The world's most visionary and ambitious entrepreneur continues to exceed expectations, with the recent successful launch of astronauts to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's state-of-the-art Crew Dragon capsule and Tesla's share price up 500%. We review the past 5 years as reported on the Beyond Infinity science and technology radio show.

Included is an early Musk 10-year master plan; Mars colony ambitions; Starlink broadband internet from orbit; boring under LA's traffic; recycling rockets; building the world's biggest battery in South Australia and pitching his Hyperloop transit system for Australia's East Coast.

Beyond Infinity's resident tech head John Young gives us the lowdown on Google's mesh router system. It's solved his wifi coverage issues and allows voice control throughout his house, garden and shed. He says while the Nest isn't cheap, it's an integral part of his home office set up.

Despite serious challenges on Earth, NASA has succeeded in launching the most sophisticated rover ever sent to Mars. We look at the mission's heritage of past landers, its design, radical landing system and amazing suite of new instruments. Its sample caching tools will gather and store Martian material for eventual return to Earth, paving the way for people to set foot on the Red Planet.

Piers chats with technology expert Michael Simonetti about Australia's COVIDSafe contact tracing app. How does it compare with overseas equivalents? Why has it only garnered limited public support? And why, after the initial hype, have authorities gone quiet about it? Michael reckons that perhaps they're getting the data they want from other, far more useful sources... (Part 1 of a 2 part interview)

Dr. Ian Storey, lecturer at Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, outlines the evolution of battery technology over the past 250 years. He describes how modern lithium ion batteries are getting more efficient and how solid state batteries offer an exciting future of long-range electric cars, better smart phones and pacemakers that never need changing.

We marvel at the extraordinary success of Tesla in becoming the world's most valuable car company. Meanwhile, driven by the environmental imperative of clean energy, wind and solar renewable technologies are dramatically improving. Part 1 of a 2 part interview with RMIT's Dr. Ian Storey.

Dr Ian Storey, lecturer in information systems at RMIT, ties together Newton's work on mathematical physics, forces and acceleration, James Clerk Maxwell's Four Laws which approximated the fundamental theory of quantum electrodynamics and Einstein's special relativity.

With America reeling from violent social unrest and the Administration's disastrous response to coronavirus, the Presidential election on Tuesday November 3 is arguably the most important in history. Here we look back over our coverage of the last 4 years - from the scientific backlash which followed soon after Trump's election in 2016, Russia's targeting of US democracy via hacking and social media, rejection of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, through to the Doomsday Clock ticking closer to midnight and breaches of security protocols at the White House.

John's been hunting for a new phone to replace his aging Pixel 2. He reckons mid-range makers are increasingly competitive with premium models and is attracted by the new high spec offering from Chinese brand Oppo. Its battery with super-fast charging, in-screen fingerprint unlock, bright amoled screen and advanced cameras compare well against the latest Samsung and Google devices. For an Oppo, it aint cheap, but is worth considering with a long list of goodies.

After presidential tweet “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” was deemed to violate Twitter Rules by glorifying violence, the White House issued an Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship which could have global ramifications and is likely to be challenged in the courts. Though he has well over 80 million followers and has fired off tens of thousands of tweets, President Trump continues to complain about anti-conservative bias on the platform.