We all know you must carry breathable air and drinkable water with you into space... but when traveling to Mars, how can you ensure your life support system will keep working all the way there and beyond? Technology is fallible, and when talking about life support—breathable air, temperature control, and potable water—all are non-negotiable and critical to survival. It's enough to give engineers nightmares. Grant Anderson, the president and CEO of Paragon Space Development Corporation, has...

Space wants to kill you every moment you are there. From the harsh vacuum to extreme temperatures to killing radiation, there's no shortage of ways to make your stay in space brief. This Halloween, we discuss the Top Ten (and probably more) scariest moments and places in space. And a TWiS bonus--NASA Deputy Administrator and former astronaut Pam Melroy drops in with her scariest space story! Hold on to your thrusters; it's going to be a wild ride. Headlines: Pre-Halloween Lunar Eclipse!...

How many of us wanted to be an astronaut when we were younger? It's a big ask. Now, imagine holding this dream while being a young migrant farm worker in the arid fields of Central California. That was former NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez's dream--and against all odds and with enduring tenacity, he made it. This is a story of a child with a dream and the basis of the smash new biopic on Amazon Prime, "A Million Miles Away." Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik dive deep into the life and dream of...

On October 14 many in the western US will be able to see a partial eclipse of the sun. Astronomer and skywatcher Joe Rao joins us to discuss October 14th's annular eclipse, when most of the sun will be blocked with just a "ring of fire" visible around the margins, and 2024's total solar eclipse--the event of a lifetime. View both, and do it safely--we'll tell you how. Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guest: Joe Rao Download or subscribe to this show at...

From the Kennedy Space Center to Apollo Mission Control to SpaceX's Starbase, Rod and Tariq discuss the coolest space places on Earth for you to visit. Some are grand, a few are funky, but they are all great places to enjoy the finest moments in space exploration... and there are some hidden gems you shouldn't miss! Join us for this first installment of the Greatest Space Places, Phase One: USA! Headlines: Virgin Galactic's fourth commercial spaceflight launches first Pakistani woman...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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: bitwarden.com/twit

The solar system is a dangerous place, with asteroids barreling between the planets and frequently skimming past Earth. Just one 50-foot rock, like the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013, could kill up to a million people! Dr. Ed Lu, former NASA astronaut, co-founder of the B612 Foundation, and head of the Asteroid Institute joins us to talk about finding the millions of potentially dangerous asteroids that are still uncharted and how we might avoid catastrophic encounters. ...

We do love us some space conspiracies! This week, Tariq Malik and Rod Pyle discuss their favorites – from the classic "we never landed on the Moon" to the less-discussed hexagon on Saturn's north pole (we all know it's an alien greeting card, right?), they'll look at, discuss, and debunk the wackiest conspiracies ever... because, "the truth is out there!" 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...

Space Ace Leonard David joins the conversation on This Week in Space. NASA has released preliminary results of their Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena report, and they are nearly the opposite of the DoD's previous report. NASA found very few incidents to be truly "unidentified," though this report was notably based solely on unclassified material and was in essence, a study-of-how-to-study UFO data... so we are left continuing to look to the skies. Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guest:...

Many of us would love an opportunity to fly into space, even if for just a few minutes. Dylan Taylor recognized this, and also the power of the Overview Effect to change people's perceptions about spaceflight and our world. He created the nonprofit Space For Humanity to select deserving people from around the world to fly aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, on which he has flown. The results have been impressive, and as these people return to their home states and countries, they become...

You may not have heard of Charles Miller, but you should have. He was an early proponent of commercial spaceflight and was instrumental in making it part of NASA's mandate in 1998. He was a senior advisor to NASA on the topic for three years and, both before and after, a powerful proponent as a private citizen, starting a number of space advocacy groups. He recently founded Lynk, a company that connects cell phones to satellites worldwide with their own proprietary satellites. In short, he's...

The sun brings light and heat to Earth, but it can also blast our planet with stormy weather, flares, and massive coronal mass ejections that can impact our power grids, satellites, and even endanger astronauts in space and, eventually, back on the moon. And it's heating up as the sun approaches Solar Maximum of its latest Solar Cycle 25. NASA solar astrophysicist Dr. C. Alex Young of the Helioscience Division of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland joins us to dish on the latest from...

Jupiter is the king of the solar system, yet it has only been visited by a handful of probes. Juno is the most recent, and has redefined how we understand the giant planet. Since 2016, Juno has explored Jupiter's intense and mysterious magnetic field, changed how we look at giant planet formation, made critical observations of the complex movements of Jupiter's atmosphere, flow through the planet's nearly invisible rings, and probed the intricacies of the Jovian core. Add to that the Junocam...