Universe Today Podcast

How would a rover for an icy moon look like? Which moon should we replace the Moon with? Why put a telescope on the Moon? And what's the probability of Artemis II launching this February? All this and more in this week's Q&A.

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Artemis II rolls out to the launch pad, Europe’s comet interceptor mission could fly a little earlier, NASA is racing to build a nuclear reactor for the Moon, and in Space Bites+, bacteriaphages evolved in space learn to kill bacteria in new ways.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube https://youtu.be/o9kb5caf7vw

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:19 Comet Interceptor Accelerated https://spacenews.com/esas-comet-interceptor-mission-moves-up-launch/

• 02:11 Artemis II Rollout https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-enters-final-preparations-for-artemis-ii-mission

• 04:14 Chang'e-6 Samples https://www.universetoday.com/articles/analysis-of-change-6-samples-addresses-mysteries-about-the-far-side-of-the-moon

• 05:50 Moon Reactor Race https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-2030-race-for-a-moon-reactor

• 08:08 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 08:31 Potential Ocean Habitability of Enceladus https://www.universetoday.com/articles/enceladus-plumes-may-hold-a-clear-clue-to-ocean-habitability

• 10:33 Helix Nebula https://www.universetoday.com/articles/gazing-into-the-eye-of-sauron-with-the-jwst

• 11:48 Lupus-3 https://www.universetoday.com/articles/hunting-for-t-tauri-stars-in-a-dark-cloud

• 12:43 Galaxy Evolution https://www.yorku.ca/news/2025/12/18/canadian-astronomers-use-webb-to-uncover-milky-ways-turbulent-youth-through-galactic-twins/

• 14:50 More space news

• 17:00 My new smart telescope

Which space object would I want to see with my own eyes? Can you meaningfully contribute to science without an Astronomy degree? Has dark matter always been around? And in Q&A+, my weird relationship with Venus as a planet.

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:39

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Here's a link to the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/SiGmJkeCPl8?feature=share

Europa is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. But new studies suggest that we were wrong. That the sub-surface ocean is most probably uninhabitable and lifeless. Why is it so and what does it mean for future missions and search for life? Finding out in this interview.

BONUS PART STARTS AT 43:02

🟣 Guest: Dr. Paul Byrne
https://bsky.app/profile/theplanetaryguy.bsky.social

📜 Europa May Be Lifeless and Unihabitable After All https://www.universetoday.com/articles/europa-may-be-lifeless-and-unihabitable-after-all

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Sj3JwQde-b8

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:57 Why life could exist on Europa

• 10:48 Details of the research

• 17:57 Potential conditions for life

• 23:52 Crushing hopes

• 30:21 What it means for other sub-surface ocean worlds

• 36:30 The emotional response

• 43:02 Venus updates

• 56:32 Current obsessions

• 01:02:35 Final thoughts

Has AI already written any good science papers? Which are the primary targets for the Extremely Large Telescope? Which is scarier, finding aliens or not finding them? And in Q&A+, what happens if you keep feeding a black hole forever?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 16:54

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Here's a link to the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/SiGmJkeCPl8?feature=share

Gravitational waves revolutionised Astronomy. But LIGO, VIRGO and KAGRA only operate in one spectrum. To detect longer waves we need bigger telescopes. Much bigger. Ones that don't fit on Earth. That is where LISA comes in, which will be humanity's biggest telescope.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Stefano Vitale 

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AUS8A9J3d5g

• 00:00 Intro

• 02:43 The evolution of gravitational wave search

• 05:33 Proving the concept with LISA Pathfinder

• 15:34 What will LISA see?

• 31:09 What are the next steps for LISA?

• 43:17 What happens after LISA?

• 50:02 Current obsessions

• 51:43 Final Thoughts

Rubin spots a rapidly spinning asteroid, Congress restores NASA’s funding, Crew 11 is back on Earth for a medical emergency, the Pandora Space Telescope launches. And in Space Bites+, two new exoplanets around a red dwarf could help push the habitable zone out.

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🌶️ Add to The Pile of Spice https://www.patreon.com/posts/pile-of-spice-147346705

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:15 Rubin Discovers A Record-Breaking Asteroid https://www.universetoday.com/articles/rubin-observatory-spots-fastest-spinning-asteroid-ever

• 02:15 NASA Budget Is Safe For Another Year https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/nasas-science-budget-wont-be-a-train-wreck-after-all/

• 04:57 First Ever Medical Evacuation from The ISS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-to-return-spacex-crew-ahead-of-schedule https://www.universetoday.com/articles/follow-spacexs-returning-crew-11-mission-wednesday-night

• 07:04 Pandora Launched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Ee8Z-sbSU

• 09:09 Vote Results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 09:38 A Supernova That Shouldn’t Exist https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-supernova-that-shouldnt-exist

• 11:43 Solving the Mystery of Blue Flashes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/solving-the-mystery-of-blue-flashes

• 14:06 Cool Space Images https://www.universetoday.com/articles/young-stellar-objects-are-prominent-in-a-new-hubble-image https://www.universetoday.com/articles/when-baby-stars-throw-tantrums

• 16:54 BONUS STORY

• 19:03 AI as the Great Filter https://www.patreon.com/posts/147346705

Does Europa Clipper have realistic chances to find traces of life at Jupiter? Can humans stop the Kessler syndrome? How long would Earth survive if it was thrown away from the Solar System? And in Q&A+, what's the current situation with RTG nuclear fuel?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:11

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GJGctXIYZ-w

Here's a link to the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/yUqB8vkD4cE

Would we even notice if 3I/ATLAS smashed into Jupiter? What are the plans for next gen space stations? Is it okay that most succesful space corporations are run by billionaires? And in Q&A+, what the hell is a Thorne–Żytkow object?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:04

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZHdlHSv-OgQ

Here's a link to the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/yUqB8vkD4cE

A galaxy without stars, the wake of Betelgeuse’s companion star, a privately-funded Hubble class telescope, and could there be exomoons at TRAPPIST-1? And on Space Bites+, seeing an event horizon in 3D.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ilHG9OvMdmo

🌶️ Add to The Pile of Spice https://www.patreon.com/posts/pile-of-spice-147346705

👉 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:17 A galaxy with no stars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-galaxy-that-never-was

• 02:08 Hubble detects the wake of Bettelbuddy https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasa-hubble-helps-detect-wake-of-betelgeuses-elusive-companion-star/

• 04:31 JWST finds new objects astonomers can't explain https://www.universetoday.com/articles/as-puzzling-as-a-platypus-the-jwst-finds-some-hard-to-categorize-objects

• 06:25 Private initiative for a Hubble replacement https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/eric-schmidt-will-massively-invest-in-private-telescopes-including-hubble-replacement/

• 08:48 Problems for potential life on Europa https://www.universetoday.com/articles/europa-may-be-lifeless-and-unihabitable-after-all

• 10:52 Rare lensed supernova https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-discover-a-bright-supernova-using-gravitational-lensing-for-the-first-time

• 12:36 Vote results

• 13:12 A mathematical solution for lunar dust problem https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-sticky-problem-of-lunar-dust-gets-a-mathematical-solution

• 15:28 Potential for exomoons in TRAPPIST-1 system https://www.universetoday.com/articles/could-trappist-1s-seven-worlds-host-moons

• 17:02 Decades-long supernova timelapse https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-releases-the-long-awaited-video-of-keplers-supernova-remnant

• 18:16 BONUS STORY

• 19:57 Pile of Spice https://www.patreon.com/posts/pile-of-spice-147346705