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On a Mission Profile

On a Mission

English, Space/Cosmology, 4 seasons, 135 episodes, 1 day, 2 hours, 7 minutes
About
Hear the stories behind the exploration of outer space.
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 0: To the Ends of the Earth

In season 3, we’ll travel to the ends of the Earth with scientists who explore different aspects of our unique planet.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 8: Diamonds in the Ice

Every year, intrepid Antarctica explorers hunt for space rocks that have fallen to Earth.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 0 - Asteroids!

The upcoming season will feature stories of asteroid exploration.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Episode 0, Trailer

Eight stories, one mission to outer space. “On a Mission,” a new podcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, launches October 29.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 9: Hunting in the Dark for Monsters

Finding black rocks in the darkness of space isn’t easy, but new methods could help spot them all.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Flying with Ingenuity: the Mars Helicopter – S4E7

Bob Balaram and Teddy Tzanetos share stories of how the Mars helicopter came to be, and transport us on Ingenuity’s flights through dusty Martian skies.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

How to Drive a Mars Rover – S4E8

Buckle up for a Mars tour with rover driver Vandi Verma, and learn how NASA’s rovers have evolved to better explore this alien world.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 4: Deflecting Disaster

Unlike the dinosaurs, we have a space program. There are many ways we could steer an asteroid off its path towards Earth.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Worlds of Wonder

Technology can take you to unexpected places. The MarCO cubesats, flying towards Mars with InSight, are breaking new ground on how far these small satellites can go.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 6: The Prospects of Heavy Metal

Asteroids, ho! Pioneering space miners dream of Psyche, the largest metal asteroid in the solar system.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 4: A World Shaped by Water

Dive to the deepest point of the ocean with an astronaut, brave the high seas with an oceanographer, and meander through sparkling rivers with a hydrologist.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Arrival

InSight is lining up to land on Mars. The trip from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars is 6-and-a-half minutes of sheer terror.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Digging In: When Rovers Get Dirt on Mars - S4E11

Aaron Yazzie and others explain how, by scooping dirt and drilling rocks, rovers are digging deeper into the mysteries of Mars.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

A Lifetime on Mars: The Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity - S4E4

Born together, the Spirit and Opportunity twin rovers followed divergent paths after they landed on opposite sides of Mars. Opportunity’s journey was marked by good fortune, while Spirit’s was troubled from the start.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Driven to Mars - S4E1

Episode one launches with Jennifer Trosper in the driver’s seat. As she looks in the rearview mirror at twenty-five years of exploring with NASA’s Mars rovers, she reveals how their progression has kept pace with milestones in her life.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 2: Impact!

What happens when a giant asteroid hits Earth?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 5: Frozen in Time

Bundle up! We’ll be diving into ice-covered waters with an upside-down robot, and exploring Greenland’s massive ice sheet with oceanographer Josh Willis.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Before You Can Drive, First You Have to Fly – S4E9

Before a rover can make tracks on Mars, it first has to rocket off Earth, speed through space, and then alight gently on the planet’s surface. Al Chen and Swati Mohan guide us through the many stages of a rover’s flight to Mars.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 4 Preview: Mars Rovers

In the fourth season of “On a Mission” we’ll be transported to the Red Planet with all five of NASA’s Mars rovers.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 3: Bracing for a Crash

If a big asteroid is heading our way, how does NASA prepare for the oncoming disaster?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 1 - The Sky Is Falling

Earth is in a cosmic shooting gallery. With so many asteroids zipping around, how can we find them all before they find us?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Rise of the Twins: Spirit and Opportunity - S4E3

After two failed missions to Mars, NASA tried to double its odds for success by sending twin rovers to the Red Planet. Part one of the story of Spirit and Opportunity takes us from their birth to their launch from Earth.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

The Promise of Perseverance – S4E6

The Perseverance rover holds many promises: to look for evidence of life on Mars, to collect rock samples meant to be sent to Earth one day, and to test technology that could be used in a future human Mars mission.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

True Grit on the Road to Mars

Space missions often defy the odds, overcoming all obstacles. The people who work on these missions also face challenges to get where they are today. Marleen Martinez Sundgaard, the testbed lead for InSight, personifies this tenacious spirit.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 3: On the Surface

Like waves of the ocean, our planet’s surface is in constant motion. In this episode, we’ll travel to tropical rainforests to dig into soils with an ecologist, and fly drones with an earthquake expert to spot shifts in the ground beneath our feet.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

The Danger of Going to Mars

Many spacecraft have died trying to get to Mars. The current record for Mars missions is 18 successes, and 25 failures. The InSight mission hopes to improve the odds.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 9: Life Bound

We hike in the Australian Outback with Abigail Allwood to visit the most ancient fossils on Earth, and track the imprint of life over space and time with David Grinspoon.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 2: Genesis

Have you ever wanted to see the awesome spectacle of an erupting volcano? There’s no better guide for such an adventure than JPL volcanologist Rosaly Lopes.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 10: Comets: A Love Story

Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker’s love of exploration changed our understanding of the cosmos.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 7: Planet Asteroid

What’s in a name? Whether you call it a planet or an asteroid, missions that explore small worlds are always exciting.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

First Steps: Sojourner - S4E2

NASA’s first rover on Mars was a cute little bundle of robotic joy. Many thought it was likely to fail. Instead, Sojourner revolutionized how we explore Mars, and marked the start of 25 years of Mars rover adventures.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Robots Lend a Hand

Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu is in charge of the InSight mission’s robotic arm and hand. His work on space robots has led him to give a helping hand back home.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 6: Air and Shield

As we fly around with NASA pilots, we’ll explore Earth’s air space with scientists Annmarie Eldering and Armin Sorooshian -- from wispy clouds high above, to tiny particles that make up air pollution.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 8: Fueled by Fire

From fires in outer space to raging wildfires on Earth, fire experts Gary Ruff and Natasha Stavros reveal how fingers of flame reach out around our world.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 10: A Voyager’s View of Earth

The Voyager 1 spacecraft has traveled farther away from Earth than any human-made object. Candy Hansen and David Grinspoon talk about the Voyager mission, and its humbling perspective of our planet as a tiny blue dot in the blackness of space.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Bonus episode: InSight’s Insights

What's happened with InSight since it landed on Mars?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

The Power of the Rovers – S4E10

How does a rover keep driving on a planet with no gas stations? Shonte Tucker, Sabah Bux and Rob Manning power us through the ways Mars rovers keep going.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

A Ton of Curiosity - S4E5

The Curiosity rover is a big nerd at heart, fitted with a science lab to take in the planet Mars. Get the inside scoop on the mission’s many discoveries and dramas after a decade on the Red Planet.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Music of the Spheres

The Earth "rings" when earthquakes strike, just as vibrations through a bell create a ringing sound. The InSight mission will see if tremors cause Mars to chime with its own planetary song.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

We Are the World

Missions to outer space have come a long way since the days of Cold War competition. Farah Alibay finds that building relationships is a big part of building spacecraft.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 5: Catch a Falling Star

Why are missions like OSIRIS-REx bringing pieces of an asteroid back home?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 1: An Astronaut’s View of Earth

You might think you know Earth, but astronaut’s views from outer space help us see our world in a whole new light.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

A Matter of Life and Death

Earth is a living, dynamic world thanks to volcanoes and the planetary heat that fuels them. The InSight mission wants to see if Mars also has a heartbeat deep inside its cold exterior.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Secrets of the Mars Rovers – S4E12

In this season 4 finale, Gentry Lee and Rob Manning reveal how surprises, hidden flaws, and uncertainties have always been a part of rovers and the exploration of Mars.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 7: Storm Warning

Get swept away as we fly into massive hurricanes, and hear how the rumblings of climate change will cause clouds to gather into ever more powerful storms.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 7: Storm Warning

Get swept away as we fly into massive hurricanes, and hear how the rumblings of climate change will cause clouds to gather into ever more powerful storms.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 5: Catch a Falling Star

Why are missions like OSIRIS-REx bringing pieces of an asteroid back home?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Worlds of Wonder

Technology can take you to unexpected places. The MarCO cubesats, flying towards Mars with InSight, are breaking new ground on how far these small satellites can go.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 9: Life Bound

We hike in the Australian Outback with Abigail Allwood to visit the most ancient fossils on Earth, and track the imprint of life over space and time with David Grinspoon.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 3: Bracing for a Crash

If a big asteroid is heading our way, how does NASA prepare for the oncoming disaster?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

True Grit on the Road to Mars

Space missions often defy the odds, overcoming all obstacles. The people who work on these missions also face challenges to get where they are today. Marleen Martinez Sundgaard, the testbed lead for InSight, personifies this tenacious spirit.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Rise of the Twins: Spirit and Opportunity - S4E3

After two failed missions to Mars, NASA tried to double its odds for success by sending twin rovers to the Red Planet. Part one of the story of Spirit and Opportunity takes us from their birth to their launch from Earth.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 1: An Astronaut’s View of Earth

You might think you know Earth, but astronaut’s views from outer space help us see our world in a whole new light.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

How to Drive a Mars Rover – S4E8

Buckle up for a Mars tour with rover driver Vandi Verma, and learn how NASA’s rovers have evolved to better explore this alien world.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 10: Comets: A Love Story

Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker’s love of exploration changed our understanding of the cosmos.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

The Promise of Perseverance – S4E6

The Perseverance rover holds many promises: to look for evidence of life on Mars, to collect rock samples meant to be sent to Earth one day, and to test technology that could be used in a future human Mars mission.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Robots Lend a Hand

Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu is in charge of the InSight mission’s robotic arm and hand. His work on space robots has led him to give a helping hand back home.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Music of the Spheres

The Earth "rings" when earthquakes strike, just as vibrations through a bell create a ringing sound. The InSight mission will see if tremors cause Mars to chime with its own planetary song.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 4 Preview: Mars Rovers

In the fourth season of “On a Mission” we’ll be transported to the Red Planet with all five of NASA’s Mars rovers.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 4: A World Shaped by Water

Dive to the deepest point of the ocean with an astronaut, brave the high seas with an oceanographer, and meander through sparkling rivers with a hydrologist.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 1 - The Sky Is Falling

Earth is in a cosmic shooting gallery. With so many asteroids zipping around, how can we find them all before they find us?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Arrival

InSight is lining up to land on Mars. The trip from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars is 6-and-a-half minutes of sheer terror.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 0: To the Ends of the Earth

In season 3, we’ll travel to the ends of the Earth with scientists who explore different aspects of our unique planet.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Driven to Mars - S4E1

Episode one launches with Jennifer Trosper in the driver’s seat. As she looks in the rearview mirror at twenty-five years of exploring with NASA’s Mars rovers, she reveals how their progression has kept pace with milestones in her life.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 6: The Prospects of Heavy Metal

Asteroids, ho! Pioneering space miners dream of Psyche, the largest metal asteroid in the solar system.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Before You Can Drive, First You Have to Fly – S4E9

Before a rover can make tracks on Mars, it first has to rocket off Earth, speed through space, and then alight gently on the planet’s surface. Al Chen and Swati Mohan guide us through the many stages of a rover’s flight to Mars.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Flying with Ingenuity: the Mars Helicopter – S4E7

Bob Balaram and Teddy Tzanetos share stories of how the Mars helicopter came to be, and transport us on Ingenuity’s flights through dusty Martian skies.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 10: A Voyager’s View of Earth

The Voyager 1 spacecraft has traveled farther away from Earth than any human-made object. Candy Hansen and David Grinspoon talk about the Voyager mission, and its humbling perspective of our planet as a tiny blue dot in the blackness of space.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

A Lifetime on Mars: The Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity - S4E4

Born together, the Spirit and Opportunity twin rovers followed divergent paths after they landed on opposite sides of Mars. Opportunity’s journey was marked by good fortune, while Spirit’s was troubled from the start.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 2: Genesis

Have you ever wanted to see the awesome spectacle of an erupting volcano? There’s no better guide for such an adventure than JPL volcanologist Rosaly Lopes.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Digging In: When Rovers Get Dirt on Mars - S4E11

Aaron Yazzie and others explain how, by scooping dirt and drilling rocks, rovers are digging deeper into the mysteries of Mars.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

We Are the World

Missions to outer space have come a long way since the days of Cold War competition. Farah Alibay finds that building relationships is a big part of building spacecraft.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

The Danger of Going to Mars

Many spacecraft have died trying to get to Mars. The current record for Mars missions is 18 successes, and 25 failures. The InSight mission hopes to improve the odds.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 8: Fueled by Fire

From fires in outer space to raging wildfires on Earth, fire experts Gary Ruff and Natasha Stavros reveal how fingers of flame reach out around our world.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 6: Air and Shield

As we fly around with NASA pilots, we’ll explore Earth’s air space with scientists Annmarie Eldering and Armin Sorooshian -- from wispy clouds high above, to tiny particles that make up air pollution.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

A Ton of Curiosity - S4E5

The Curiosity rover is a big nerd at heart, fitted with a science lab to take in the planet Mars. Get the inside scoop on the mission’s many discoveries and dramas after a decade on the Red Planet.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Secrets of the Mars Rovers – S4E12

In this season 4 finale, Gentry Lee and Rob Manning reveal how surprises, hidden flaws, and uncertainties have always been a part of rovers and the exploration of Mars.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 8: Diamonds in the Ice

Every year, intrepid Antarctica explorers hunt for space rocks that have fallen to Earth.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 4: Deflecting Disaster

Unlike the dinosaurs, we have a space program. There are many ways we could steer an asteroid off its path towards Earth.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 7: Planet Asteroid

What’s in a name? Whether you call it a planet or an asteroid, missions that explore small worlds are always exciting.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Bonus episode: InSight’s Insights

What's happened with InSight since it landed on Mars?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Episode 0, Trailer

Eight stories, one mission to outer space. “On a Mission,” a new podcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, launches October 29.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 9: Hunting in the Dark for Monsters

Finding black rocks in the darkness of space isn’t easy, but new methods could help spot them all.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 2: Impact!

What happens when a giant asteroid hits Earth?
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Two, Episode 0 - Asteroids!

The upcoming season will feature stories of asteroid exploration.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

A Matter of Life and Death

Earth is a living, dynamic world thanks to volcanoes and the planetary heat that fuels them. The InSight mission wants to see if Mars also has a heartbeat deep inside its cold exterior.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

The Power of the Rovers – S4E10

How does a rover keep driving on a planet with no gas stations? Shonte Tucker, Sabah Bux and Rob Manning power us through the ways Mars rovers keep going.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season Three, Episode 3: On the Surface

Like waves of the ocean, our planet’s surface is in constant motion. In this episode, we’ll travel to tropical rainforests to dig into soils with an ecologist, and fly drones with an earthquake expert to spot shifts in the ground beneath our feet.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

Season 3, Episode 5: Frozen in Time

Bundle up! We’ll be diving into ice-covered waters with an upside-down robot, and exploring Greenland’s massive ice sheet with oceanographer Josh Willis.
1/1/10
Episode Artwork

First Steps: Sojourner - S4E2

NASA’s first rover on Mars was a cute little bundle of robotic joy. Many thought it was likely to fail. Instead, Sojourner revolutionized how we explore Mars, and marked the start of 25 years of Mars rover adventures.
1/1/10