Have you ever wondered about what goes into planning and executing a space history auction? Emily and Alexa talk to Cassandra Hatton, Global Head of the Science & Popular Culture department at Sotheby’s auction house. Cassandra has set market records in space exploration, history of science and technology, natural history, and popular culture markets worldwide.

Have you ever wondered how concert sets and visual effects are designed? This week, Emily and Alexa talk with Deborah Johnson, aka Candy Stations, who designed the visual effects for Sufjan Stevens’ space-inspired “Planetarium” and “Age of Adz” album tours, and has collaborated with several other artists and musicians for performances across the country.

Whether you're a pinball champion, an avid enjoyer of the old virtual Space Cadet pinball games, or a complete newbie to the pinball world - you may be surprised at just how much overlap there is with spaceflight and pinball game design over the ages. Join Emily and Alexa in conversation with Erin Winick Anthony, a science communicator, engineer, and one of the top 100 ranked women's pinball players in the world, as we dive into the world of space pinball!

What is Space Archaeology? Join Emily and Alexa as they speak with Dr. Justin Walsh of the ISS Archaeological Project about what doing archaeology in space really entails, what cultural and engineering insights we can gain from it, and what the future of this field looks like with the impending decommissioning of the ISS.

Join Emily and Alexa as they chat with Janelle Wellons, Spaceflight Operations Engineer and Flight Director, about how the visual artist Alma Thomas' paintings resemble actual imagery from spacecraft, such as those captured by the Cassini and Mariner 4 missions.

Join Emily and Alexa as they discuss the visual artist Alma Thomas, her paintings inspired by outer space, and how one of those paintings ended up in the collection of the CIA.

Join Emily and Alexa as they chat with Amanda Ohlke, Director of Adult Education at the International Spy Museum, about James Bond's adventures in space through the decades, and how those adventures reflected the public imagination over time. Ohlke also provides a sneak peek at the upcoming exhibition "Bond in Motion," now open and on view at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, until April 2025.

Do you ever wonder how space and art combine to transform raw, sometimes noisy images captured by spacecraft into beautiful, clean images for us to see here on Earth? In this episode, Emily Olsen and Alexa Erdogan discuss space image processing with Jason Major, space exploration and astronomy outreach enthusiast. Jason explains how he interprets data files from various missions to make the beautiful images of celestial bodies often seen in media and online.

Join Emily Olsen and Alexa Erdogan as they discuss creative applications of space science. Alexa explains how scientists at Washington State University (WSU) used Barbie dolls in an important experiment to help solve problems humans will face on the Moon. Emily shares how an algorithm developed for the Hubble Space Telescope became key in tracking whale sharks. Emily and Alexa also discuss NASA's recently launched PACE mission.

But first, introductions are in order…

Introducing the Art Astra Podcast!