Explore every episode of the podcast Rocket LaunchPod

When the James Webb Space Telescope launches into space later this year to succeed the Hubble Space telescope, it will symbolize the culmination of over two decades of work by NASA, but it will also represent the very beginning of a new era of deep space observation. Join Nate Ray and guest Amber Straughn, astrophysicist and Deputy Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, to discover the marvel and significance of the forthcoming space observatory.

Nate reviews The Mission and is joined once again by its author, David W. Brown - a science journalist who has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Scientific American, Vox, and Smithsonian. In Part 2 of the conversation, David reveals the writing process behind his new book, makes the case for getting excited about Europa (one of Jupiter's icy moons) and considers the ethics of eating alien fish.

What influence do presidents have over NASA? How has Mars shaped American objectives in space? Are we really going back to the moon? Join Nate Ray for Part 1 of his two-part conversation with David W. Brown, a science journalist and author who has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Scientific American, Vox, and Smithsonian. Also, check out David's most recent book, The Mission, which is in stores now.

Elon Musk says he’s going to put humans on Mars before the end of the decade. How much of what he promises is feasible? Investigate the boundary between science fiction and reality on the Red Planet with Nate Ray as he talks with Geoffrey Landis, a NASA aerospace engineer who worked on early missions to Mars.

Hear from astronaut and billionaire Gregory Olsen, an American entrepreneur who self-funded a trip to the International Space Station in 2005, as host Nate Ray delves into the history of America’s race to the moon, the rise and fall of the Space Shuttle program, and the dawn of private space tourism.

Whether you are a casual space observer, a fanatic, or a skeptic, the Rocket LaunchPod is your guide to how the American space program got to where it is today -- and where it's going in the future. Join Nate Ray -- along with astronauts, NASA scientists, and space journalists -- as he navigates you through the current state of American space exploration.