Universe Today Podcast

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 11:53

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• 00:00 Intro

• 00:26 [@dan.sheppy7] What if we had a second Earth instead of the Moon?

• 03:23 [@reibee1972] Will humans ever try panspermia?

• 05:01 [@darthex0] Would fungi grow in regolith?

• 06:50 [@rJaune] Will the Moon become the new ISS?

• 08:45 [@tcarr925] How much light illuminates the dark side of the moon?

• 11:53 [@webfiji7346] How to apply coding skills for astronomy?

• 15:46

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:26

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What would happen is a country claims Mars as their own? Will we have the Expanse scenario? What's a realistic timeline for Moon exploration? And in Q&A+, can we use those inflatable modules on the Moon?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:26 [@neilvonholtum2555] What happens if a country claims Mars as their own?

• 05:22 [@MikeD_] Isn't this the Expanse?

• 08:05 [@GigBossMan] After 53 years how far along would we be on the Moon?

• 14:26 [@danielwhitehouse7682] Do you think those blow up modules would work on the moon

• 17:22 Latest UFO release

BONUS STORY starts at 15:34

Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/f5t09W_tdfE

Patreon Q&As https://www.patreon.com/collection/116972

Pandora interview with Dr Ben Hord https://youtu.be/96Ee8Z-sbSU

Curiosity gets a rock stuck to its drill. NASA releases over 12,000 images of the Artemis II mission. The new Pandora Space Telescope sees first light. How Io's lava lakes are hotter than we thought. And in Space Bites+, a meteorite that is very similar to the planet Mercury.

• 00:00 Intro

• ]00:19 NASA Releases 12,000 Artemis II Photos https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/ShowQueryResults-TextTable.pl?results=1778194875140121

• 02:15 Curiosity Lifting Rocks on Mars https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4879-4885-struggle-at-atacama/

• 03:33 Pandora's first light https://www.universetoday.com/articles/first-images-from-the-pandora-exoplanet-mission

• 05:31 ESPRESSO Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-paranal-solar-espresso-telescope-a-new-tool-for-finding-exoplanets

• 07:42 Io's superhot https://www.universetoday.com/articles/we-might-have-massively-underestimated-ios-thermal-output

• 09:30 Radar drones https://www.universetoday.com/articles/drones-scanning-earths-glaciers-are-paving-the-way-for-future-mars-helicopters

• 11:25 Vote results 11:51 Subaru on 3I/ATLAS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/subaru-telescope-reveals-new-data-on-the-interior-composition-of-3iatlas

• 13:20 Superionic ice inside ice giants https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-new-quasi-1d-state-of-matter-could-be-hiding-inside-ice-giant-planets

• 15:34 BONUS STORY https://www.universetoday.com/articles/how-a-meteorite-helps-explain-mercurys-chemical-makeup

• 17:40 My current obsessions

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:16

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How hard is it to keep rocket fuel in space? Which is better, a Moon mission on the surface or in orbit? How would a space station look like in a binary planet system? And in Q&A+, could we launch a probe into a black hole?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:24 [@geohondo] Is it problematic to keep rocket fuel in space for extended time?

• 07:09 [@drewd2] Would a lunar base be more effective for reducing the cost of space exploration?

• 09:32 [@vistotutti6037] Are we capable of launching Voyager class probes out of our solar system today?

• 12:21 [@thelightrunner2612] Would a large space station at the barycentre of binary planets work?

• 15:16 [@JohnnyApplleseed] What could we learn from launching a probe into a black hole?

• 17:14 Science VS Religion

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:25

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5PTjLZQ7qLU

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:25 [@paigepotter4682] If we detected a technosignature tomorrow, what’s the first thing scientists would argue about?

• 04:46 [@Jimdica] Could humanity fall victim of an alien infohazard?

• 08:06 [@savr4est] Will AI find alien first?

• 10:55 [@terryhardaway3285] Would there be a CHZ for earth sized moons around rouge brown dwarfs?

• 13:25 [@EdSceptic-y2e] How far realistically do you think biological humans will ever get from Earth?

• 15:46 Books I read

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 18:18

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tejYwoRqG38

New info about 3I/ATLAS, NASA tests a new high-power ion engine, did dark matter power early black hole formation, why is half the Milky Way hotter than the other? And in Space Bites+, different sources for two of Uranus moons.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:15 More info on 3I/ATLAS https://www.universetoday.com/articles/interstellar-comet-3iatlas-left-a-trail-of-methane-in-its-wake https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-research-reveals-that-interstellar-comet-3iatlas-formed-in-a-system-far-colder-than-our-own

• 04:04 NASA tests new ion engine https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-fires-up-powerful-lithium-fed-thruster-for-trips-to-mars/

• 06:45 NO to NASA budget cuts https://spacenews.com/house-appropriators-keep-nasa-funding-flat/

• 07:50 Earliest SMBH Mystery https://www.universetoday.com/articles/is-the-earliest-supermassive-black-hole-mystery-solved

• 09:46 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

• 10:15 Milky Way’s Hot Side https://www.universetoday.com/articles/our-galaxy-has-a-hot-side-and-now-we-know-why

• 11:56 Where's the edge of the Milky Way https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-find-the-edge-of-the-milky-ways-star-forming-disc

• 13:52 Disappearing exoplanets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/toi-201-planets-are-wobbling-out-of-our-line-of-sight

• 16:02 That's no moon https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-hunts-for-an-earth-moon-twin-in-a-habitable-zone-but-the-star-has-other-plans

• 18:18 BONUS STORY

• 20:45 More space news

• 21:16 Working with Vera Rubin data

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:48

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/90S24jYGtd4

Latest Patreon Q&A show: https://www.patreon.com/posts/156265102/

What did we really find on Mars? Could we find actual fossils there? How was the most detailed 3D-map of the Universe made? And in Q&A+, what's the deal with Iapetus and its huge ridge?

• Q&A 00:00 Intro

• 00:22 [@HanSolo__] Did we find marks of past primitive life on Mars?

• 05:15 [@geohondo] Could we find an actual skeletal fossil on mars?

• 07:18 [@louisnelsonsmith] How DESI works

• 15:48 [@TheGoldishFish] Why does Saturn moon Iapetus have that huge equatorial ridge?

• 18:03 The Q&A format

BONUS PART STARTS AT 24:29

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

🟣 Guest: Amy Haft

📜 Spacecraft electrostatic tractor using a power-constrained pulsed high-energy high-current electron beam https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027311772600075X?via%3Dihub

The number of satellites constantly grows. As the result, space debris is becoming more and more of a concern. A new study suggests using practically real-life Star Trek tech to use an electron tractor beam to tug broken satellites around the orbit.

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:11 The state of space debris

• 04:25 Satellite tractor beam

• 14:07 Alternative applications

• 24:29 Tracking objects via plasma trails

• 39:23 Current obsessions

• 44:29 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:23

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4uPUdm7WP9o

Can we deploy a huge fleet of amateur telescopes to image a single planet? If the Voyager crashes into something, will we know that? What's the point of studying gravitational waves? And in Q&A+, does the starless galaxy have any planets?

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:27 [@liamdobbyn6167] Fleet of amateur telescopes on TRAPPIST-1

• 06:28 [@SpaceGeekSheri] Would we know about it if Voyager crashed into something? 08:12 [@deant6361] Will New Horizons end up leaving the solar system?

• 09:07 [@davidevans6487] Can we use radiation of space to power spacecraft?

• 11:16 [@JuanMendez-zh2ez] Why study gravitational waves?

• 17:23 [@christiandesalliers] Are there planets in Cloud-9?

• 19:18 Astronomy Cast

Here’s what might delay Artemis, New Glenn flies again, but there’s a problem, Voyager 1 has to shut down another instrument, Vera Rubin is finding so many asteroids. And in Space Bites+, an incredible image to celebrate Hubble’s 35th birthday.

• 00:00 Intro

• 00:18 Potential bottleneck for Artemis https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/04/whats-the-deal-with-spacesuits-for-the-moon-will-they-be-ready-in-time/

• 03:20 China Shows Off a 5-Meter Rocket Module https://www.universetoday.com/articles/china-unveils-a-massive-5-meter-composite-module-for-its-next-generation-reusable-rocket

• 06:20 Success and Failure of New Glenn NG-3 https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/04/errant-upper-stage-spoils-blue-origins-success-in-reusing-new-glenn-booster/

• 08:25 Voyager Shuts Down More Instruments https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/04/17/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/

• 11:08 Vera Rubin Discovers A Lot of Asteroids https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-vera-c-rubin-observatory-has-discovered-11000-new-asteroids-and-its-barely-even-started

• 12:36 Vote results

• 13:06 Organics on Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/msl-curiosity-found-new-organic-chemicals-on-mars-proof-that-the-planet-can-preserve-ancient-biosign

• 15:09 Roman’s Ready to Launch

• 16:51 SPHEREx Mapping the Sky https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-spherex-telescope-just-mapped-the-cosmic-ices-that-will-someday-build-planets

• 18:05 The Universe in X-Rays https://www.universetoday.com/articles/behold-the-solar-system-in-all-its-x-ray-glory

• 19:18 More space news

• 20:20 Complexity of the interviews