Wes and Shawn are joined by Chief Technologist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and author Les Johnson to talk about the symbiotic relationship of science and science fiction and his upcoming appearance at Dragon Con as both a scientist and an author. 

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SpaceX is set to launch the X-37B tonight if the weather allows. A fireball exploded above Japan this week lighting up the night sky. Arctic aurora season has begun. Comet 3I/ATLAS has a backward tail. 

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NASA astronaut Jim Lovell passed away at the age of 97 and his story is more than just Apollo 13. Artemis 2 is doing more preparation for a February to April launch next year. The meteorite that crashed into a Georgia home is older than Earth. And the Perseid meteor shower isn't quite done yet.  

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It's a crowded house aboard the ISS with 11 crew members on board. Crew-10 is preparing to leave and make things a little less crowded. Bitch Wilmore has decided to retire from NASA after 25 years. A CME is pointed at Earth and could bring aurora to high latitudes. Plus, a dead star is sending out radio signals. 

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NASA's Crew 11 scheduled to launch today. NASA and JPL have announced their plans for a sequel to the Ingenuity helicopter. The recently discovered interstellar comet is massive. An asteroid that has a very small chance of colliding with the Moon could send a lot of lunar debris to Earth. It seems that the long speculated companion star to Betelgeuse has been confirmed. 

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NASA's Crew-10 will hold a press conference to update their mission and talk about their return home. Scientists have discovered a new giant molecular cloud in the center of the Milky Way. A 3rd interstellar comet has been observed entering our solar system. Plus an asteroid will make a pass by the Earth but it's nothing to worry about. And there's no solar eclipse on August 2 of this year that will cause the planet to go completely dark but there will be an eclipse two years later that will cause darkness in the band of totality the same way every eclipse does. 

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Wes recaps stargazing in Australia before talking about the Bogong Moths that use the stars to navigate their migration patterns. Plus, Ax-4's crew is now back on Earth after making history for three countries. The DART mission has more fruit to bear. Apollo Soyuz celebrates 50 years and it's been 25 year since the Bastille Day Event. 

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Venus Aerospace successfully flew the world’s first atmospheric test of a rotating
detonation rocket engine that could eventually lead to a 55 minute trip from NY to Paris. Why does the Moon have magnetic rocks? Scientists have a new strongest solar storm ever recorded. Scientists now know how the lights turned on at the bebinning of time.   

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This week we honor an American hero who walked and drove a car on the moon. 

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Wes and Shawn interviewed Col. Al Worden in 2011. He passed away in 2020. This week we look back to that interview. 

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