Are We There Yet?

A spacecraft is about to launch on a mission to the sun, coming closer than any other spacecraft has ever come before and zooming through the solar system with mind-boggling speed.

The Parker Solar Probe is being sent to our star to study its corona. Scientists hope they can uncover some of the mysteries of the corona and help better predict space weather. And because we probably won’t get to any other stars anytime soon, scientists say they’ll use the data from the mission to better understand the other stars in our universe.

Parker launches from Kennedy Space Center August 11 on a ULA Delta IV Heavy. Ahead of the launch, we spoke with Alex Young, Associate Director for Science, Heliophysics Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

A spacecraft is about to launch on a mission to the sun, coming closer than any other spacecraft has ever come before and zooming through the solar system with mind-boggling speed.

I’m sure you saw the headlines this week: “Water on Mars.” It’s a huge discovery on the red planet but what does it mean for our future exploration on Mars?

A study published this week in Science unveiled the discovery of the possibility of an underground body of water.

The findings are tantalizing to scientists who are searching for signs of life on the red planet or to use as a resource to create fuel for future human explorers.

To break down the news we’re joined by Dan Batcheldor, head of physics at Florida Tech.

The discovery of water evidence is a huge discovery on the red planet but what does it mean for our future exploration on Mars?

Like all planets, the Earth and Mars orbit the sun but they do it at different speeds. Earth orbits about twice as fast as Mars, so every two years or so, they catch up to each other.

The Mars Opposition is happening at the end of this month. That means Mars and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, giving an up-close view of the red planet – the closest it has been in 15 years. 

To talk more about this event we’re joined by Derek Demeter to the podcast. He’s an astronomer, astrophotographer and Director of Seminole State College Planetarium in Central Florida.

The Mars Opposition is happening at the end of this month. That means Mars and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, giving an up-close view of the red planet - the closest it has been in 15 years.

A simulated Mars mission was cut short earlier this year after a crew member was injured. Just what happened in the fake Mars habitat in Hawaii and what does that mean for future experiments?

Last year we spoke with a participant in the HI-SEAS experiment. That’s the simulated Mars base camp that’s actually in Hawaii. It’s a chance for scientists to observe how people live in work in the simulated isolation of a future Mars mission.

Well, the program was heading into its 6th mission back in February, but something happened that cut it short.

Marina Koren is a science reporter at The Atlantic. Her piece When a Mars Simulation Goes Wrong takes a deep dive into what happened that halted the experiment and what this means for future martian analogs.

A simulated Mars mission was cut short earlier this year after a crew member was injured. Just what happened in the fake Mars habitat in Hawaii and what does that mean for future experiments?

In the 1960s, it was up to programmers like Alice Schmidt to help bring Gemini capsules safely home.

Schmidt was a member of an IBM programming team hired by NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center to analyze re-entry trajectories and guidance navigation to drop the Gemini capsule in a specific area in the ocean for recovery. The Gemini program was an important step in getting humans to the moon.

Schmidt joins the podcast to talk about her work with NASA, what it was like being a female programmer, and just how her team figured out complicated computations using only punch cards and pencils.

In the 1960s, it was up to programmers like Alice Schmidt to help bring Gemini capsules safely home.