Skip to main content

All upcoming Astronomy & Space programs

All upcoming Astronomy & Space programs

Programs 1 to 4 of 4
Thursday, February 20, 2025 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET

We are fascinated with Mars, our neighbor in space so like Earth in some ways, and so utterly different in others. Two of NASA’s robotic rovers continue their decade-long quest for evidence that Mars was once much warmer, wetter, and more hospitable to life than it is today. J. Kelly Beatty, senior editor for Sky & Telescope magazine, leads an examination of the Red Planet from afar and up close, offering the latest updates on our current and future exploration of Mars and delving into the real odds of finding life there.


Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - 7:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

The space shuttle was America’s iconic spaceship for 30 years, lifting 355 astronauts into orbit and teaching NASA how to work expertly in space. The shuttles spent 1,323 days in orbit and deployed 180 satellites, payloads, and space station components. NASA astronaut Tom Jones looks at the shuttle’s legacy through the eyes of the more than 130 fellow space fliers he interviewed for his book Space Shuttle Stories (Smithsonian Books).


Wednesday, April 16, 2025 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET

What do the music of J.S. Bach, the fundamental forces of nature, Rubik’s Cube, and the selection of mates have in common? They are all characterized by certain symmetries— the concept that bridges science and art. Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio explains how symmetry underlies not only some of the most important phenomena in our lives and in the evolution of humans, but also the laws governing our universe.


Tuesday, May 6, 2025 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET

George Mason University will be the home of the recently approved NASA Landolt space mission that will put an artificial star into orbit around Earth. It will allow scientists to calibrate telescopes and more accurately measure the brightness of stars. The science associated with the mission and what astronomers hope to learn from it are explained by Peter Plavchan, the mission’s principal investigator and associate professor of physics and astronomy at George Mason University.