Space Junk

In this episode, Chris Johnson from the Secure World Foundation joins me to do a deep dive on the curious news about an Israeli spacecraft crash landing onto the moon, and potentially releasing thousands of little critters called tardigrades onto the lunar surface. We ask such important questions as 'what is a tardigrade?', explore the ins and outs of international planetary protection laws, and explain why, even though it's highly unlikely the tardigrades will ever manage to colonise the moon, this case still matters.

More information can be found in the series of essays published by Chris Johnson, Dan Porras, and others in The Space Review.
Part 1: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3783/1
Part 2: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3786/1

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To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, I tracked down Dylan O'Donnell, one of Australia's leading amateur astrophotographers, in beautiful Byron Bay. Dylan is also the creator of the 'Star Stuff' festival.

In this episode we speak about astronomy, the state of science in Australia, the power of space to inspire, and the rising mistrust in science and authority more generally. We also chat about the ethics of technological development, Musk's StarLink satellites, and whether the 'giant leap for mankind' has been realised.

You can find Dylan's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgOf4wBnoGg8WHHHr_h4otQ

and his Twitter here: https://twitter.com/erfmufn?lang=en

He's also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylan_odonnell_/?hl=en

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In this episode I talk with Daniel Porras, a Space Security Fellow at UNIDIR, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. Daniel focuses on political and legal issues surrounding space security and, in particular, the progressive development of sustainable norms of behaviour for space. We talk about space weaponization, space debris, and India's recent ASAT test.

Daniel's full bio can be found here: http://www.unidir.org/about/staff/daniel-porras

In the spirit of disarmament, Daniel has selected Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' from their 1970 album 'Paranoid' to begin and end this podcast. The version used in this podcast can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQUXuQ6Zd9w

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In this podcast, I chat to Professor Steven Freeland, international space law expert and current Dean of Law at Western Sydney University, about the challenges and opportunities posed by the international legal regime that governs our activities in space.

What is international law? how does it work? How do advances in technology drive or impede its efficacy? Where does Australia fit into the international space community? And why is it irresponsible to talk about weapons in space? We tackle it all over tea and cookies.

Steven's musical choice for this episode is Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries', performed here by the Berlin Philharmonic in 1998. You can find the entire performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P73Z6291Pt8

Steven also recommends a movie called Moon. You can find the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q

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In this episode I sit down with Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). Malcolm's research focuses on defence strategy and capability development, military technology, and the future of warfare. In this episode we talk about the importance of space to national security, what a hybrid cyber / space war might look like, and what space activities by Russia, the USA and a rising China mean for Australia's strategic future. This episode was recorded at the Avalon Airshow 2019. The music is the Blue Danube Waltz by Strauss, as it appears in Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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In this episode I talk with Ben Piggott, a submariner and Communications and Information Warfare Officer with the Royal Australian Navy. Ben did his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and recently completed his Masters of Space Operations at UNSW Canberra. He is Secretary of the Australian Youth Aerospace Association and on the Future Strategic Leaders Committee of the Institute for Regional Security. We discuss phase zero, submarines, space weaponry, thought-collectives, and the future of warfare.

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In September 2018 the 69th annual International Astronautical Congress was held in Bremen, Germany. In this episode I take you through the event from start to finish, with music from the opening ceremony and interviews with international attendees. There is a particular focus on the Australian Space Agency.

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Part 2 of my conversation with visiting NASA Sagan Fellow and exoplanet-studying astrophysicist Dr Ben Pope is a lot like a Jane Austen novel. We unpack our prejudice against the Humanity Star and Musk's space Tesla, we spend a lot of time talking about money and the elite, and ultimately find common ground in our mutual embarrassment about Australia's obsession with STEM.
We hope you enjoy this wild ride through politics, philosophy, sociology and stolen biccies.

Ben did his undergraduate degree in Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Sydney. He then completed a PhD at Balliol College, Oxford, where he most notably competed on the winning team in University Challenge, 2017. Ben currently lives in the USA where he researches exoplanets.

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In this episode I sit down with visiting NASA Sagan Fellow, Dr Ben Pope, to talk about Space Force. What is it, and why is there such controversy? In a wide ranging conversation that covers history, politics, art, science and sociology, we discuss everything from communist cowboys to our vision for the future of Australia's new Space Agency.

Ben did his undergraduate degree in Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Sydney. He then completed a PhD at Balliol College, Oxford, where he most notably competed on the winning team in University Challenge, 2017. Ben currently lives in the USA where he researches planets surrounding other stars in our galaxy

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/space-junk-podcast.

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