Russia will send an unmanned Soyuz to the ISS that will serve as a return vehicle for astronauts currently aboard who have no current ride home. Virgin Orbit's attempt to launch a satellite from British soil is unsuccessful but there were many successful elements of the mission. JWST has confirmed an exoplanet and TESS has discovered 2 exoplanets that could possibly sustain life orbiting the same sun. SpaceX has three launches in the works and one of them is Starship.

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SpaceX wrapped up 2022 with a record breaking launch and has plans to raise the bar with even more launches in 2023 planned. The discovery of opals on Mars tells geologists new information about water on Mars and could be a source of water, fuel and oxygen for a possible colony there. Plus South Korea has released an image from their first ever lunar orbiter. And NASA says farewell to Apollo astronaut Walter Cunningham.

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Part 2: This week, Wes and Shawn look back at the biggest space news stories of the year between July to December

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Part 1: This week, Wes and Shawn look back at the biggest space news stories of the year between January and June

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The coolant leak from the Soyuz docked with the ISS is said t o be significant and Wes and Shawn talk about what it means and what it could mean for astronauts on board. China's methan powered rocket failed to launch. There's been a lot of solar activity this week. Plus, updates on the occultation of Mars, the Geminid meteor shower and what was happening 50 years ago on the Moon.

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This week Wes and Shawn talk about the milestone anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission and their time on the Moon, plus the return trip of the Orion capsule and its incredible photo sent back to Earth. Also, the Geminid meteor shower is will soon be perfect for viewing in the night time sky and colliding neutron stars may be a source of long GRBs.

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On our 100th episode of Made of Stars, Wes and Shawn talk Orion and it's new record plus it's return home to Earth. Also, microbes could survive on Mars for a really long time. Two minerals never before fund on Earth have been discovered in a meteorite in Somalia. And scientists at CalTec are testing the possibility of sending data through a wormhole.

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Betelgeuse's dimming may have been the result of a passing black hole. GRBs don't always signal the birth of a black hole. Also, new studies suggest that planets and stars may form at the same time. Ellerman bombs have been captured in photos as the phenomenon occurred in Sunsport AR3140. Plus, Saturn's moon Enceladus may be more habitable than thought.

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The Artemis 1 has launched and the mission has begun as the SLS rocket successfully blasted into space heading for the Moon. A large piece of the Challenger shuttle was discovered by a documentary crew near the Bermuda Triangle. Plus a tiny radar satellite with study the effects of the DART mission and a very large satellite will provide communication while also obstructing space observers.

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SLS has been delayed yet again by a hurricane and now there's a use-by ticking clock on some of the parts. Also Hubble captured a supernova exploding 11.5 billion years ago, a black hole went cannial on a nearby star, and Mars InSight sends what may be its last photo.

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