Why scientists launched two little robots to the moon
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This is Ira Glass. On This American Life, one thing we like is a good mystery. Sometimes about really big things, but most times, the little mysteries are the best.
Our lost and found is currently filled with pants. I don't know what, I've never seen this happen.
Wait, this is true?
This is true. Mysteries of every size, each week. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts.
You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey, Sure Wavers. Regina Barber here. And it's time for my favorite monthly episode, our space news segment, Spacing Out with Gina. We're here today with my space buddy, my partner in Spacing Out Crime, All Things Considered host, Scott Detrow. Welcome back to the show, Scott.
I'm excited to be here. Since we last taped, I now have a giant picture of the moon at my desk, and I love it.
You do. I've seen it.
It's big.
It's big.
And joining us today, Scott, is our producer, Burleigh McCoy. Burleigh, welcome to your first Facing Out with Gina. Hey, Gina. Hey, Scott.
I'm excited to be here. It sounds like my jam.
I'm a big nerd.
I'm excited. I am excited you're here. Welcome.
She is a big nerd because she's the other PhD scientist on Shortwave, so she's going to feel right at home in our nerd space, I think.
You know? I agree. I'll just represent all the non-PhD holders out there and do my best.
I have a question for both of you, though.
Yes.
Have you seen any of the Transformer movies?
Of course.
I haven't seen any of them. Whoa. Have you, Burleigh?
Oh, I've definitely seen some, and they were cool at the time, but I think... They're kind of forgettable. I don't know. It's true.
No hate mail, please. It's true. But, you know, just to link all of this together, our first story in this segment is about Transformers on the moon. But I'm going to pop your bubble a little. Scott, it's not about Optimus Prime. They're very different.
But hopefully equally as cool.
Are they still robots in disguise?
Yes, they still shapeshift.
Oh, okay.
I'll take that. They're really small. They're really cute. They're round little guys about the size of a baseball. Essentially, they rolled out of this moon lander, and each half of the sphere moves outward, kind of expanding, revealing this cute little camera in the center, and the halves are now spinning wheels.
Okay, that's even better than a transformer. So it's like a little car that rolls around then? Yeah, sort of.
But they kind of waddle because they can kind of waddle over hard terrain and navigate. They navigate on their own. And this was a test for future explorations.
Oh my God, waddling around. This reminds me of my toddler a little bit. Like always exploring, always expanding. Which brings me to our next topic, the expansion of the universe.
Oh, I'm just going to applaud that really smooth transition. Congratulations. Thank you. What's the latest, though, on the expanding universe?
So there's some drama in the astronomy world about how our universe is expanding. Some scientists are debating this right now. And the stakes of that debate? Just the fate of the universe, though most astronomers are still on one side of the debate. Right, like me.
And we're going to talk about Artemis II and Artemis III, which now has a crew.
Yep, that's right, Scott. So today on the show, we go from the moon to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. And back. You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.
This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, new polling shows President Trump is more unpopular than ever. Trump turned 80 this week. One voter who voted for him in 2024 had this message.
I would have said I would have bought you a cake, but I can't afford one. But happy birthday.
The signals are getting louder for this year's midterms. Voters aren't happy. We'll talk about it on the NPR Politics podcast. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Every episode of It's Been a Minute, NPR's What's Happening in Culture podcast starts by asking three questions. Who? How? Why now? If the culture's asking it, we're talking about it. At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious and indulge your cultural curiosity.
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