Space

An imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe produced all the things in existence, including corned beef sandwiches.

Science

Why Corned Beef Sandwiches — And The Rest Of The Universe — Exist

8:20am May 25, 2019

by Joe Palca

Somehow, at the beginning of time, there was an imbalance of matter and antimatter. That's how all the stuff in the universe came about. Scientists think they may find an answer by studying neutrons.

Arts

Phil Plait: How Can Mistakes Lead To Scientific Advancement?

9:18am May 24, 2019

by NPR/TED Staff

When it comes to scientific research, mistakes are not only part of—but also crucial—to the process. Phil Plait explains how small setbacks can play a critical role in making big discoveries.

Queue Listen Now

NASA Wants To Send Your Name To Mars In 2020

4:16pm May 22, 2019

by Joe Palca

NASA wants you to go to Mars...at least, they want your name to go. As part of a publicity campaign, the public can fill out a form and have a name coded on a microchip to head up in 2020.

Queue Listen Now

Asteroid Simulation Reveals How Well Earth's Planetary Defenses Work

7:34pm May 03, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Asteroid experts have been simulating a large asteroid heading towards Earth. Friday is the conclusion to the realistic simulation and will reveal how well planetary defense efforts work in this scenario.

Queue Listen Now

NASA Warns About Threat Of Meteors

5:28am May 01, 2019

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said meteor impacts happen more frequently than the general public knows.

Queue Listen Now

A stripe of red dots shows the risk corridor for a hypothetical asteroid strike, part of an exercise this week held by planetary defense experts in which they analyze data about a fictitious asteroid.

This Week, NASA Is Pretending An Asteroid Is On Its Way To Smack The Earth

5:44pm April 29, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A fictitious asteroid is the focus of a realistic exercise, as experts at the Planetary Defense Conference run through how they would respond to news of a looming asteroid strike.

InSight seismometer with protectiive wind cover deployed on Mars.

Science

NASA's InSight Probe May Have Recorded First Sounds Of Marsquake

8:51am April 25, 2019

by Joe Palca

A NASA probe called InSight is on Mars listening for marsquakes and it seems it has detected the first sounds of a quake, probably.

Queue Listen Now

Science

Former Astronaut On Watching For Life-Destroying Objects From Space

8:24am April 21, 2019

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to former astronaut Ed Lu, who co-founded a planetary defense nonprofit, about a meteor that exploded with the energy of 10 atomic bombs over the Bering Sea.

Do You Love Lying In Bed? Get Paid By NASA To Do It For Space Research

8:33pm April 14, 2019

Researchers are currently looking for candidates who will stay in bed 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 60 straight days for a study on how the body adapts to weightlessness.

Science

Get Paid To Stay In Bed, For Space Science

8:03am April 14, 2019

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Jennifer Ngo-Anh of the European Space Agency about their planned study during which subjects will stay in bed for two months.

Queue Listen Now