ESA launches new podcast for Beyond mission
What does a space mission sound like? Well, aside from the roaring of engines, the hum of the Space Station and the voices of space to ground, it sounds a bit like ESA’s new podcast, ESA Explores.
ESA Explores’ pilot season focuses on ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano’s Beyond mission to the International Space Station. The first episode, released today via all major podcast platforms, includes an interview with Luca himself during his final days of training at ESA’s Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.
Podcast creators Ally Koehler and Stephen Ennis, both based at EAC, say future episodes will cover everything from launch traditions to science in Europe’s Columbus laboratory, in conversation with experts at ESA. While Stephen is host of the first episode, there are plans to share this role with others at ESA and include messages from Luca on Station as the podcast takes listeners behind the scenes of human spaceflight.
Communications officer for ESA’s astronaut centre, Marco Trovatello, says it takes a team to fly to space and all astronauts are well supported at every stage of a mission by their colleagues back on Earth. “The podcast provides another opportunity, alongside the website, blog, videos and social media, to share the story of Europe in space and, in difference to other media, people can listen at the time and place that suits them best while doing other tasks.
Ally agrees, saying “The Beyond series of ESA Explores is aimed at those who have an interest in space, but who may not have in-depth knowledge of what goes into a mission to the International Space Station.
“While the current format is English-only, we are looking at how we can make this podcast content even more accessible, particularly to our Italian speaking audience, in the future,” Stephen adds.
The first episode, called Luca & Beyond, is available to stream or download via all major podcast platforms. These include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean and Stitcher.
Episodes will be released on a monthly basis and listeners are encouraged to subscribe to keep up-to-date with the latest from the Beyond mission.
More information about the Beyond mission is available via the ESA website and mission blog. You can also Tweet any questions or recommendations for future episodes to the human spaceflight team at @esaspaceflight using the hashtag #ESAExplores.
