Naked Astronomy, from the Naked Scientists

We celebrate the 40th anniversary of the flight of the first black astronaut, Gui Bluford and speak to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortes, directors of The Space Race, which tells the story of the men who should have become astronauts in the 1960s - Ed Dwight and Bob Lawrence. Also, India's landing on the Moon and the demise of the European Space Agency's ESA Aeolus satellite in music. Plus, ever wondered how to pronounce Space Boffins in Persian? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month it's all about the space environment - how do you remove space debris from orbit and make space more sustainable? The Earth Space Sustainability Initiative's (ESSI) Stuart Clark discusses missions to remove dead satellites, and Nick Shave of Astroscale and Clearspace's Rory Holmes explain their missions. Plus, light pollution problems: night skies so bright, some people never see the Moon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Irish journalist Leo Enright joins us to discuss commentating on Apollo 17, an unfortunate celebrity encounter, the world's first astronomers, 20 years of Mars Express, sun angles on the Moon and the worst-named European mission. Sue continues her reports from the Artemis European Service Module cleanroom in Germany, talking to ESA's head of human and robotic exploration, David Parker. She also meets Bill Hartwell from NASA to chat about the success of Orion and working with Russia in space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA's new head of science, Dr Nicola Fox, joins Space Boffins to chat about Mars sample return, solar missions and asteroids. Also, ESA new astronaut recruit, Pablo Alvarez, and experienced astronaut Alexander Gerst on preparations for the Artemis missions to the Moon, and we discuss the joy of boffins, Starship's rapid unscheduled disassembly and which ESA astronaut will be the first to step on the lunar surface? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

European Space Agency Juice mission to Jupiter's Michele Dougherty talks about icy moons, magnetic fields and life elsewhere in the solar system, and the UK Space Agency's Caroline Harper discusses the Juice launch preparations in French Guiana. Also, the hidden history of Space Shuttle Enterprise: Eric Boehm at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum talks about the prototype shuttle's test flights and the aftermath of the Columbia disaster and the military space shuttle. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What's the toilet like in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft? ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer reveals what a mission in the Dragon is like, from business class seats and spacious interior, to privacy curtain and dramatic return to Earth. Also, his Cosmic Kiss mission to the International Space Station and his work on future Moon missions. Plus, author Meredith Bagby on her new book about the 35 New Guys - the group of Space Shuttle astronauts who changed spaceflight forever... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Physicist and philosopher Sean Carrol talks to Naked Astronomy's Ben McAllister about the nature of time. Is it something truly fundamental to our Universe, or simply an illusion? Along the way they chat about space, relativity, the various ways to travel through time, and how that all relates to the emergence of life in the Universe.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Hubble astronaut Mike Massimino and UK 'Space Minister' George Freeman MP talk about inspiration from Apollo, Artemis, Hubble and what astronaut legend John Young imparted about going to the toilet on the Moon. We also touch on launches from the UK, the recent European Space Agency (ESA) Council of Ministers meeting, astronauts, Mars and cleaning up space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Physicist and science populariser Paul Davies talks to Naked Astronomy's Ben McAllister about some of the toughest questions cosmologist are grappling with: how did the Universe begin and how will it end, what provoked the Big Bang, and are we part of a "Multiverse"? The duo also take in Dark Matter, extraterrestrial beings, consciousness, free will and whether it exists, and the origins of life itself... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Nasa's outgoing head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen talks about saving the James Webb Space Telescope, future missions to the Moon and Mars, and research into UFOs. The team also visit the Science Museum's sci-fi exhibition and talk to its curator, Glyn Morgan, about Aliens, Star Trek and AI. Plus, the seeds that accompanied Shaun the Sheep on the Artemis 1 mission and what they mean for growing food on the Moon and Mars. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists