Alex covers the latest discoveries in our solar system during the hunt for Planet 9. The latest discoveries include:

'A new Kuiper Belt object found who's strange inclined orbit can only be explained by the existence of Planet 9' and '12 New Moons found orbiting one of the largest planets in our Solar System'

Get refreshed and learn more about Planet 9, the Kuiper Belt, Pluto and more!

Subscribe to the podcast on Youtube, ApplePodcasts, or your favorite podcast player to help us grow and so you know when a new episode comes out.  We'd also appreciate any constructive feedback! Always looking to improve so please let us know.

TODAYINSPACE.NET You can listen to our science song "Pluto, the Misunderstood." here:

iTunes(Buy): https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pluto-the-misunderstood/1018933124?i=1018933132

Spotify(Stream):https://open.spotify.com/album/6oidU1jnYiwJCP4sN27gwg

Soundcloud(Stream): https://soundcloud.com/3lgr3co/pluto-the-misunderstood-two-year-flyby-anniversary-remix 

SOURCE LINKS:A New World’s Extraordinary orbit points to Planet Ninehttps://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-worlds-extraordinary-orbit-points-to-planet-nine-20180515/

Planet Nine makes some KBO’s go wild!http://www.findplanetnine.com/2018/05/planet-nine-makes-some-kbos-go-wild.html

Looking for Planet Nine, Astronomers Gaze into the Abysshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/looking-for-planet-nine-astronomers-gaze-into-the-abyss/

Jupiter Officially has 12 New Moonshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jupiter-officially-has-12-new-moons-180969684/

Kuiper Belt - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiper_belt

Facts about the Kuiper Belt https://www.space.com/16144-kuiper-belt-objects.html

Jupiter’s Got Twelve New Moons, and One of them is a trouble makerhttp://www.astronomy.com/news/2018/07/jupiters-twelve-new-moons

Evidence for a Giant Planet in the Solar System http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22 Hypothetical Planet Xhttps://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/hypothetical-planet-x/in-depth/

Kuiper Belt - NASAhttps://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/kuiper-belt/overview/

In this episode, Alex shares his thoughts (as an engineer) on the daring rescue in Thailand of the Wild Boar soccer team and their coach. He also shares some info on how Elon Musk developed two backup solutions for the Thai Navy Seals in the event that it was not possible to save the kids and their coach.

The big question for this week was: "Why are people hating on Elon Musk, a wealthy and influential person, who is doing what he can with what he has?" Please let us know what you think by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, or by emailing us at [email protected] TODAYINSPACE.NET

SPACE LINKS:

https://gizmodo.com/elon-musks-mini-sub-not-practical-for-thai-cave-accordi-1827471958

http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-said-hell-pay-to-fix-the-water-in-flint-homes-2018-7

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-thailand-cave-boys-rescue-engineering/

https://www.inverse.com/article/45511-tesla-solar-elon-musk-reveals-the-staggering-scale-of-puerto-rico-projects

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/07/09/asia/thai-cave-rescue-mission-intl/index.html

In this episode of Orbital News, Alex shares the story of the Opportunity rover that is attempting to survive yet another massive dust storm in it's 15 years on the Red Planet. We cover info on the storm itself and the concerns for Opportunity as it waits in low power until the storm subsides to charge it's batteries and survive the cold temperatures that probably put it's twin, Spirit, offline. Learn about the amazing martian versatile rover and the most severe optical dust storm ever observed on the planet by robotic human emissaries.  Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or here on Youtube to help us grow so you know when a new episode comes out! We'd also appreciate any constructive feedback! Always looking to improve so please let us know.

TODAYINSPACE.NET

Links to sources:

- https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7155

- http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/spa...

- https://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/imag...

- https://mars.nasa.gov/weather/storm-w...

- https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/...

- https://bgr.com/2018/07/02/nasa-oppor...

- https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MR...

- http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/mis...

- http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/mis...

- http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/mis...

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about a 'Space Force'. But there are also new Space Policy Directives for NASA moving forward. In order to talk about these issues, given the state of US politics and news, we turned to science for a way to share the facts and help you come to your own conclusion.

We set up a thought experiment where we asked what effect a Space Force and the new Space Policy Directives for NASA would have on the space industry? To be scientific, first Alex shares his biases, then goes over the facts (links below), a brief history of NASA politics for context, and then we lay out some possible pros and cons. Then, the thought experiment begins - what do you think about the new NASA Space Policy Directives? What do you honestly think about a Space Force? With some facts, some history, and some pros and cons - you'll be equipped to have your own opinion, and we hope you do in the comments! By using a thought experiment, we're trying to discuss politics and science in a smarter way. We'll see what happens! Let us know what you think.

Source Links:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-memorandum-reinvigorating-americas-human-space-exploration-program/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/space-policy-directive-2-streamlining-regulations-commercial-use-space/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/space-policy-directive-3-national-space-traffic-management-policy/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-meeting-national-space-council-signing-space-policy-directive-3/

https://history.nasa.gov/stsnixon.htm

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2017/1228-what-changed-in-space-directive-1.html

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/06/20/air-force-issues-first-guidance-troops-about-space-force.html

https://history.nasa.gov/factsheet.htm

We had the opportunity to interview Brian Stofiel of Stofiel Aerospace who with his daughter are launching 3D printed rockets and making space more accessible to everyone. Brian stated that with their launch system, if you came to them wanting to launch on Monday, then they could have your payload in orbit by Friday. We touched on so many different topics, including industry bias, the need and challenges of rapid launching giving everyone access to space, creating a generational program to help future asteroid mining, starting and running a business with your daughter, and the possibilities of what's to come when we expand into the infinite expanse of the universe. Buckle up, and get ready to, as Stofiel Aerospace says, fly high and burn hard! For more information on Stofiel Aerospace go to: https://stofiel.space/ You can start your free trial and get your first audiobook for free by going to: audibletrial.com/todayinspace This week's recommendation is "Failure is not an Option" by Gene Kranz Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast here on Youtube and Apple Podcasts

Alex shares his thoughts on the effects the Sun has on the Earth, as well as any Star. What kind of effects, other than temperature can a star have on it's orbiting bodies? He also discusses that even in science, there can be resistance to change by some.  This week's influence came from listening to episode #1124 of the Joe Rogan Experience with special guest Robert Schoch. A great listen and a recommended listen or watch. You can find Robert Schoch's work at www.robertschoch.com

In this episode, Alex and special guest John take on Automation, AI, and Driverless Cars to question when technological improvement goes too far. At what point do you say - "That's Too Far!"?

We challenged ourselves to think about the future and what possible outcomes could happen with all kinds of automation. Although the future will be more different than we can imagine, thinking ahead can better prepare us for certain things to come. Today in Space is about all things space - that includes the future.

We hope you enjoy this episode! If you have any ideas for future "That's Too Far!" segments let us know in the comments below!

SPACE LINKS:

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/uber-finds-deadly-accident-likely-caused-by-software-set-to-ignore-objects-on-road?jwt=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJqLnBpZ25hdGFyb0BuZXdzd2Vla2dyb3VwLmNvbSIsImV4cCI6MTU1NzI2OTkxMywibiI6Ikd1ZXN0Iiwic2NvcGUiOlsic2hhcmUiXX0.f8bV8plAsXHhNLj0wUYjMXSj4G7liqGgMvxT6TJkOSg&unlock=e71cb47e7e488708

http://www.newsweek.com/self-driving-uber-crash-likely-cause-fatal-car-accident-detailed-report-913407

https://www.wired.com/story/uber-self-driving-crash-strategy/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43604440

The Today In Space podcast went to the March for Science in Boston this year, a year after their first M4S. Alex and Sara sit down to recap and share their thoughts. They share interviews with Dan, Doug, Dolly, and Anthony speaking about what got them into science and why science is so important to all of us. We even share a clip of Massachusetts Senator Marc Pacheco speaking to the March for Science about climate change policy based on scientific research. This episode marks ONE YEAR ON YOUTUBE for Today In Space! Audible Recommendation: Enlightenment Now, by Steven Pinker Start your free trial and get this audiobook free at audibletrial.com/todayinspace Space Merch T-Shirts available for $18/ea at todayinspace.threadless.com TODAYINSPACE.NET Spread Love and Spread Science

TODAYINSPACE.NET The first Falcon Heavy test launch occurred on February 6th, 2017. Onboard was the Starman in the driver seat of Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla Roadster. Enjoy a 3 minutes launch recap of the world's most powerful rocket and catch up on the latest details about the Starman and Tesla in space. Learn about where the idea came from, where Starman and the car might end up in a million years, and what this means for the future of the space industry and our first steps towards Mars!

You can get some TodayInSpace merch through our Threadless shop T-shirts are $18/ea! todayinspace.threadless.com Get your free trial and first free audiobook with our link here! audibletrial.com/todayinspace Don't forget to check out our recommendation this episode for Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

SPACE LINKS: - YOUTUBE Falcon Heavy Launch Broadcast (Starts at T-30 seconds)

https://youtu.be/wbSwFU6tY1c?t=21m29s - RESEARCH PAPER The random walk of cars and their collision probabilities with planets by Hanno Rein, Daniel Tamayo, and David Vokrouhlicky

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1802.04718.pdf

Track where the Tesla Roadster is in orbit, and where it will be in the near future

www.whereisroadster.com

- TWITTER Where did the idea for sending a car into space come from? @JaneidyEve https://twitter.com/JaneidyEve/status/875509666742226944

- FORTUNE How Elon Musk's Tesla Could Contaminate Mars With Earth Bacteria

http://fortune.com/2018/02/28/elon-musks-tesla-mars-bacteria/

WWW.TODAYINSPACE.NET

OPINION | SPOILER ALERT!

In this episode (#127), Alex is joined by his friends (Erin & John) to review not only 'The Last Jedi', but the entire Star Wars movie series. The three of them rank all nine Star Wars movies (which includes Rogue One) and they share their thoughts, opinions, and fan theories.

Join the discussion and leave your thoughts in the comments below!

SPACE LINKS:

Facts about the different Star Wars Logos https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/star-wars-logo/ Disney has aquired 21st century Fox and TV Studios https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/14/16735502/disney-fox-deal-film-tv-studio-acquisition Rian Johnson to create new 'Star Wars' Universe Film Trilogy http://deadline.com/2017/11/star-wars-new-film-trilogy-rian-johnson-lucasfilm-star-wars-the-last-jedi-1202204843/ The Official Star Wars Website http://www.starwars.com/ Luke Skywalker - StarWars.com http://www.starwars.com/databank/luke-skywalker

3D Printed Lightsaber Design Credits: "Anakin Skywalker's Lightsaber" by CaseStudyNo8 on Thingverse.com https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1538383 "STAR WARS Episode VII Kylo Ren's Lightsaber" by McTough on Thingiverse.com https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:790803

Both lightsaber's were 3D printed by AG3D Printing, Today In Space's manufacturing company! You can follow us on Instagram @ag3dprinting

Want to learn more about 3D Printing or need to get something 3D Printed? Head over to www.ag3d-printing.com to learn more and get a free 3D Printing quote today!