For decades, all the planets of the solar system had been reconnoitered—except Pluto. That last planetary body had been seen, at best, as just a faint smudge by the Hubble Space Telescope. Then, in 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft sped by Pluto, sending back a swath of exciting images and science data, transforming our view of the planet. It subsequently visited the Kuiper Belt object Arrakoth and may rendezvous with another, more distant body—or not. NASA's new budget seems to spell the end of active science for New Horizons, something that does not sit well with the program's Principal Investigator, Dr. Alan Stern. Join Alan as he speaks with us about this very exciting project and what it may take to keep it alive. 
Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik 
Guest: Alan Stern 
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TWiS 74: Adrift in the Kuiper Belt? - Alan Stern of the New Horizons Mission

The new space age is upon us, and This Week in Space leaves no topic untouched. Every Friday, join Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra magazine, Rod Pyle and Managing Editor of Space.com, Tariq Malik as they explore everything related to the cosmos.

New episodes posted every Friday.

Technology

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Astronomy

This week we've invited JPL's Chief Engineer Emeritus, Rob Manning, back to discuss Mars exploration and, in particular, Mars Sample Return. As we discussed in episode 107, that project is in a bit of trouble. Rob was the Chief Engineer of every Mars rover up through Perseverance and the overall Chief Engineer on Perseverance, and he has some unique insights on how we have explored Mars, why it matters, and what the future holds... especially with regard to returning samples to Earth. Join us! 
Headlines: 
NASA held a press conference to explain the latest delays with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which stem from issues with a helium leak and concerns about the reaction control thrusters that could lead to a loss of redundancy during reentry 
The European Space Agency's Euclid Space Telescope returned its first science images, providing stunning new views of galaxies never seen in such detail before to help unlock the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy 
Main Topic - Mars Exploration and Sample Return: 
Rob Manning recounts his extensive experience with Mars exploration at JPL, from the Sojourner rover and Pathfinder lander in the 90s to the currently operating Curiosity and Perseverance rovers 
Curiosity confirmed the past presence of water on Mars, while Perseverance is collecting carefully selected rock samples to eventually be returned to Earth 
The Mars Sample Return mission would bring pristine samples back to Earth for in-depth study, but is an extremely complex and costly endeavor facing budget challenges and potential delays 
Rob explains why returning samples is so critical - context is key and current meteorite samples have been altered by their journey to Earth, whereas carefully selected samples could reveal much more about Mars' history and potential for life 
Challenges for Mars Sample Return include the large size of the lander, the need for new parachute and guidance technologies, and planetary protection requirements to prevent contaminating Earth 
NASA currently has no plans for additional Mars missions beyond sample return, and faces a potential loss of institutional knowledge as a "quiet period" approaches, highlighting the need to maintain momentum in Mars exploration 
Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik 
Guest: Rob Manning 
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TWiS 112: Mars on Pause? - With JPL Chief Engineer Emeritus Rob Manning

Welcome to the Big Glass Wars! That's right, just when you thought you'd heard it all, turns out there's hot competition among a few countries to stay on the cutting edge of optical astronomy, and to do that, you need a great big hunk of glass to gather light from distant galaxies and stellar systems. Enter the Carnegie Observatories and their partners on the Thirty Meter Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope. Both are currently under construction, and both are threatened by budget parsimony from the U.S. Congress. Dr. John Mulchaey, Director of the Carnegie Observatories, joins us to discuss what's happening, why it matters, and what you can do to help maintain U.S. leadership in astronomy, cosmology, and other STEM-related fields. 
Headlines: 
Boeing's Starliner launch to the ISS delayed again, this time due to a helium leak in the service module. The launch is now targeted for no earlier than May 21st. 
Blue Origin plans to conduct its first crewed suborbital flight since August 2022 on May 19th, carrying six passengers including the first Black astronaut candidate Ed Dwight. 
A massive sunspot caused spectacular auroras visible as far south as Alabama and turned skies purple and orange. More solar activity is expected as another large sunspot emerges. 
 
Main Topic: The Big Glass Wars with Dr. John Mulchaey 
Dr. Mulchaey provides an overview of the Carnegie Observatories, founded in 1904, and their historic telescopes at Mount Wilson that helped launch modern astronomy. 
He discusses the need for extremely large next-generation ground-based telescopes, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), to study earth-like exoplanets and the early universe. 
These ambitious segmented mirror telescopes will be 5-10 times larger than today's biggest telescopes and cost billions of dollars to construct. 
While substantial private funding has been raised, the projects need investment from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. government to be completed. However, the NSF has proposed only partial funding. 
Dr. Mulchaey emphasizes the importance of the U.S. having both telescope projects to provide full-sky coverage, double the observation time, and maintain the nation's leadership in astronomy research or risk losing top talent to competing projects in Europe and China. 
He notes that delaying a decision on full funding is causing the estimated costs to escalate as the projects are forced to wait. 
Dr. Mulchaey argues passionately that inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers by investing in these telescopes is critical for the country's future productivity and innovation. 
Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik 
Guest: Dr. John Mulchaey 
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TWiS 111: The Big Glass Wars - Inside the Race to Build the World's Largest Telescopes

The Voyager probes have been transiting space since 1977, and they're still at it 46 years later. But late in 2023, Voyager 1, now 15 billion miles distant, started sending what the flight controllers called "gibberish" back to Earth---uncoordinated ones and zeros and a heartbeat tone. They knew it was still alive, but something had gone wrong. The small team of software wizards at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory got to work and came up with a workaround... but due to the age of the program, did not have an old enough computer on the ground to test it! They'd have to eyeball the sequence and send it to overwrite existing programming on the spacecraft. The round-trip radio signal from Earth takes 45 hours... and it was a nail-biter. Join us as we discuss this rescue beyond the solar system with Voyager Mission Scientist Dr. Linda Spilker. 
Headlines: 
Boeing Starliner launch delayed again due to a "buzzing" valve on the Atlas V rocket, not related to the spacecraft itself 
James Webb Space Telescope detects weather patterns on an exoplanet 41 light-years away, revealing a regenerating atmosphere on a puffy, molten world 
Elon Musk shares his thoughts on the lack of evidence for alien visitation, citing SpaceX's 6,000 satellites that have never had to maneuver around a UFO 
Feedback: 
A listener appreciates the discussion on how music relates to space exploration, but points out a missed opportunity to mention Ronald McNair's planned saxophone performance in space, which was tragically halted by the Challenger disaster. 
Main Topic - Saving Voyager 1 with Dr. Linda Spilker: 
Dr. Spilker's career at JPL, starting in 1977 and working on the Voyager mission, Cassini, and returning to Voyager as Project Scientist 
Voyager's small flight team and science team, many of whom have been with the mission since its inception 
The spacecraft's journey beyond the heliopause and into interstellar space, making unprecedented measurements of the interstellar medium 
The ambitious Grand Tour of the outer solar system, visiting Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and the remarkable discoveries made at each planet and their moons 
The recent challenges faced by Voyager 1, including a failed chip and the efforts to restore its function from Earth 
The limited computing power and memory of the Voyagers compared to modern spacecraft and the ingenuity required to program and communicate with them 
Pressure Front 2, a mysterious feature in the interstellar medium that Voyager 1 was monitoring before its recent glitch 
The expected lifespan of the Voyager probes and the need to start shutting down instruments as power decreases in the coming years 
Dr. Spilker's personal highlights from the mission, including the beauty of Saturn's rings, the geysers on Neptune's moon Triton, and hints of Saturn's moon Enceladus feeding the planet's E-ring 
Wishes for future exploration of the outer solar system, focusing on the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, Pluto, and other small worlds with rings 
Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik 
Guest: Dr. Linda Spilker 
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TWiS 110: Voyager 1's Brush with Silence - Saving an Icon With Project Scientist Dr. Linda Spilker

While we may not think of it very often, music has a long history of influencing how we think about spaceflight. From the scores of early silent films to the modern classics we all know, like 2001: A Space Odyssey and the never-ending franchises of Star Trek and Star Wars, we often have a riff going through our minds when we see a space image—few can hear Strauss' Blue Danube without thinking of the space station in 2001, or see a tilted yellow title scroll without hearing that first orchestral crash of John Williams' immortal Star Wars score. And, in real life, we had the talented astronaut Chris Hadfield performing David Bowie's classic hit Major Tom, augmented by upbeat lyrics. Space music is big, and Chris Carberry, CEO of Explore Mars and author of the recently released book The Music of Space, is here to tell us why! 
Headlines: 
China launches Chang'e-6 mission to the far side of the moon, aiming to collect and return the first-ever samples from this region 
Boeing completes final flight readiness review for the CFT crew flight test mission, set to launch on May 6th with a 95% chance of good weather 
James Webb Space Telescope successfully maps weather on exoplanet WASP-43 b, located 280 light years away, showcasing the telescope's potential for studying distant worlds 
Main Topic: The Music of Space 
Chris Carberry discusses his new book "The Music of Space: Scoring the Cosmos in Film and Television" and his motivation for exploring the connection between space and music 
Early examples of space-related music in film include the scores for "Metropolis" (1927) and the space documentary "Our Heavenly Bodies" (1920) 
The pivotal role of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" in using classical music to depict space, and how it influenced future filmmakers 
John Williams' iconic score for "Star Wars" (1977) marked a turning point in film scoring and revitalized orchestral music in cinema 
The concept of music as a universal language and its potential for communicating with alien civilizations 
Chris Hadfield's rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on the International Space Station and the challenges of playing music in microgravity 
The role of music in future space settlements, its impact on mental health, and how it may evolve in different environments like Mars 
Chris Carberry's previous book "Alcohol in Space" and the history of alcohol consumption in space missions 
The need for studying the effects of alcohol on human physiology in space as commercial spaceflight advances 
Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik 
Guest: Chris Carberry 
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TWiS 109: Music of the Spheres - Space Music with Chris Carberry

We've been waiting... and waiting... and waiting for Boeing's Starliner to fly. First selected in 2010, along with SpaceX's Crew Dragon, Starliner has been behind schedule for years. SpaceX got $2.6 billion for its six dragon flights, and Boeing received more at $4.3 billion, so you'd expect Boeing to be first to fly, right? Well, as of today, SpaceX has delivered crews to the International Space Station eight times, to Boeing's... zero. Delayed development, turbulence problems with the capsule on the Atlas launcher, stuck valves, flammable materials, and faulty parachute lines have all contributed to the delays. Boeing has flown two uncrewed missions—the first one a partial failure, with the second, funded by Boeing itself, flown to NASA's satisfaction. Now it's time to put a crew aboard. Will Boeing overcome their issues and deliver the goods? Join us. 
Headlines: 
Voyager's Return: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirms reestablishment of contact with Voyager 1 after five months of silence, overcoming communication challenges over vast interstellar distances. 
China's Shenzhou 18 and Tiangong Space Station: China successfully launches Shenzhou 18 to the Tiangong Space Station, which was recently hit by space debris, prompting China to revamp its space debris management strategies. 
International Partnerships for Lunar Research: China announces new international partnerships for its International Lunar Research Station, contrasting its progress with NASA's Artemis Accords. 
Main Topic: Boeing Starliner's Upcoming Mission 
Starliner's Crewed Test Flight: A detailed discussion on Boeing's upcoming Starliner mission, highlighting the spacecraft's capabilities, the crew's preparations, and the significance of this test flight. 
Spacecraft and Mission Overview: Insights into the Starliner's design, the choice of Atlas V rockets for the launch, and the planned landing procedures in the southwestern United States. 
Crew Profiles: Focus on the astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, discussing their backgrounds, roles in the mission, and expectations for the test flight. 
Closing Thoughts: Rod and Tariq wrap up with final thoughts on the importance of the Starliner mission for Boeing and NASA, discussing potential outcomes and what they signify for the future of commercial spaceflight. 
Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik 
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TWiS 74: Adrift in the Kuiper Belt? - Alan Stern of the New Horizons Mission

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