Are We There Yet?

Astronauts on the International Space Station use a specialized suit called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, to work outside the space station safely.

The suits were delivered to the station in the 1980s and are in need of an upgrade. The suits made headlines earlier this year when what would be the first all-female spacewalk was postponed due to a lack of sizing for the innards of one of the EMUs.

Florida Today space reporter Antonia Jaramillo took a look at the history of the suit, the challenges NASA faces upgrading the equipment and what the agency is thinking about for moon or Mars suits in a piece published earlier this month.

Astronauts on the International Space Station use a specialized suit called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, to work outside the space station safely. The suits were delivered to the station in the 1980s and are in need of an upgrade.

As opportunities grow, space philosopher Frank White says it’s time to start thinking about issues arising out of the human expansion into our solar system.

White is the author of “The Overview Effect” which chronicles the cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from outer space.

But now more and more humans will leave this planet, thanks to private companies like Blue Origin & Virgin Galactic — and other thinkers and innovators like Elon Musk foresee a future where people live on other planets.

In his new book “The Cosma Hypothesis,” White challenges us to think about broad, philosophical issues that relate to human spaceflight and to outline some ground rules for all of humanity to follow.

As opportunities grow, space philosopher Frank White says it's time to start thinking about issues arising out of the human expansion into our solar system.

It has been a busy few weeks for moon news. Just last week, the Israeli non-profit SpaceIL attempted to land on the surface on the moon — a first for a private group. While the landing wasn’t successful, the attempt garnered the support of hundreds of thousands of people around the globe watching the event unfold in real time.

Last month, the Trump administration charged NASA with putting humans on the moon in the next five years. NASA’s administrator Jim Bridenstine has been busy lining up the details — from securing funding from Congress to figuring out what rockets to use to get there.

So to make sense of all this moon we’re joined by Alex Stuckey, space and science reporter at the Houston Chronicle.

It has been a busy few weeks for moon news. Just last week, the Israeli non-profit SpaceIL attempted to land on the surface on the moon -- a first for a private group. Last month, the Trump administration charged NASA with putting humans on the moon in the next five years.

An asteroid some 50 million miles away is spewing pebble and rock-sized debris — and scientists don’t know why. The findings are the latest from a robotic spacecraft on a mission to visit the asteroid.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft took images of the surface of asteroid Bennu spewing particles into space and some are raining back down on the rocky surface.

The spacecraft is set to fly close to the surface of the asteroid, collect a sample of the particles and send it back to Earth.

Planetary scientists hope findings from Bennu can uncover how our solar system formed. But the initial findings, especially the observations of the asteroid spewing debris into space, are raising even more questions about asteroids.

Joining us in the studio is University of Central Florida’s Humberto Campins. He is co-investigator on the mission and joins us to talk about the newest findings and what questions investigators still have.

An asteroid some 50 million miles away is spewing pebble and rock-sized debris — and scientists don’t know why. The findings are the latest from a robotic spacecraft on a mission to visit the asteroid.

UCF’s Phil Metzger, WMFE’s Brendan Byrne and WKMG’s Emilee Speck

For the past three years, WMFE’s podcast Are We There Yet? has asked “when it comes to putting humans on Mars, are we there yet?” As the program reaches its third year, host Brendan Byrne asks the question to planetary scientist Phil Metzger and journalist Emilee Speck.

From lunar beer to Martian architecture, there’s still a lot of challenges to overcome before humans can step foot on another world. UCF’s Phil Metzger joins the show to talk about those hurdles and the work being done here on Earth to put humans on Mars.

And WKMG’s Emilee Speck recaps the past three years in spaceflight news — from robots dying to Dragons launching — and what’s on the horizon for human deep space exploration.

This episode was recorded live from the WMFE studios in Orlando, Florida, and live-streamed on YouTube. You can look back at the taping here.

For the past three years, WMFE's podcast has asked "when it comes to putting humans on Mars, are we there yet?" As the program reaches its third year, host Brendan Byrne asks the question to planetary scientist Phil Metzger and journalist Emilee Speck.