This Week in Space (Audio)

• TWiS 176: Beyond the Solar System - With Dr. Alan Stern, PI for New Horizons

  What's next in deep space exploration? Dr. Alan Stern, planetary scientist and the Principal Investigator for the New Horizons mission to Pluto, joins us to discuss what we learned about Pluto, the prospects for a future Pluto orbiter, the news from the Kuiper Belt, and to talk about his experiences as a commercial suborbital astronaut. Oh, and he might just mention that he was short-listed to fly on the space shuttle! Alan is one of those people that just has one adventure after another... did I mention that he dove on the Titanic? Yeah, that kind of guy. Join us for an hour of deep space adventure. Headlines: U.S. Faces Warnings of Losing Lunar Race to China NASA Selects a New Associate Administrator Third Interstellar Comet Spotted With Unusual CO2 Cloud Main Topic: Pluto, the New Horizons Mission, and the Future of Planetary Exploration Why Pluto Was Chosen as a Prime Target for Exploration Building and Launching New Horizons: Team Effort and Challenges Emotional Moments as Pluto Data Arrived on Earth Precise Navigation: Getting New Horizons Safely to Pluto Pluto's Surprising Geological Activity and Complexity Major Discoveries at Pluto's Moon Charon Exploring Arrokoth: Insights into Planetary Formation The Search for a Possible Third Flyby Target in the Kuiper Belt The Importance of Long-Term Funding for New Horizons NASA Budget Threats Could End Multiple Key Space Missions The Possible Role of Kuiper Belt Objects in Delivering Organics to Earth How Flybys at Pluto and Arrokoth Reshaped Theories of Planetary Systems Prospects for Future Pluto Orbiters and Human Spaceflight Advocacy for Continued U.S. Leadership in Deep Space Exploration Host: Rod Pyle Co-Host: Fredrick (Rick) Jenet Guest: Alan Stern Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

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• TWiS 175: More AI in Space - Crews and AI with Dr. Daniel Selva

  So you're on a months-long flight to Mars... seven months with five people and one computer as crewmates. You've been told to put any fears of a HAL-9000 computer takeover of your mission out of your mind, but can you, really? In this episode, Dr. Daniel Selva of Texas A&M joins us to talk about his recent study of crew interactions and trust with AI using, well, computers, and the HERA habitat simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The results were not entirely as expected! Join us for this fascinating look at crew-AI interaction in spaceflight procedures and emergencies. Headlines: SpaceX Starship Flight 10 Nails Test Milestones, Despite Some Reentry Damage Simulated Satellite Deployments and Heat Shield Experiments Show Progress for Starship SETI's 1977 "Wow Signal" Mystery Gets Closer to Natural Explanation China Prepares for 2030 Moon Landing with New Hardware Tests, Spurs US Lunar Competition Main Topic: AI Helpers for Diagnosing Space Emergencies (Interview with Dr. Daniel Selva) Dr. Selva's Background and Journey from Europe to Texas A&M and Space AI Research Using AI Agents to Assist Astronauts During Long-Duration, Deep Space Missions Details of the DAPHNE Virtual Assistant Study: Lab and NASA Analog Experiments Surprising Results: AI Shows Big Benefits in Lab, Mixed Results with Experienced Crews Individual Differences: Experience, Trust, and Task Complexity Influence AI Effectiveness Real-World Limitations: Emergency Charts vs. AI, Training, and Interface Design Challenges Broader Implications: Evolving AI to Assist Mission Control, Crew Autonomy, and Future Tech Fun Sci-Fi Comparisons: Favorite AI Assistants in Movies and the Reality of Human-AI Collaboration Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guest: Dr. Daniel Selva Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

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• TWiS 174: Gifts From Orbit - With Lynn Harper

  The International Space Station has been serving as a major research center in space for over 25 years, but its time is coming to an end with a planned deorbit in 2030. Should we end this expensive experiment in space, or are we squandering a $150 billion resource? Lynn Harper, the Lead for Integrative Studies at the NASA Ames Space Portal, joins us to discuss some of the amazing research taking place aboard the ISS. We've all heard about crystal growth and so forth, but how about the promising work done on cancer treatments? Or the growing of replacement retinas? Perhaps the potential breakthroughs for treating Alzheimer's disease might interest you? These and many more will be the focus of our conversation. Headlines: NASA Earth Science Faces Massive Cuts Under Interim Administrator Sean Duffy James Webb Telescope Discovers New Moon Orbiting Uranus SpaceX Gears Up for Starship Flight 10, Hopes for First Success of the Year Main Topic: International Space Station Spinoffs & NASA's InSPA Breakthroughs NASA's InSPA Program Pushes Space-Based Research for Terrestrial Benefits Microgravity Research Triggers Life-Changing Advances in Medicine and Technology Space-Grown Protein Crystals Revolutionize Cancer Treatments, Save Lives and Billions ISS Tissue Engineering Enables Next-Generation Organ and Cell Therapies Accelerated Disease Modeling in Space Fast-Tracks Drug Discovery for Alzheimer's, ALS, and Cancer Space-Based Manufacturing Dramatically Improves Semiconductor and Fiber Optic Quality The Case for Extending ISS Operations to Maintain Biomedical & Industrial Progress Future Visions: Overlapping Space Stations and Expansion into Commercial Free-Flyers and Industrial Complexes Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Guest: Lynn Harper Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

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• TWiS 173: The Return of the Malik - The Wild Proposals on NASA's Table

  Tariq is back from the Far East and bursting with space news! This week we'll look at the passing of Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, potential re-tasking of NASA's Juno probe from Jupiter to the interstellar interloper, 3I/Atlas--Avi Loeb wants it, of course--the third launch of ULA's Vulcan rocket, Artemis 2 lunar flyby updates, Virgin Galactic's new spaceplane (can they ever make a profit?), a proposed Pluto orbiter--with a planned mission of 50 years--and much more, on This Week in Space! Headlines: Remembering Apollo 13's Jim Lovell ULA's Vulcan Rocket Hits New Milestone With Powerful Launch Could Juno Chase an Interstellar Visitor? NASA Eyes Pluto Orbiter Mission Persephone Virgin Galactic Preps Next-Gen Delta Spaceplane Strange "Helmet" Rock Spotted on Mars Artemis II Orion Capsule Fuels Up for 2026 Launch Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

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• TWiS 172: Earth on Mars - Terraforming the Red Planet

  If we're ever to make Mars a second home, we have some serious housekeeping to do... as in a total renovation. The Red Planet has little atmosphere, no radiation shielding, and some seriously toxic soil. How can we make it more Earthlike... and should we? Dr. Erika Alden DeBenedictis joins us to discuss how terraforming might work, how it could be done in decades instead of millennia, and the questions surrounding the ethics of changing another planet to suit humanity's needs. We say it's a trailer park of a planet, but the best bet for human expansion. Dr. Rick Jenet is this week's co-host. Join us for the conversation! Headlines: NASA aims to place a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030, competing with China's similar plans for the Moon. NASA's planned commercial space stations are facing delays. As ISS retirement nears, the U.S. risks losing its foothold in low-Earth orbit within the coming years. SpaceX hits 100 launches in 2025, dominating global orbital launch activity and enabling rapid rocket reuse. Main Topic: High-Speed Terraforming of Mars Guest Dr. Erika Alden DeBenedictis shares new, biotech-driven concepts for terraforming Mars much faster than traditional proposals. Dr. DeBenedictis shares a modern understanding of Mars' past and present environment, including radiation, toxic perchlorate-laced soil, and thin atmosphere. Discussion on the importance and challenges of Mars Sample Return for accurate soil and resource analysis. Modern synthetic biology as a tool for creating microbes tailored for Martian soil and future terraforming. A step-by-step outline by Dr. DeBenedictis on building a breathable Mars atmosphere via engineered photosynthetic microbes, engineered atmospheric warming, and greenhouse construction. Exploration of the ethical considerations and philosophical implications of turning Mars into a habitable "garden," weighing preservation versus transformation. Dr. DeBenedictis makes a case for Martian settlement, terraforming technology, and legal and resource challenges for commercial space expansion. And Dr. DeBenedictis' vision for Mars' future as a unique, partially Earth-like biosphere with new opportunities in planetary stewardship and human adaptation of the planet. Host: Rod Pyle Co-Host: Fredrick (Rick) Jenet Guest: Dr. Erika Alden DeBenedictis Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

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