Name: On a Mission: Season 3, Episode 1 - An Astronaut's View of Earth by NASA in Benefits for Humanity
Duration: 41 min 26 s
Description: You might think you know Earth, but astronaut’s views from outer space help us see our world in a whole new light.

The decades of science experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station have brought numerous benefits back to humanity. From ultrasounds to climate research, hear just a few of those stories.

Benefits for Humanity

Have you ever dreamed of spending a day in space? Join astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, and Thomas Pesquet throughout their day living and working on the International Space Station.    

Listen to NASA's Curious Universe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud.

NASA's Curious Universe: A Day In Space

On Episode 238, Daniel Lockney reviews some of the most fascinating NASA technologies that have made their way into our everyday lives.

Houston We Have a Podcast: From Space to You

On Episode 249, Dr. Scott Dulchavsky and Dr. Dan Siegal reflect on research aboard the International Space Station that has improved ultrasound training and access worldwide.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Ultrasounds Anywhere

NASA’s Webb Telescope uncovered two views of the Southern Ring Nebula – in near-infrared light (at left in the track image) and mid-infrared light (at right in the track image) – and each has been adapted to sound.

In this sonification, the colors in the images were mapped to pitches of sound – frequencies of light converted directly to frequencies of sound. Near-infrared light is represented by a higher range of frequencies at the beginning of the track. Mid-way through, the notes change, becoming lower overall to reflect that mid-infrared includes longer wavelengths of light.
 
Listen carefully at 15 seconds and 44 seconds. These notes align with the centers of the near- and mid-infrared images, where the stars at the center of the “action” appear. In the near-infrared image that begins the track, only one star is heard clearly, with a louder clang. 

In the second half of the track, listeners will hear a low note just before a higher note, which denotes that two stars were detected in mid-infrared light. The lower note represents the redder star that created this nebula, and the second is the star that appears brighter and larger.
 
Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-webb-s-first-full-color-images-data-are-set-to-sound

Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI; Accessibility Production: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Kimberly Arcand (CXC/SAO), Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida (SYSTEM Sounds), Quyen Hart (STScI), Claire Blome (STScI), and Christine Malec (consultant).

Webb’s Southern Ring Nebula Sonification

NASA’s Webb Telescope uncovered two views of the Southern Ring Nebula – one in near-infrared light and one in mid-infrared light. The colors in the images were mapped to pitches of sound – frequencies of light converted directly to frequencies of sound. This track only includes sounds from the near-infrared view. Near-infrared light is represented here by a higher range of frequencies than mid-infrared light. There are two stars in the center of this planetary nebula. In the near-infrared, only one star is heard clearly, with a louder clang.  
 
This sonification does not represent sounds recorded in space. Two musicians mapped the telescope’s data to sound, carefully composing music that represents near- and mid-infrared light, specifically to hear their contrasts. In a way, this sonification is like modern dance or an abstract painting – it converts Webb’s images into a new medium to engage and inspire listeners.
 
Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-webb-s-first-full-color-images-data-are-set-to-sound

Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI; Accessibility Production: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Kimberly Arcand (CXC/SAO), Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida (SYSTEM Sounds), Quyen Hart (STScI), Claire Blome (STScI), and Christine Malec (consultant).

Webb’s Southern Ring Nebula Sonification: Near-Infrared

NASA’s Webb Telescope observed the atmospheric characteristics of the hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b – which contains clear signatures of water – and the resulting transmission spectrum’s individual data points were translated into sound.
 
The sonification scans the spectrum from left to right. From bottom to top, the y-axis ranges from less to more light blocked. The x-axis ranges from 0.6 microns on the left to 2.8 microns on the right. The pitches of each data point correspond to the frequencies of light each point represents. Longer wavelengths of light have lower frequencies and are heard as lower pitches. The volume indicates the amount of light detected in each data point. 
 
The four water signatures are represented by the sound of water droplets falling. These sounds simplify the data – water is detected as a signature that has multiple data points. The sounds align only to the highest points in the data.
 
Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-webb-s-first-full-color-images-data-are-set-to-sound

Credits: Image: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI; Accessibility Production: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Kimberly Arcand (CXC/SAO), Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida (SYSTEM Sounds), Quyen Hart (STScI), Claire Blome (STScI), and Christine Malec (consultant).

Webb’s Exoplanet WASP-96 b Sonification

NASA’s InSight lander brought a seismometer to the Red Planet to study “marsquakes.” On Sept, 5, 2021, the seismometer detected a meteoroid impacting the planet’s surface, creating several craters in the process.
It was the first time the sound of a meteoroid impact was captured occurring on another planet, and it might not be what you expect. In the audio, you hear three “bloops” representing distinct moments of the impact: the meteoroid entering Mars’ atmosphere, exploding into pieces, and striking the ground. The peculiar sound is caused by an atmospheric effect that’s also been observed in deserts on Earth, where lower-pitched sounds arrive before high-pitched sounds.
Credit: CNES/IPGP

InSight Captures Sound of a Meteoroid Striking Mars

On Episode 267, Apollo 17 astronaut Dr. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt reflects on his historic mission 50 years later and where we are now and what's exciting about Artemis from the view of a scientist and an explorer.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Apollo 17 50th

This audio shows the results of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover using its SuperCam microphone to record the sounds of a Martian dust devil – the first time any such recording has been made. The dust devil passed directly over Perseverance on Sept. 27, 2021, the 215th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/INTA-CSIC/Space Science Institute/ISAE-Supaero

NASA's Perseverance Records a Martian Dust Devil

NASA Research Electrical Engineer Lyndsey McMillon-Brown discusses development of perovskite solar cell technology for Moon and Mars exploration.

Small Steps, Giant Leaps Podcast

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 107: Perovskite Solar Cells

On Episode 289, the Principal Investigator for NASA’s Lucy mission discusses the spacecraft’s 12-year journey to eight different asteroids as we look to better understand the formation of our solar system.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Lucy

On episode 295, hear from the deputy project manager for NASA’s CHAPEA project as well as the volunteer crew of four who joined us a few days before entering the Mars simulated habitat for one year.

Houston We Have a Podcast: A Year on Mars

Sonification is the process of translating data into sound and music. In this musical data sonification of lunar knowledge and exploration, we can hear the progress made throughout the Apollo program to now as our understanding of the Moon expands. Listen to the percussion, which signals launches and the passage of time; the pitch of the string and brass instruments conveys the amount of scientific activity associated with the Moon over time. 

Here’s a breakdown of the individual instruments:

Pitch of the string and brass = scientific activity
Percussion instruments = passage of time
Clock ticking = months
Snare drum = years
Bass drum = decades
Cymbals = launches

Credit: SYSTEM Sounds, Matt Russo and Andrew Santaguida; Data compiled by NASA using Google Scholar. Each year's data represents the number of articles, citations and patents dated in that year and returned by Google Scholar when applying a certain set of keywords.

Giant Leaps - From the soundtrack to “NASA Explorers: Apollo”

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

On a Mission: Season 3, Episode 1 - An Astronaut's View of Earth

On Episode 175, team science experts Noshir Contractor, Suzanne Bell, and Leslie DeChurch discuss team composition research at NASA and the role teams play in human spaceflight and space exploration.

Houston We Have a Podcast: The Science Of Teams

Hello, we’re NASA. You may have seen our astronauts, rocket launches, or Mars rovers — but have you heard our sounds? From interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.

On a Mission: Season 3, Episode 1 - An Astronaut's View of Earth

NASA

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