This Week in Space (Audio)

We all know that NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory designs, builds, and flies the premiere machines of space exploration, but just who designs and prepares them? It takes a team, but unique leadership must be at the top, and Rob Manning, JPL's Chief Engineer, has long been such a leader. From his earliest work on Voyager through engineering every set of wheels on Mars to overseeing engineering for all of JPL, Rob's story reads like an engineer's dream. Come share that dream with us as we talk to Rob, the Carroll Shelby of Mars.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Rob Manning

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Franklin Chang-Diaz rose from arriving in America with $50 in his pocket to earning a Ph.D. from MIT, becoming a NASA astronaut, and flying seven shuttle missions--the first Latin American immigrant to reach space. Since his retirement from NASA, he has worked tirelessly on the VASIMR plasma drive, which promises to one day deliver crews to Mars in 39 days instead of the 6-7 months required by chemical rockets. Join us for this fascinating and inspirational conversation as we talk about an American/Latin American hero and the closest thing to warp drive we're likely to see for a century.

• Asteroid bits from NASA's OSIRIS-REx are incoming this weekend after a successful sample grab from asteroid Bennu
• Private company Varda Space appeals denied reentry license for their prototype capsule
• Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz introduced - MIT plasma expert, NASA astronaut, ISS builder, and plasma drive inventor
• Dr. Chang-Diaz recounts being inspired by Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin as a child in Costa Rica, writing to Wernher von Braun about becoming an astronaut, and moving to the US in pursuit of his space dreams
• He discusses overcoming obstacles as an immigrant learning English, earning scholarships to college and MIT, pivoting to nuclear and plasma physics when NASA cut Apollo funding
• Dr. Chang-Diaz recalls the excitement of NASA selecting him as an astronaut, flying seven Space Shuttle missions, building the ISS, and spacewalking through an aurora
• He explains how the nuclear-electric VASIMR plasma engine works, enabling weeks-long Mars trips, its testing status, and the next steps for commercial deployment
• Dr. Chang-Diaz muses on solar system exploration with continuous VASIMR propulsion, recharging with space nuclear reactors, and mining fuel sources across the planets
• He reflects on managing danger as an astronaut after losing friends in the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters
• Dr. Chang-Diaz shares an inspiring vision for space as a cosmic civilization and business enabling humanity to spread beyond Earth

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz

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For as long as they've understood what asteroids actually are, scientists have pined for pristine samples that haven't had to endure hurtling through Earth's scorching atmosphere. The OSIRIS-REx probe, which launched in 2016, is finally returning its ultra-valuable payload--a bit of primordial star-stuff from the early solar system--to Earth. On September 24, a small capsule will land in the Utah desert, and secreted inside is at least two ounces of sample material from asteroid Bennu. It's been a long and sometimes arduous voyage, and we're joined by Anjani Polit, the Mission Implementation Systems Engineer for OSIRIS-REx.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Anjani Polit

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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—that that of Earth—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

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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

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