Third Pod from the Sun is the American Geophysical Union’s podcast where we hear stories from scientists, for everyone.

Latest Episodes

Your favorites: A Martian on Earth

Tanya Harrison never thought she was going to be an astronaut. But she was determined to go to space. And she did just that – through satellites, first to Mars, and now looking back at our own third rock from the Sun as she uses satellites to map places near and far.

Your favorites: Dinosaurs, a big rock, and…climate change?

When you hear the word “extinction,” chances are you probably think of the extinction of the dinosaurs and a big rock. But did you know that there were other factors at play that lead to that extinction including volcanos and sea-level rise?

Your favorites: The ice ships of Project Habbakuk

Dive down into the freezing depths of Patricia Lake, in Alberta’s Jasper National Park, and you will find the wreck of the Habbakuk—a sixty-foot model battleship originally constructed of wood and ice.

36-Spaceship Earth: Overseeing space…& Earth

When Christa Peters-Lidard cold-called the head of NASA’s hydrology lab as an undergrad, she wasn’t thinking she’d eventually land that very position. Now as the Acting Director for Sciences and Exploration at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Christa oversees several critical programs – either orbiting, like the James Webb Telescope, or currently in development – by ensuring scientists have the resources they need for a successful mission.

35-Spaceship Earth: The (visual) beauty of science

As the Scientific Visualization lead for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Mark SubbaRao oversees the translation of NASA science into images and movies. For Mark, science visualization is a key communication tool that allows the public to interact and explore the various scientific discoveries happening at NASA and beyond.

34-Spaceship Earth: Powering humans in space

As the Deputy Program Manager for NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program at Glenn Research Center, Concha Reid leads a team overseeing and monitoring devices that heat and give power to NASA space projects, such as the recent Orion spacecraft for Artemis 1.

33-Spaceship Earth: Discovering water on Earth from space

Being a Hydrologist was never on Matthew Rodell’s radar, let alone working for NASA. But he always trusted the path ahead.

32-Spaceship Earth: A love of space through a son’s telescope

Sparked into Earth Space Science through her son’s curiosity with space, we talk to Dorian on how her journey as an educator and life-long learner led to working on NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission as a Senior Outreach Specialist, and how citizen scientists from around the world are providing important work for researchers through the GLOBE Observer Project.

31-Spaceship Earth: Using satellites to feed the world

Chris Justice is a geographer and professor at the University of Maryland whose research on land use changes and global agriculture has taken him around the world.

30.5-Spaceship Earth

What do folks who fight food insecurity with satellites, do outreach about Pluto, and map out the Earth's gravitational fields have in common? How about a common thread between those who study light pollution, create science visualizations, and direct exploration?