Podcast Season

Season 4: Mars Rovers

In the fourth season of “On a Mission” we’ll be transported to the Red Planet with all five of NASA’s Mars rovers.

Season 4 Preview: Mars Rovers

In the fourth season of “On a Mission” we’ll be transported to the Red Planet with all five of NASA’s Mars rovers. .

Episode one launches with Jennifer Trosper in the driver’s seat. As she looks in the rearview mirror at twenty-five years of exploring with NASA’s Mars rovers, she reveals how their progression has kept pace with milestones in her life. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 2: First Steps: Sojourner

NASA’s first rover on Mars was a cute little bundle of robotic joy. Many thought it was likely to fail. Instead, Sojourner revolutionized how we explore Mars, and marked the start of 25 years of Mars rover adventures. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 3: Rise of the Twins: Spirit and Opportunity

After two failed missions to Mars, NASA tried to double its odds for success by sending twin rovers to the Red Planet. Part one of the story of Spirit and Opportunity takes us from their birth to their launch from Earth. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 4: A Lifetime on Mars: The Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity

Born together, the Spirit and Opportunity twin rovers followed divergent paths after they landed on opposite sides of Mars. Opportunity’s journey was marked by good fortune, while Spirit’s was troubled from the start. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 5: A Ton of Curiosity

The Curiosity rover is a big nerd at heart, fitted with a science lab to take in the planet Mars. Get the inside scoop on the mission’s many discoveries and dramas after a decade on the Red Planet. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 6: The Promise of Perseverance

The Perseverance rover holds many promises: to look for evidence of life on Mars, to collect rock samples meant to be sent to Earth one day, and to test technology that could be used in a future human Mars mission. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 7: Flying with Ingenuity: the Mars Helicopter

Bob Balaram and Teddy Tzanetos share stories of how the Mars helicopter came to be, and transport us on Ingenuity’s flights through dusty Martian skies. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 8: How to Drive a Mars Rover

Buckle up for a Mars tour with rover driver Vandi Verma, and learn how NASA’s rovers have evolved to better explore this alien world. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 9: Before You Can Drive, First You Have to Fly

Before a rover can make tracks on Mars, it first has to rocket off Earth, speed through space, and then alight gently on the planet’s surface. Al Chen and Swati Mohan guide us through the many stages of a rover’s flight to Mars. .

On a Mission | Season 4: Mars Rovers

Episode 10: The Power of the Rovers

How does a rover keep driving on a planet with no gas stations? Shonte Tucker, Sabah Bux and Rob Manning power us through the ways Mars rovers keep going. .

Season 4: Mars Rovers

Season 4 Preview: Mars Rovers

Episode 1: Driven to Mars

Episode 2: First Steps: Sojourner

Episode 3: Rise of the Twins: Spirit and Opportunity

Episode 4: A Lifetime on Mars: The Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity

Episode 5: A Ton of Curiosity

Episode 6: The Promise of Perseverance

Episode 7: Flying with Ingenuity: the Mars Helicopter

Episode 8: How to Drive a Mars Rover

Episode 9: Before You Can Drive, First You Have to Fly

Episode 10: The Power of the Rovers