Universe Today Podcast

What is my biggest disappointment in the history of space exploration? Will the YR4 asteroid have a chance to hit the Moon? Does the solar gravitational lens need a coronagraph? And in our free extended version, how time dilation changes intergalactic travel? All this and more in this Q&A show.

As we put more and more satellites in orbit, chances of them colliding also increase. How can we manage that? How can we make sure that Kessler syndrome won't happen and keep all those satellites from destroying each other? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Sydney Dolan
https://sydneyidolan.com/

Could we find a way to Earth from another part of a galaxy? Would people born on Mars grow taller to adopt to lower gravity? Can you jump off the surface of Pluto? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, what would happen if dark energy is disproved? All this and more in this Q&A.

Astronomers find 128 new moons for Saturn, four mini-Earths orbiting around Barnard’s Star, a new video from Blue Ghost 1, massive science budget cuts for NASA, and in our Patreon version, a bonus story about the return of the X-37b spaceplane.

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Is it possible that some of the galaxies out there are made of antimatter? How transparent is science research across the world? Which of the Lagrange points is my favourite? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, how big can of a moon can the Earth sustain? All this and more in this Q&A show.

Firefly’s Blue Ghost 1 lands safely on the Moon, Athena… doesn’t, and another lunar mission goes missing. NASA shuts down more instruments on the Voyagers, and Europa Clipper makes a flyby of Mars. Starship explodes again. And in the free Patreon edition, how Vera Rubin could find another flyby target for New Horizons.

Did James Webb break the age of the Universe? Can we watch asteroids that are about to hit the Moon? How much of actuation astronomy is done on the ISS? Plus, in our extended version on Patreon, what shape do black holes take? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

Is there a risk of contaminating Earth with space-resistant bacteria when de-orbiting the ISS? What would be the next big outpost when humanity reaches Mars? What's the real shape of Lagrange points? Plus, in our bonus part on Patreon, could there be life in lava tubes. Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Astronomers saw a rare type of supernova in the galaxy NGC 2891. Finding out what was so special about it and why is it a perfect example of why we need the Vera Rubin Telescope as soon as possible.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Charlotte Angus
https://charlotte-angus.com/

The asteroid threat is down to zero, whatever happened to that star that was supposed to go nova, more landers are launched to the Moon. Plus in our extended version on Patreon, how Venus’s atmosphere could protect life in its clouds.

Would we have colonized Mars by now if it had air? What is the ultimate fate of stars? What's the point of talking about the density of black holes? And which movies would go into the Fraserverse? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Will SpaceX eventually consume NASA? Are there asteroids at Lagrange points in front and behind the Earth? Can we track the Space Force's secret X37 shuttle? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

A massive new release of Type 1a supernova data, did astronomers see a strange star form? huge spiral arms of comets in the Oort Cloud, and the highest energy neutrino ever detected. Plus in our extended version on Patreon, how scientists could get real data on UAPs.

What will we really lose in case SLS actually gets cancelled? Would nuclear rockets bring a significant enough improvement to space travel? Do we even know how to die in space? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Does dark matter annihilate with normal matter? Should we be searching for signs of life in other galaxies? Do we know how to terraform exoplanets? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

Moving across the surface of Enceladus can be more tricky than you think. Rough icy terrain can be hard for wheels. No atmosphere makes helicopters impossible. Thus, hopping and jumping might be the answer!

🟣 Guest: Dr. Justin Yim
https://publish.illinois.edu/novelmobilerobotslab/

James Webb finds the smallest asteroids in the main belt, astronomers double the chances of that asteroid strike in 2032, using hydrogel to protect astronauts from radiation, and material from Alpha centauri is already streaming into the Solar System.

Which NIAC project would be the best to bring to life? Are there really more stars than grains of sand on Earth? Is the solar eclipse going away from us? What's on my shelf behind me? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

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• 00:00 Start

• 00:26 Is the total solar eclipse going away?

• 02:24 Will Starship and New Glenn bring more space observatories?

• 04:36 Which NIAC award is the most exciting?

• 06:48 Are there places in the Universe with dozens of galaxies in the sky?

• 08:21 Are there more grains of sand than stars in the Universe?

• 09:54 Item from the shelf

• 12:33 A starhade project

📺 VIDEO VERSION

https://youtu.be/MEfNk0dS2tI

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter

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📩 CONTACT FRASER

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⚖️ LICENSE

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Support Universe Today Podcast

NASA just funded a NIAC project to study the possibility of building large structures on the Moon, on Mars and in space out of glass. Blowing glass bubbles similarly to how it's done on Earth.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Martin Bermudez
https://www.skyeports.com/

Will space debris prevent us from accessing orbit and when could it happen? Is the Universe with all its rules just a lucky accident? What does "The Publisher of Universe Today" even do? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Venus has a thick layer of clouds that obscures our view of the surface. To tackle that, this NIAC project suggests launching a balloon with a tether that will go below the cloud layer and help us image Venus surface.

🟣 Guest: Dr Benjamin Hockman
https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/people/benjamin_hockman/

A new asteroid with a 1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032, the European Space Agency is building a Lunar Lander platform, the largest structure in the Universe has been discovered, and how far away could we detect ourselves?

Who will get sample from Mars first? Who controls the James Webb Space Telescope? Does space radiation rule out panspermia? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

We all want to see potentially habitable exoplanets around Sun-like stars. But to do that you need a starshade. Something to cover the star and reveal the faint planets around it. What can we build these structures from to make them rigid and strong enough? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Christine Gregg
Dynamically Stable Large Space Structures via Architected Metamaterials
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/dynamically-stable-large-space-structures-via-architected-metamaterials/

Why are most craters circular, no matter which angle the meteor falls? Is there a size limit for a telescope before diminishing returns take place? Can black holes have atmospheres? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Space Docks are everywhere in science fiction. It's the most logical way to build big constructions in space. So, NASA funded a futuristic project that studies the possibility of assembling structures in space.

🟣 Guest: Dr Vojtech Holub
https://thinkorbital.com/

The MOXIE experiment on the Perseverance rover showed that creating oxygen on other planets is possible. Now, we can apply the same logic to Venus. This could allow the creation of constantly floating balloons, leading to cloud cities in the future.

Venus is closer than Mars. It's more Earth-like. We can bring back samples from it. But it's chronically underexlored. This is why we need a Venus Exploration Program!

🟣 Guest: Dr Paul Byrne
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2412.06830

The building blocks of life have been found in asteroid samples, the most volcanic activity ever seen on Io, astronauts are searching for bacteria on the outside of the space station, and Ingenuity found surprisingly fast wind speeds on Mars.

How big can a space crowbar be? Why does the Sun look bigger near the horizon? How do we measure temperature on the Moon? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

NASA is launching a new telescope this year called Pandora. It'll be specifically inspecting atmospheres of exoplanets. It even uses spare parts from JWST. Learning more about the Pandora telescope in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr Ben Hord
https://pandorasat.com/

Did we find ore veins on Moon or Mars? Can we see astronomical objects in 3D? Can we catch a ride on a comet? How will the internet work on Mars? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

What's going on with the TRAPPIST-1 system? Did James Webb find atmospheres or not? Do any of the planets have a chance to be habitable? When should we expect more information? Answering all these questions in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Megan Gialluca
https://depts.washington.edu/astrobio/wordpress/profile/megan-gialluca/

What happened to Starship during test flight 7? Astronomers see a black hole’s jets forming in real-time. Curiosity finds ripples of an ancient shore, and an insanely high-resolution image of Andromeda captured by Hubble.

How does JWST stay in L2 and not drift away? What is the wait calculation for Alpha Centauri? How can we use Jupiter's Lagrange points? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

To look for lifer in space we need to understand it. What fundamental boundaries does it have? What limits are imposed on life? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr Ricard Solé
https://santafe.edu/people/profile/ricard-sole

Did we already contaminate Mars with life from Earth? When will we find the first intergalactic object? How do we know dark matter is in the center of the Milky Way? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

We're used to look for life on exoplanets. But what if we're looking in the wrong place? Can life exist without a planet? Finding out in this interview.

The Gaia mission is over, New Glenn gets to orbit, SpaceX catches SuperHeavy but loses Starship, and we finally get an explanation for little red dots.

Are there any other local groups of galaxies out there? Did the high temperature of the Universe create life? Will NASA be skipping the Moon for Mars? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

How will the upcoming MAUVE telescope fit into the search for exoplanets? What science goals will it have? How will future instruments and telescopes help? Finding out in this interview.

🟣 Guest: Dr. Emily Rickman
https://www.emilyrickman.com/

When did the first terrestrial planets form? How can galaxies collide when the Universe is expanding? Do black holes have Lagrange points? Answering all these questions and more.

How can neutrinos help us find dark matter? How a 10-year search can give null results and what significance does it have? What's next for this direction? Finding out in this interview.

We’ve got two new options for NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission, an explanation for why Mars can get planet-wide dust storms, stealing secrets from Conan the Bacterium, and we could see a really bright comet next week.

Can the government really hide any unwanted UFO incidents? Is NASA avoiding looking for life? How will Hubble Tension help science?

This is a bonus part for the interview with Harry Brodsky where he talks about his underwater research experience.

Searching for life is complicated. Which elements are critical and which ones are not? Which can we count as biosignatures and which can occur without life? Which role does Phosphorus play in all that?

What happens if we find the true origin of life? What space things should you look forward to in 2025? Can a tidally locked planet qualify as Earth 2.0? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

NASA is working on an even bigger Mars helicopter, is dark energy just an illusion?, a particle that only has mass when moving in one direction, and Parker Solar Probe completes its closest flyby of the Sun.