The Invisible Network

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Bonus - NASA Historian Bill Barry | NASA's The Invisible Network Pod Jan 30, 2020

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At its core the NASA History Office ensures that, as we look forward to the Moon, Mars and beyond, we remember the lessons we’ve learned from our predecessors. The race to the Moon in the 1960s occurred against a very different backdrop than today's Artemis program — but both exhibit what humanity can achieve when we set ourselves to lofty aims.

Bonus - Dr. Jim Garvin | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

There is perhaps no one better than Jim Garvin to outline the unique opportunities for research that the Artemis missions to the Moon could provide scientists on Earth. Jim is chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and a tireless champion for crewed exploration of the Moon.

Bonus - Dan Curry | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Jan 16, 2020

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Science fiction and science fact have long enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, with ideas in one prompting innovations in the other, and so on. Dan Curry, a filmmaker, artist and visual effects producer best known for his Star Trek work, shares his perspectives.

14. Ansible | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Dec 19, 2019

Show notes

Faster-than-light communications might not be a possibility now — our current understanding of natural laws don’t allow for it. But who knows what innovations await us just beyond the horizon?

13. Pony Express | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Dec 16, 2019

Show notes

What does the Pony Express of the 19th century have in common with the internet and disruption-tolerant networking? They're all (for their times) innovative communications technologies that revolutionize the way we share data.

12. Reconnaissance | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Dec 12, 2019

Show notes

Without communications there is no exploration: To reveal the unknown, a spacecraft must be able to share its data. In a sense, today's space communications networks are like the roadways of ancient empires, allowing information to move across vast distances. But how might our satellite data highways evolve to enable exploration centuries from now?

11. Reflections | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Dec 09, 2019

Show notes

For billions of years, the Earth and the Moon have danced together. Since the Apollo era, scientists have used lasers — a technology then in its infancy — to measure their waltz. Lasers have since played increasingly important roles in spaceflight. They may even play a part in keeping the next generation of lunar astronauts connected to home.

10. 406 MHz | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

Amidst the grandeur of spaceflight, there is a tiny bit of technology that, if not for its major role, might otherwise go unnoticed: distress beacons. This NASA-developed search-and-rescue technology could be life-saving not just for astronauts, but for travelers across the globe as well.

09. Lobes | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Nov 25, 2019

Show notes

Spacecraft near Earth have long relied on GPS signals for navigation, just as users on the ground might use their phones to navigate the highways. Farther away, navigation — and the math behind it — becomes a great deal more challenging.

08. Form and Function | NASA's The Invisible Network Podcast Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

"Form follows function" is an oft-cited architectural axiom. In space, form doesn’t necessarily follow function. Human space habitation is rooted, by necessity, in pragmatism. The architectures of Earth won’t work in space, but there is plenty to learn from Earthbound architectural theories as we extend our reach among the stars.

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