Are We There Yet?

This week we’re talking with Alan Ladwig about his new book “See You in Orbit.” It chronicles the efforts to get regular humans, not just astronauts, into space. You probably heard us talk about those efforts after the Challenger disaster and into the era of commercial space tourism -- but the story of civilians in space starts long before that.

In this bonus interview for Are We There Yet?, Ladwig takes us back to the start…

Companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are on the brink of launching a new class of astronauts into space -- ordinary people. The experiences promise to give space tourists a new perspective on the world and experience the feeling of weightlessness. How will space tourism change the way we think about space and our planet?

We’ll chat with Alan Ladwig -- former NASA official and author of the new book “See You in Orbit” about the history of civilians in space and the prospect of ordinary citizens leaving this planet.

Then, NASA has its sights set on the moon -- the south pole of the moon, specifically -- because of the evidence of water. But just how much water is there at the poles of the moon? And how do we know? We’ll ask our panel of expert scientists this week.

this week we’re talking with Alan Ladwig about his new book “See You in Orbit.”

Companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are on the brink of launching a new class of astronauts into space -- ordinary people. The experiences promise to give space tourists a new perspective on the world and experience the feeling of weightlessness. How will space tourism change the way we think about space and our planet?

A new mission to study the sun launched this week from Cape Canaveral. For the first time, scientists will get a look at the poles of the sun, thanks to the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. The mission is a joint venture between the European Space Agency and NASA and will join other spacecraft studying the sun like the Parker Solar Probe.

So how will Solar Orbiter help better our understanding of the sun and its effects here on Earth? We’ll speak with NASA scientist Alex Young about the new era of heliophysics.

Then, a listener wants to know a little more about Tabby’s Star — it’s a star located in the constellation Cygnus. A space telescope captured some funky behavior of the star — so what’s up? We’ll ask our panel of expert scientists this week on our segment “I’d Like to Know”.

A new mission to study the sun launched this week from Cape Canaveral. For the first time, scientists will get a look at the poles of the sun, thanks to the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. The mission is a joint venture between the European Space Agency and NASA and will join other spacecraft studying the sun like the Parker Solar Probe.

The House is moving through a new authorization bill. While these pieces of legislation are usually unremarkable, this one is getting a lot of attention. That’s because this bill would significantly alter NASA’s current plans to head to the moon in 2024 and establish a permanent presence there, instead focusing on a human mission to Mars in the 2030s.

To unpack the politics of the plan, we’ll speak with Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate & Senior Space Policy Adviser at the Planetary Society.

READ: Casey Dreier’s Policy Analysis on Planetary.org

Then, a listener asks “Where’s the love for Neptune and Uranus?” There have been no science missions to the ice giants since the Voyager flybys of the 1980s? What gives? We’ll ask our panel of experts on this week’s segment “I’d Like to Know” about the prospects of a ice giant mission and the likelihood it will happen this decade.

The House is moving through a new authorization bill. While these pieces of legislation are usually unremarkable, this one is getting a lot of attention.

A spacecraft more than 160 million miles away is about to suck up some asteroid dust — then send it back to Earth. The OSIRIS-REx mission will collect the sample from Bennu this summer and mission managers are carefully planning the maneuver.

Scientists hope to uncover the building blocks of early life in the universe when the sample arrives back here on Earth in 2023.

We’ll talk with mission scientist Humberto Campins about the final site selected by the team and the surprises OSIRIS-REx uncovered along the way.

Then, the star Betelgeuse is causing quite a stir after astronomers observed the star brightening and dimming in the night sky. Is it going to blow up? We’ll talk with our panel of experts on this week’s segment “I’d Like to Know.”

A spacecraft more than 160 million miles away is about to suck up some asteroid dust -- then send it back to Earth. The OSIRIS-REx mission will collect the sample from Bennu this summer and mission managers are carefully planning the maneuver.