Are We There Yet?

Two attempts to launch NASA’s new moon rocket SLS and deep space capsule Orion have been waived off -- facing a handful of issues including a hydrogen leak. Now, engineers are working on fixing the issues for an attempt as soon as the end of this month as NASA faces pressure to get this long-delayed and over-budget rocket to the moon.

Two attempts to launch NASA’s new moon rocket SLS and deep space capsule Orion have been waived off -- facing a handful of issues including a hydrogen leak. Now, engineers are working on fixing the issues for an attempt as soon as the end of this month as NASA faces pressure to get this long-delayed and over-budget rocket to the moon.

It’s the first mission of NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on an uncrewed trip around the moon and back testing key systems of the vehicle before astronauts fly on it next.

In an update released Monday, NASA says the ground team will test that fix at the pad this week and could try once more to launch the vehicle as early as September 27.

But it’s more than just a hydrogen leak keeping Artemis I on the ground. NASASpaceflight.com's assistant managing editor Chris Gebhardt joins the show to break down the issues facing SLS rocket and NASA’s plan to prepare for the vehicle’s maiden flight from Kennedy Space Center.

NASA is heading back to the moon and some of our youngest listeners have some really important questions about the future of exploration.

A historian discusses how NASA's new moon missions differ from the Apollo flights of the 1960s and 70s. Plus, a look at the criticism of the Artemis program and why it's worth the cost.

In less than a week, NASA plans to launch its Artemis I mission on an uncrewed flight around the moon and back.

It’s the first time NASA is launching a space capsule designed to take humans to the moon since the Apollo program which aimed to beat the Soviets to the lunar surface in the 1960s. But this mission is much different than NASA’s last moonshot. We'll speak with University of Central Florida history professor Amy Foster about the differences in the programs.

Then, the Artemis program faces criticism for being behind schedule and over budget. Is it worth it? We catch up with space policy analyst Laura Forczyk to discuss the cost and anticipated returns of NASA's Artemis program.

A look back at Curiosity's decade of exploring Mars and what's ahead for the red planet rover. Plus, the Space Coast braces for at least 100,000 spectators as NASA launches Artemis I.

A robotic explorer on Mars is celebrating 10 years on the red planet. NASA’s Curiosity rover launched from Cape Canaveral in 2011 and landed on Mars in August 2012.

Its mission is to explore the geology of Mars and determine if the planet ever contained conditions favorable to life in a region called Gale Crater. Despite a decade on the planet -- there’s no sign of the robot slowing down.

So what has curiosity learned? And what’s ahead after a decade of discovery so far? We’re joined by Amy Williams, an assistant professor of Geology at the University of Florida and a member of the Curiosity rover’s science team.

Then, the launch of NASA’s Artemis I mission is less than two weeks away and the space coast is bracing for an influx of spectators. While this mission will carry no crew, it’s still drumming up lots of interest as NASA launches the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for the first time.

We'll speak with Florida Today's space reporter Emre Kelly about what the Space Coast might expect for this upcoming launch.

As more countries and companies leave the planet, governing space is getting increasingly more complicated.

Last year, the Russian military blew up a defunct satellite in orbit -- creating tens of thousands of pieces of space debris that remain a threat to astronauts and satellites in space.

The U.S. government condemned the test and vowed to not conduct similar weapons tests in space. But according to the Outer Space Treaty, an international agreement signed by 112 countries aimed at governing space, the missile test was legal.

And as more countries and companies leave the planet, governing space is getting increasingly more complicated.

We speak with Michelle Hanlon, a space attorney, instructor at University of Mississippi Schoo of Law, and co-founder of For All Moonkind about the foundations of the Outer Space Treaty and the challneges ahaead. Then, we speak with Aaron Boley, co-director of The Outer Space Institute, an interdisciplinary organization looking at these risks and possible solutions.

How can the James Webb Space Telescope help us spot other Earth-like worlds? Plus, a conversation with Planetary Radio's Mat Kaplan about his two decades hosting the show.