This Week in Space (Audio)

It's the end of summer, and what a summer it's been in spaceflight! We're overdue for a roundup of the latest and greatest of all the accomplishments in space this year. Join Tariq—surely one of the brightest space reporters out there (I mean, the guy runs Space.com)—and Rod, one of the grumpiest truthtellers in space news, for this grand look at where we've been and what's coming. Plus three—count 'em, three—space jokes. It's the most fun you can have on the launchpad!

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

Our favorite Martian and Arctic explorer is back! Dr. Pascal Lee has returned from his 25th season at the Haughton-Mars Project Arctic base, and what a field season he had! New space suits were tested, Moon drills were tried, his analog pressurized Mars rover was fixed and tested, and Apollo the Space Dog patrolled for polar bears as he always does. Come and join us for this exciting update.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Pascal Lee

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsor:

Ever since the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter first confirmed the presence of water on the Moon, the rush has been on, as both Russia and India proved last week. Why is finding water there so important? How did the LRO probe first make the detection? What else has LRO been up to since reaching the Moon in 2019? Finally, what are the next steps? We'll find out from the source--Dr. Noah Petro, Project Scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter!

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Dr. Noah Petro

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsor:

We still love us some space conspiracies! This week, Tariq and I discuss more of our favorites--from the "the Earth is flat!" to the deadly Planet X (or "Planet 9," as self-avowed Pluto-Killer Mike Brown calls it--though he may end up with naming rights), we'll look at, discuss, and debunk more of the wackiest conspiracies ever... because, "the truth is out there--or maybe, just maybe, it's in our heads, after all. Be incredulous!

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsor:

For decades, all the planets of the solar system had been reconnoitered—except Pluto. That last planetary body had been seen, at best, as just a faint smudge by the Hubble Space Telescope. Then, in 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft sped by Pluto, sending back a swath of exciting images and science data, transforming our view of the planet. It subsequently visited the Kuiper Belt object Arrakoth and may rendezvous with another, more distant body—or not. NASA's new budget seems to spell the end of active science for New Horizons, something that does not sit well with the program's Principal Investigator, Dr. Alan Stern. Join Alan as he speaks with us about this very exciting project and what it may take to keep it alive.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Alan Stern

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsor:

Not all asteroids are created equal, and 16 Psyche, one of the largest, is extremely dense in metals, making it unique. Is the 140-mile giant the leftover core of a failed planet, or a more recent gravitational accretion of metal-rich bodies? Will it help us to understand how metallic cores—like Earth's—form and function? NASA's sending a spacecraft, also called Pysche, to find out. The mission is led by Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, who joins Rod and bestselling author Daniel Suarez to explain what makes Psyche—both the asteroid and the mission—so fascinating.

Host: Rod Pyle

Guests: Daniel Suarez and Lindy Elkins-Tanton

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

Some communities in the US are poised for exponential expansion into the newspace economy, and Brownsville, Texas, is one of the key spots. Rick Jenet's nonprofit, Expanding Frontiers, is working to see that Brownsville becomes a key hub for space development. As the southernmost spot in the continental U.S., it is ideally situated for commercial space activity, launch, and control. Expanding Frontiers' many programs service students, veterans, aspiring space entrepreneurs, and women. It's a fantastic model for cultivating the newspace economy!

Host: Rod Pyle

Co-Host: Geoffrey Notkin

Guest: Fredrick (Rick) Jenet

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

Space is just packed with scary stuff, including huge Earth-impacting asteroids and a swarming cloud of dangerous debris orbiting our planet. Meet Jonathan Dagle, USAF veteran, policy expert, chief politico for the National Space Society, and all-around policy wonk. He's got the scoop on planetary defense and the threat presented by orbital debris, so stick around to learn about the latest on what is--and what isn't--being done to address these dangers.

Host: Rod Pyle

Co-Host: Geoffrey Notkin

Guest: Jonathan Dagle

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

We all long to belong to something bigger than ourselves... for some, it's a large family; for others, a workplace. But for us, the "Space Enlightened," it's our space tribe! The tribe might embrace Star Wars or Star Trek lore, or might be interested in ETs... but for many of us—perhaps the more technically or scientifically minded — it's one of the pro-space citizen's organizations out there that allow us to be intimately involved in the Big Adventure. Join us as we talk to Dale Skran of the National Space Society about the organization and their amazing yearly gathering, the International Space Development Conference.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Dale Skran

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsor:

Geoffrey Notkin of Meteorite Men joins Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik on This Week in Space to discuss the latest space headlines including Asteroid Day, Ariane 5, and of course, Notkin's meteorite collection.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Geoffrey Notkin

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsor: