This month Dr Jen talks to Dr Phil! Dr Phil Metzger about how rocket efflux interacts with soil and what this will mean for future landings on the Moon and Mars…
Dec 31st: Periodic table & Props up a Rocket
Sep 19th: The Rocket Race Towards Reusability
Last week we talked about how single-use rocketry has changed over time, and the role it still plays in launching payloads into orbit and beyond. Today we’ll address the stainless steel elephant in the room and talk about the shift to reusability.
Sep 14th: Season Premiere: Catching Up On News & Rockets!
As we return from our summer hiatus, we are back with a rundown of some of the stories such as JWST images, dark matter, and Betelgeuse. Also thirty orbital launches but not including Artemis.
Sep 12th: Artemis & The Decline of Single Use Rockets
On the day that we’re recording this, NASA’s Space Launch System is about to blast off. But everyone is expecting it’ll be delayed to October. When it does launch, it’ll be the most powerful rocket on Earth. Well, until Starship blasts off. So are we about to see the end of single-use rockets and enter the era of reusable rocketry?
Aug 12th: Harvesting Resources From The Solar System: ISRU
In order to really survive and thrive in space, we’ve got to learn to live off the land, to acquire the resources in space that will allow us to survive… in space. We’ve got to learn to turn those raw materials into forms we need: fuel, breathable air, water, construction materials, and eventually even finished goods like rocket parts and electronics.
Jul 7th: Bennu’s Boulders Act as Body Armor
An analysis of the craters on Bennu’s surface provides evidence that the rubble pile asteroid is protected from smaller impacts by the boulders scattered on the surface
Feb 7th: The Cost of Delays
With all the success of James Webb so far, it’s looking like science’s huge gamble is going to pay off, but there were years of delays and budget overruns. What impacts did these delays have on science, careers, and the future of space exploration?
Jan 26th: Carbon Molecules on Mars Open New Mystery
NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered carbon isotopes on Mars which (on Earth) are usually caused by the degradation of biological methane, leading scientists to examine other potential reasons for the molecules.
May 17th: Sounding Rockets
Last week we talked about balloon-based astronomy. This week we’re gonna talk about putting telescopes on rockets and making observations mid flight. Welcome to the wild world of sounding rockets.