to the Sun made this task incredibly difficult to achieve. This podcast takes you live to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where the MESSENGER Engineering and Operations team followed the spacecraft as it made its third flyby of Mercury.

Science Update Podcasts

March 8, 2016   Dark Mercury - How did Mercury get to be the darkest planet in the solar system?
April 15, 2015   MESSENGER's last messages - Before crashing into Mercury's surface, the MESSENGER spacecraft will capture high-resolution images and other data.
January 12, 2015   Naming Mercury's Craters - Planetary geologists provide the public with a chance to name five craters on Mercury.
December 3, 2012   Water on Mercury - Scientists discover water on the planet Mercury.
October 31, 2011   Mercury's Volcanoes - The planet Mercury seems placid compared to others in the solar system. But the MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing a more tumultuous past.
October 24, 2011   Mercury's Make-up - The MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing new details about the tiny planet's chemical composition.
October 4, 2011   Mercury Hollows - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has identified mysterious hollows on the planet's surface.
October 3, 2011   Mercury Origins - The MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing surprising details about the origins of the planet Mercury.
January 14, 2010   Volcanoes on Mercury - Ancient volcanoes found on the planet mercury challenge assumptions about the planet's chemical composition.
October 16, 2009   Mercury Flyby - The MESSENGER spacecraft has completed its final flyby of the planet Mercury before it goes into orbit around the planet.
June 8, 2009   Mercury's Surface - The MESSENGER spacecraft is giving scientists a first look at an entire half of the planet Mercury.
January 8, 2013   Comet Encounters - A newly discovered comet will be visible from earth this fall.
October 6, 2011   Podcast for 7 October 2011 - MERCURY SPECIAL REPORT - The MESSENGER spacecraft is revealing new discoveries about the planet closest to our Sun.
October 25, 2010   Space Exploration - From our own sun to the furthest reaches of the solar system and beyond, NASA and its partners are exploring worlds both near and far. Scientists working on the Genesis mission are studying matter collected from the sun. The MESSENGER mission is demystifying the sun's nearest neighbor, the tiny planet Mercury. Meanwhile, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is looking for water on the moon, the New Horizons spacecraft soars to the outer reaches of the solar system and Kepler looks for planets orbiting other stars. Follow the action here at Science Update's Space Exploration Spotlight. It's a big universe; someone's got to explore it.
August 4, 2009   Space Storms - Space storms bombard the planet Mercury.
January 25, 2008   Podcast - Space Research Update: the 11-year solar storm cycle returns, the MESSENGER spacecraft reports back from Mercury, and the search for intelligent life in the universe continues with the help of your computer. Also: Unique animal and plant adaptations. This week's web links: Space Weather Network: www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN; Latest MESSENGER photographs of Mercury: messenger.jhuapl.edu; Sign up for SETI@Home: setiathome.berkeley.edu
  Solar Storm Roundup - Early sun spots forecast rough weather ahead during new eleven-year solar storm cycle.

October 6th, 2011: Mercury Special Report Podcast »

Other Radio Broadcasts and Podcasts

Listen to an interview with Sean Solomon, MESSENGER Principal Investigator, by Warren Olney on the Public Radio International show, Reporter's Notebook. Solomon talks about the inception of MESSENGER's orbital operations phase and the exciting science we hope to learn over the coming year.

Have you ever wondered what a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun might sound like? MESSENGER team members "sonified" data collected by two NASA spacecraft during the latest CME. Listen and watch [HERE]!

CBC Radio logo

Quirks and Quarks, CBC Radio, Message from MESSENGER, interview with Sean Solomon (begins at 10:20 time mark)

Making Mercury Whole

Maryland Morning with Sheila Kast, More messages from MESSENGER, interview with Ralph McNutt

Making Mercury Whole

Maryland Morning, Messages from Mercury, interview with Ralph McNutt

Making Mercury Whole

Planetary Radio, PI Sean Solomon's MESSENGER is orbiting Mercury!

Making Mercury Whole

Science Friday, National Public Radio, NASA probe goes into Mercury's orbit, interview with Sean Solomon