Please welcome our guest tonight, John Powell, President of JP Aerospace, a nonprofit that launches student designed Pongsats (i.e., experiments that fit inside of a ping pong ball,) and other experiments to the edge of space using balloons. To date, over 80,000 students have participated in this program with plans to expand it even further. … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: December 16, 2020 – John Powell Tells Us About PongSats and Airship to Orbit"

We are pleased to once again welcome Casey Dreier from the Planetary Society to the WSH. Casey will update us (as much as possible) about Space Policy changes that may occur once the new American Presidential administration takes office on January 20, 2021. As Chief Advocate, Casey is the public face of The Planetary Society’s … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: December 9, 2020 – Casey Dreier: Are Changes Coming to NASA/US Space Policy?"

This week we are joined by Dr. Ingrid Daubar, Planetary Scientist from Brown University studying impact cratering within our solar system. Dr. Daubar is part of a team that has been using a new AI classification tool to identify geologic features on planetary surfaces, such as Mars. Ingrid has been involved in planetary science for … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: December 2, 2020 – Dr. Ingrid Daubar, Planetary Scientist, Brown University"

This week we are aired Fraser’s pre-recorded interview with Dr. Olivier Witasse, Project Scientist on the JUICE mission. Olivier studied fundamental physics and astrophysics at the universities of Paris XI (Orsay) and Lyon between 1990 and 1996. He obtained a PhD at the University of Grenoble in 2000. In 1995, he successfully completed the exams … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: November 25, 2020, Dr. Olivier Witasse, Project Scientist, the JUICE Mission"

This week we are airing Fraser’s pre-recorded interview with Dr. Ralph Lorenz, planetary scientist and aerospace engineer from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Ralph is the Mission Architect of the upcoming Dragonfly Mission to Titan, and the author of the new book, Saturn’s Moon Titan Owners’ Workshop Manual. Ralph was a member of the … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: November 18, 2020 – Dr. Ralph Lorenz, Planetary Scientist and Dragonfly Mission Architect"

This week we are excited to welcome Amy Ross, NASA Space Suit Engineer, to the WSH. Amy is the team lead for the Exploration Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) Pressure Garment Subsystem (PGS) as well as Space Suit Pressure Garment Technology Development. The team’s primary focus is the design, fabrication, qualification testing, and flight hardware delivery … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: November 11, 2020 – Amy Ross, NASA Engineer and Space Suit Designer"

This week we are excited to welcome Pranvera Hyseni (Pran) to the Weekly Space Hangout. Pran is a celebrated science popularizer and the founder of “Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo” (AOK). She completed her B.A. in geography in 2019 at the University of Pristina, and now she’s pursuing her Master’s in Planetary Science at the University … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: November 4, 2020 – Pranvera Hyseni, Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo"

This week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Natalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute (SI), to the show. In addition to heading the strategic vision for science and exploration at the SI, Nathalie leads research projects in planetary science and astrobiology, develops science exploration strategies for Mars, … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: October 28, 2020, Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, SETI Institute"

This week we are excited (and honored) to welcome Dr. Jill Tarter to the Weekly Space Hangout. Best known for her work in the field of SETI, tonight Jill will be discussing the search for technosignatures. Dr. Jill Tarter is the Emeritus Chair for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California and … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: October 21, 2020, Dr. Jill Tarter and the Search for Technosignatures"

This week we are joined by Dr. Jane Huang and Dr. Jonathan Willams from the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA). Dr. Huang, Dr. Williams, and their team recently discovered some surprising information about the size and shape of some protoplanetary disks.

This week we welcome back to the show Dr. David Warmflash. Since he was last with us, David has been named as Co-Principal Investigator and Medical Director for a new NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBRI) Phase I study titled "Mixed-Reality Holographic Training System to Enable High-Value Surgical and Complex Medical Procedures by Astronauts."

This week, we welcome Dr. John Kiss from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG). Tonight, Dr. Kiss will be discussing the sensory physiology of plants in space research, including the effect of Mars’ levels of gravity on plant development. John Z. Kiss is the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNCG, … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: September 30, 2020, Dr. John Kiss Discusses the Growth of Plants in Space"

Terry Virts, one of only four astronauts in history to have piloted a Space Shuttle, flown a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, performed space walks, and commanded the ISS. He’s written HOW TO ASTRONAUT: An Insider’s Guide to Leaving Planet Earth, the book for everyone who wants to know what space travel is really like. Fun fact: … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: September 23, 2020, Col. Terry Virts (USAF ret.) Tells Us “How to Astronaut”"

This week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Merav Opher, Professor from the Astronomy Department of Boston University and the Director of the SHIELD (Solar wind with Hydrogen Ion charge Exchange and Large-Scale Dynamics) DRIVE Science Center. Using data from NASA’s planetary science missions, SHIELD scientists use data/computer modeling to predict the characteristics of our … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: September 16, 2020 – Dr. Merav Opher Discusses the Shape of the Sun’s Heliosphere"

This week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Andrew Siemion, Director of the Berkeley SETI Research Center, to the WSH. As an astrophysicist, Andrew’s research interests include high energy time-variable celestial phenomena, astronomical instrumentation and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). He is also the Principal Investigator for the Breakthrough Listen program. Andrew received his … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: July 1, 2020 — Dr. Andrew Siemion, Director of...

This week we are airing Fraser’s pre-recorded interview with Elizabeth Howell and Nicholas Booth, co-authors of the new book The Search for Life on Mars: The Greatest Scientific Detective Story of All Time. Their book documents our quest to find life on the Red Planet. Long-time viewers of the WSH will remember Elizabeth as one … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: June 24, 2020 — Elizabeth Howell & Nicholas Booth, The Search for Life on Mars"

This week we are joined by Dana Backman, an astrophysicist with a Ph.D. from the University of Hawai’i. He was an infrared astronomy researcher at Kitt Peak Observatory and NASA Ames, then a professor of physics & astronomy at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Dana has also taught introductory astronomy at Santa Clara … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: June 17, 2020 — Dana Backman, Director of NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors"

This week we are VERY excited to welcome our good friend Paul M. Sutter back to the WSH. Longtime viewers/members of our community remember Paul as one of our regular show contributors for a number of years. Paul’s most recent book, “How to Die in Space”, hit the stores yesterday and he is here tonight … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: June 3, 2020 — Paul Sutter and How to Die in Space"

Due to an unexpected power failure, tonight’s guest, Shytoya Palmer, was unable to join us. We will be rescheduling her appearance as part of our next season. So tonight our panel presents a News Roundup! Hosts: Fraser Cain (Website: Universe Today ; Twitter: @fcain) Allen Versfeld (Website: Urban Astronomer ; Twitter: @urbanastronomer) Annie Wilson (Twitter: @BinaryAblaze) Moiya … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: May 27, 2020 — News Roundup"

This week we are joined by Dr. Sarah McAnulty. Sarah is a squid biologist and the executive director of the science communication non-profit Skype a Scientist which matches scientists with people all around the world. To learn more about Skype a Scientist visit their webpage https://www.skypeascientist.com/ and follow them on Instagram (@SkypeAScientist), Twitter (@SkypeScientist) and … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: May 20, 2020 — Dr. Sarah McAnulty from Skype A Scientist"

Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Brian Koberlein (BrianKoberlein.com / @BrianKoberlein) Dave Dickinson (www.astroguyz.com / @astroguyz) Alex Teachey (alexteachey.com /@alexteachey) This week we are pleased to welcome Chris Carberry to the Weekly Space Hangout. Chris is CEO and Co-Founder of Explore Mars, Inc, and helped to turn that organization into one of the most influential space nonprofits … Continue reading "Weekly Space Hangout: April 29, 2020 – Alcohol in Space with...

Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Pamela Gay (Cosmoquest.org / @StarStryder ) Moiya McTier (https://www.moiyamctier.com/ / @GoAstroMo) Allen Versfeld (https://www.urban-astronomer.com/ / @uastronomer) This week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Fred Watson to the WSH. Fred is Australia’s first Astronomer-at-Large, an outreach and advocacy role within the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. He is graduate of the universities … Continue reading...