Exploding stars and the origin of the elements

Stellar explosions and colliding neutron stars are important sources of the chemical elements in nature. While some of the astrophysical processes responsible for element creation are well understood, others have remained elusive for decades. Processes creating elements often involve short lived radioactive isotopes that can be produced at accelerator facilities. Studies with these isotopes allow us to constrain the relevant nuclear reaction rates so one can understand in the laboratory how elements are created. Recent progress in astronomical observations, such as the observation and verification that the merging of two neutron stars is as a source of heavy element production in the Universe, need to be accompanied with similar progress in understanding the relevant properties of rare isotopes through nuclear physics experiments. I will review the important role that nuclear reactions play in understanding stellar explosions, show some examples of recent nuclear physics measurements and give a (very abbreviated) outlook of future nuclear astrophysics studies.