On The Space Show for Wednesday, 25 March 2026:

The announcement of a major change in direction and focus for NASA with Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator. (Courtesy NASA HQ)

Policy as a compass for Australia's lunar future with Jeremy Kruckel, a member of the Space Association of Australia.

The lunar discoveries of LRO 

A summary of the achievements of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter since its launch in 2009. (Courtesy GSFC)

Turn Back Time: Luna 10

Sixty Years ago, Luna 10 became the first craft to be placed into orbit around the Moon, and how a 'swifty' was pulled on the Communist Party Congress.

Should spacefarers have their appendix removed before a long-duration mission? Also, reflections on the lack of aerospace medical training in Australia with Dr Rowena Christiansen, Medical School, University of Melbourne. 

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 18 March 2026:

Artemis II Mission Update: Read the latest update here.

Post-Shuttle Changes to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

As preparations are being made for the launch of Artemis II by the second Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, we pop back to 2014 when Mike Bolger (Program Manager, Ground Systems Development and Operations, KSC, Florida) described the ground infrastructure changes being made in preparation for the SLS and commercial operators, and Chris Crumbly (Manager, Space Launch System Payload Integration and Evolution, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama) set out the status of the Space Launch System. (Inserts courtesy KSC)

Stools in Space: An Excremental History of the Space Age

The answer to every child's (everyone’s?) question about human spaceflight provided by: Walter Cunningham (Apollo 7 astronaut), Jim Lovell (Gemini 7 & 12 and Apollo 8 & 13 astronaut), Richard Scheuring (NASA Flight Surgeon), Wally Funk (Mercury 13 candidate and Blue Origin NS-16 commercial spaceflight participant), and David Munns (researcher).

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 11 March 2026:

Artemis II Crew Briefing — 24 September 2025 

In anticipation of their forthcoming historic flight, the four members of the Artemis II crew discuss their planned mission around the Moon and answer questions from the media. (Inserts courtesy JSC) 

Turn Back Time: 60th Anniversary of Gemini 8 

The story of the near-disastrous flight of Gemini 8 is told via a series of contemporary recordings "as it happened". (Inserts courtesy NZBC, VOA and ABC)

Precursor audio: Recordings from the NZBC, VOA and Andrew Rennie, describing the visit to Australia and New Zealand by astronauts Frank Borman and Wally Schirra soon after their Gemini 7 and Gemini 6 space missions. Also, some of Andrew's photos of the event.

You can access these recordings and photographs here.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 21 December 2022:

50th Anniversary of Apollo 17 - Part III: On the Shoulders of Giants

Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Jim Lovell in conversation with journalist Phil Rogers at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium on 13 November 2012.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 4 March 2026:

Dart AE hypersonic demonstrator by Hypersonix Launch Systems

The launch of Queensland's Hypersonix Launch Systems Dart AE hypersonic aircraft on a modified Rocket Lab Electron (HASTE) rocket. (Inserts courtesy HLS, Rocket Lab)

Space Show News:

 * Update on Artemis II launch delay.

 * Changes to the Artemis program: NASA revises plans for future Artemis missions, updates architecture and cancels upgrades to SLS

Lost Armstrong: 

Bemoaning the fact that there is no definitive photograph of Neil Armstrong standing on the Moon. 

Turn Back Time:

Sixty years ago, Cosmos 110 carried two dogs into the Van Allen radiation belt; Intelsat decided to use geostationary satellites; Venera 2 and Venera 3 reached Venus; and Gemini 8 was being prepared for an ambitious flight. (Inserts courtesy NZBC, BBC, VOA, Radio Australia, Radio Moscow)

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 25 February 2026:

Space Show News:

Artemis II's second launch delay

After a successful wet-dress rehearsal, the Artemis II launch has been delayed at least until April by a helium flow problem in the Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage. The Space Launch System (SLS) has been moved back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida for inspection and repairs.

NASA Releases Boeing CST-100 Report on Crewed Flight Test Investigation

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman describes the report on the problems with the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and gives an assurance that it will not fly with a crew until it is certified safe.

The Space Show in conversation with:

• Zac Warton, Team Co-lead of Monash Nova Rover of Monash University, Clayton, discussing the NOVA Rover competition, funding, rover improvements, sideways driving, and promoting women's involvement.

• Assoc. Prof. Daniel Eddington-Mitchell, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering's Shock Laboratory at Monash University, Clayton, discussing resonance in rocket nozzles.

• Qibin Xu, PhD Student at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, discussing satellite signal processing in progressive integrity evaluation.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 18 February 2026: 

Space Show News:

AtSpace conducts successful launch of Australian-made A01 rocket at the Southern Launch Koonibba Test Range. 

On 27 November 2025, AtSpace, a Brisbane-based rocket manufacturer, entered the rocketry record books by successfully launching their Australian-made A01 rocket higher than any other Australian commercial rocket has gone before.

Private spacecraft will give NASA's Swift space telescope an orbital boost

Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies has scored a contract to raise the altitude of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which has been losing altitude due to atmospheric drag.

IAC 2025 Opening Ceremony — Part 3

Historical memories from Paul Scully-Powers, Katherine Bennell-Pegg and Roger Franzen, and the presentation of the IAF World Space Award to the Chang'e 6 Team. (Inserts courtesy IAC & CGTN)

Space Show News:

Landslides on the Moon

Turn Back Time: Arrokoth 

New Horizons team members Alan Stern, Cathy Olkin, Carly Howett and Jeff Moore respond to reporters' questions on the day after the 2019 January 1 flyby of the Kuiper Belt asteroid Arrokoth. (Courtesy JHU) 

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 11 February 2026: 

Turn Back Time: Voyager 2 at Uranus 

Ed Stone, Project Scientist, describes the findings of Voyager 2 at Uranus, 40 years ago. (Insert courtesy JPL)

Perseverance rover status update

The status of the Perseverance rover, and future plans for exploration and rock sample collection with Steve Reid, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California (Courtesy AGU)

IAC 2025 Opening Ceremony - Part 2

The remarks of Australian Governor-General Ms Sam Mostyn AC, and historical memories from Kerrie Dougherty, Owen Mace, John Saxon and Gordon Pike from the opening ceremony. (Inserts courtesy IAC)

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 4 February 2026: 

The Space Show is in conversation with Angelo Di Grazia, a Committee member of the ⁠Space Association of Australia⁠.

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Space Show News —

The Artemis II launch has been delayed by at least one month due to a hydrogen leak during a wet dress rehearsal.

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Ensuring American Space Superiority: A new U.S. space policy directive —

On 18 December 2025, President Trump signed an executive order entitled Ensuring American Space Superiority – essentially the new cornerstone of U.S. National Space Policy. 

Key highlights: 

• ​Moon missions accelerated — Americans back on the lunar surface by 2028 (with Artemis), with the first pieces of a permanent lunar outpost established by 2030. 
• ​Space nuclear power push — Deploy reactors in orbit and on the Moon, including a surface reactor launch-ready by 2030. 
• ​National security focus — Build next-gen missile defence tech (including space-based) by 2028, develop strategies to detect/counter threats (even nuclear weapons in orbit) all the way out to cislunar space, and make the military space architecture more resilient and commercial-friendly. 
• ​Commercial boom — Aim to pull in an extra 50 billion dollars of private investment by 2028, ramp up launch cadence, replace the ISS with private stations by 2030, and reform acquisitions to favour fast, commercial solutions. 
• ​Organisational changes — Revokes the old executive order re-establishing the National Space Council (first Trump administration/Biden administration), shifts coordination to the President's science advisor, and tweaks older policies on space traffic management. 

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A word from the new NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman —

On 19 December 2025, the newly appointed NASA Administrator addressed the agency's staff about his vision for the future of NASA and answered questions from members of the workforce.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 28 January 2026: 

The 40th anniversary of the STS 51-L disaster that destroyed the Space Shuttle Challenger and killed seven astronauts on 28 January 1986.

STS-51-L would have been the 25th mission of the NASA Space Shuttle program. Tragically, the Challenger and her crew were lost in an explosion 73 seconds after liftoff from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B.  After a lengthy investigation, the cause was determined to be an o-ring failure in the right solid rocket booster aggravated by extreme cold weather in Florida before the launch.

The mission was planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight, in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six days and performing a routine satellite deployment. 

The Challenger crew:

• Francis R. Scobee, Commander
• Michael J. Smith, Pilot
• Judith A. Resnik, Mission Specialist
• Ellison S. Onizuka, Mission Specialist
• Ronald E. McNair, Mission Specialist
• S. Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space
• Gregory B. Jarvis, Payload Specialist