Naked Astronomy: Recent Episodes
Naked Scientists
We look at the latest news from the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies. Plus interviews with professional astronomers and the answers to your space science questions.
The Space Boffins are on holiday in Bavaria, so where better to hang out than an asteroid impact crater?! The team visit the ReisKrater Museum to find out about the massive asteroid impact that devastated Central Europe 15 million years ago and now serves as an astronaut training ground. They also celebrate Wally Funk; mark 15 years of the Space Boffins podcast; celebrate the Beagle-2 Mars Lander, and an exclusive archive find: a film about the UK's first satellite, Ariel-1... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Space traveller Trevor Beattie joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to describe his obsession with space and flight in Virgin Galactic's space plane. The Space Boffins also discuss NASA's new Moonbase plans and Richard chats to rocket scientist Helen Lewin about the incredible RS-25 rocket. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Richard Hollingham is at the Kennedy Space Center for the (historic) launch of Artemis II to the Moon. Sue Nelson joins him from Space Boffins HQ to hear Richard's launch day audio diary and interviews with astronaut Sian Proctor and Artemis engineer Sian Cleaver from Airbus. Plus Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman answers a listener question, and NASA (or Nasa) head Jared Isaacman answers Richard's question on Earthrise. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Broadcaster and author Dallas Campbell joins Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to discuss NASA's new plans for Artemis, space culture, Alien and Clangers. Sue also meets the UK team working on the joint European and Chinese space weather mission, Smile. Plus, we hear from the producer/directors of the new Project Hail Mary film and Sue reveals what she thinks about it. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How do you control a spacecraft on the way to the Moon? NASA flight director, Fiona Antkowiak, shares plans for the Artemis II mission and reveals the secrets of Mission Control. We also hear what goes on in the Orion Mission Evaluation Room (MER) from MER lead Trey Perryman; Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham discuss the 'type A mishap' that befell the Starliner mission, and Sue talks to UK companies Space Forge and Bio Orbit about the future of factories in space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by member of the first crew to fix a satellite in orbit, Terry Hart. He discusses this month's Challenger 40th anniversary, and the spy satellite NASA used to check for Shuttle damage. The team also talk space emergencies with the UK Space Agency's senior exploration manager Meganne Christian, and space journalists Ken Kremer and Andrew Cook look ahead to 2026 in space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
It's the bumper end of year edition featuring the first European Commander of the International Space Station (ISS), Frank De Winne. He joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to chat about his two missions, and the future of space exploration. We also meet Mark Craig, the director of the new Apollo 1 movie, visit a Moon museum in Pittsburgh and get emotional in a Wally Funk themed exhibition. All that plus Wes Anderson chat, and a postcard competition... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham get up-close with a Moon lander taking shape at Astrobotic in Pittsburgh. The first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle, Eileen Collins, discusses a new film about her life: Space Woman. Plus, two new space quilts, complete with UFOs, at the Royal Astronomical Society... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
One of the most isolated places on Earth is helping us understand how to live on a moon or another planet. Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham spoke to Nina Purvis, at the Concordia Station in Antarctica, about life on 'White Mars'. Former ESA advisor Mark McCaughrean discusses his new book, 111 Places in Space That You Must Not Miss, and companies ClearSpace, Astroscale and Orbit Fab explain their plans to clean up in space... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
We celebrate Apollo legend Jim Lovell in this month's Space Boffins as we mine the archives to look back on his extraordinary space career. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham talk to Andy Saunders, NASA photography expert and author of Gemini and Mercury Remastered. We also hear from rival UK rocket companies Skyrora and Orbex, plus Emily Dineley from the UK Space Agency on plans for the first UK vertical launch. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Fresh from the UK Space Conference, Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson hear from UK astronaut Rosemary Coogan on life at the European Space Agency (ESA), and waiting for her first mission. ESA boss Josef Aschbacher talks about Europe's space game and NASA's budget squeeze. Plus, jet packs with the Smithsonian's Jennifer Lavasseur and a Sat Cave update from Space Forge... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Will China now get to the Moon first? NASA's former head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen, joins Space Boffins to discuss the proposed cuts to NASA's science budget. Richard visits SSTL to see an innovative European Space Agency mission, HydroGNSS, that uses satellite navigation signals to measure water from space. And authors Bruce McCandless III and Emily Carney share stories and songs from their new book, Star Bound, and talk Gemini, Skylab and an angry NASA memo. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Could factories in space be the future of manufacturing? Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham meet the head of the UK company, Space Forge, about to launch a (very small) factory into orbit. Sue also visits a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London exploring whether life could exist elsewhere in the universe, and the weird 1960s design that could have seen astronauts return to Earth on a paraglider... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Dinner chat on the space station, landing in the Shuttle and flying with William Shatner! Hosts Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham chat to NASA astronaut Nicole Stott about painting in space and whether we should send politicians into orbit! They also visit Space Shuttle Discovery in Washington to meet curator Jennifer Levassuer, Sue talks to Blue Origin astronaut Chris Boshuizen who pioneered phones in space, and the proposed NASA budget and what that means for Europe goes under the microscope...Contact us @spaceboffins and podcast@spaceboffins.com Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
It's all about returning to the Moon and protecting the Earth this time with Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham. Sue goes to Thales Alenia Space in Italy to see HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) - the first completed module for NASA's orbiting lunar space station, Gateway and a mock up of Europe's planned lunar IHAB module. We also hear about the ESA mission Vigil to improve space weather forecasts... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Incoming! NASA's acting head of planetary defence, Kelly Fast, discusses asteroids, YR2 and how to protect our planet. The UK Space Agency's head of Earth Observation and Climate, Beth Greenaway, and chief scientist, Shaun Quegan, discuss the upcoming European Biomass mission to measure how much carbon is being stored in tropical forests. And Kelly Weinersmith - co-author of A City On Mars - explains why living on the red planet will be much harder than anyone thought... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month, recently-retired BBC space correspondent, Jonathan Amos, and former NASA employee Herb Baker, author of From Apollo to Artemis: Stories from my 50 years with NASA, discuss reporting from a rocket launch, growing up with classmates whose dads are Apollo astronauts, and how material Herb's mother used to fix an aircon unit at home helped her save a Skylab mission. Plus, Richard sees a Soviet-era VA space capsule in the Manx Motor Museum on the Isle of Man... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Have we been visited by space aliens? This month space boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham delve into the history and science of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). They discuss UFOs with Pennsylvania State College professor and author of After the Flying Saucers Came, Greg Eghigian. They also talk to Thomas Zurbuchen, the longest ever serving head of science at NASA who commissioned an official report on UFOs. What does he believe? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
NASA's Europa Clipper mission is about to head off on a five year mission to explore one of Jupiter's largest moons. Planetary geologist mission scientist Cynthia Phillips joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to discuss why this icy body could potentially be habitable. Plus, engineer, author and president of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin, on his book The New World on Mars, and how societies and cities will emerge on the red planet once colonisation is underway... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Former paralympic athlete, surgeon and European Space Agency (ESA) reserve astronaut, John McFall joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to share his experiences of the Fly study to investigate whether people with physical disabilities could become astronauts. Also on the show, astronaut Tim Peake, who now has a new role at Axiom Space, Saxa Vord CEO, Frank Strang, and director of operations, Scott Hammond, discuss how they are building a spaceport in Shetland... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Was the Space Shuttle fundamentally flawed? Richard Hollingham talks to Adam Higginbotham, author of a new book on the Space Shuttle to discuss the design, the dream, and the wishful thinking that led to the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Sue Nelson visits London's Design Museum to visit a new Barbie exhibition and talk "Space Barbie". Also, discussions on the future of the International Space Station, Star Trek: The documentary, and betting on smarties. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
NASA astronaut and pilot of the Artemis II mission to the Moon, Victor Glover, joins Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to discuss the first Starliner launch, SpaceX, Artemis, Orion, NASA's mojo and his upcoming mission around the Moon. Plus space investor Mason Angel, crew of the recent Blue Orion sub-orbital flight, shares his experiences and what it was like to be to share the ride alongside 90 year-old Ed Dwight, NASA's first Black astronaut candidate... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham discuss the upcoming ESA EarthCARE mission with scientist Robin Hogan, the status of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury which will arrive at its destination next year and an exclusive as yet unheard interview with NASA legend George Abbey, who died recently, where he pays tribute to the Brits of Apollo... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Chief Scientist for Intuitive Machines, Ben Bussey, joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to talk through IM-1, the first US soft landing on the Moon since 1972. They discuss the landing, the broken legs, experiments and whether the IM control room is really based on Star Trek. Sue also travels to Farnborough to meet the chief engineer for novel nuclear at Rolls Royce, Jake Thompson. He hopes to build a nuclear reactor for a future Moonbase. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
After the first soft Moon landing from the US in over 50 years, Ken Kremer shares his excitement for Intuitive Machine's Odysseus lander, NASA's ongoing lunar ambitions, and his concerns over China stealing a lunar edge. Also UK Space Agency Head of Space Exploration, Libby Jackson on Artemis 2 and 3, Gateway and the all-British Axiom mission. Plus the decisions going into de-orbiting a satellite... (Image IM-1 lunar descent, courtesy Intuitive Machines). Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Legendary NASA flight director Gerry Griffin and award-winning filmmaker Chris Riley join Space Boffins after a showing of London's immersive Moonwalkers exhibition. Gerry discusses working on the Apollo missions and that infamous SCE to AUX switch as well as his thoughts on Artemis and a verdict on Moonwalkers. We also hear how Chris co-wrote the show with Tom Hanks, who played Jim Lovell in the Apollo 13 movie. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
It's a seasonal special from Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham with a previously un-broadcast interview with Apollo-era legend Frank Borman. Commander of Gemini 7 and Apollo 8, Colonel Borman passed away in November 2023 aged 95. His Apollo 8 mission was the first manned mission to the Moon, where the crew captured the famous Earthrise image and read from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve 1968. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
With the announcement of a planned all-UK astronaut mission, hosts Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson chat to ESA reserve astronaut Meganne Christian about astronaut selection, life in Antarctica and commercial space stations. Tim Peake - the possible commander of the Axiom mission - talks about his new book, Space The Human Story, which covers the history of human spaceflight from an astronaut's perspective. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
A Shuttle emergency you may not have heard of, sending your DNA into space, and a scientist studying the samples from asteroid Bennu. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham meet Natural History Museum meteorites curator, Natasha Vasiliki Almeida, and talk to Celestis founder, Charles Chafer, about sending your remains into space. Plus Sue chats to Jean Wright about sewing the blankets for the Space Shuttle, and a space repair reminiscent of Apollo 13. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
NASA's new head of science, Dr Nicola Fox, joins Space Boffins to chat about Mars sample return, solar missions and asteroids. Also, ESA new astronaut recruit, Pablo Alvarez, and experienced astronaut Alexander Gerst on preparations for the Artemis missions to the Moon, and we discuss the joy of boffins, Starship's rapid unscheduled disassembly and which ESA astronaut will be the first to step on the lunar surface? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
European Space Agency Juice mission to Jupiter's Michele Dougherty talks about icy moons, magnetic fields and life elsewhere in the solar system, and the UK Space Agency's Caroline Harper discusses the Juice launch preparations in French Guiana. Also, the hidden history of Space Shuttle Enterprise: Eric Boehm at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum talks about the prototype shuttle's test flights and the aftermath of the Columbia disaster and the military space shuttle. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Physicist and philosopher Sean Carrol talks to Naked Astronomy's Ben McAllister about the nature of time. Is it something truly fundamental to our Universe, or simply an illusion? Along the way they chat about space, relativity, the various ways to travel through time, and how that all relates to the emergence of life in the Universe.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Two big interviews this month: Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham meet Hubble astronaut Mike Massimino and UK 'Space Minister' George Freeman MP. Mike chats about how he was inspired by Apollo, Artemis, Hubble and what he learned from astronaut legend John Young about going to the toilet on the Moon. With the Minister we talk about launch from the UK, the recent European Space Agency (ESA) Council of Ministers meeting, astronauts, Mars and cleaning up space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Physicist and science populariser Paul Davies talks to Naked Astronomy's Ben McAllister about some of the toughest questions cosmologist are grappling with: how did the Universe begin and how will it end, what provoked the Big Bang, and are we part of a "Multiverse"? The duo also take in Dark Matter, extraterrestrial beings, consciousness, free will and whether it exists, and the origins of life itself... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Nasa's outgoing head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen talks about saving the James Webb Space Telescope, future missions to the Moon and Mars, and research into UFOs. The team also visit the Science Museum's sci-fi exhibition and talk to its curator, Glyn Morgan, about Aliens, Star Trek and AI. Plus, the seeds that accompanied Shaun the Sheep on the Artemis 1 mission and what they mean for growing food on the Moon and Mars. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham celebrate the drama of the Spirit and Opportunity rover missions with NASA rover engineer Doug Ellison and JPL research scientist Abigail Fraeman from the film Goodnight Oppy. Recalling how the robots developed personalities, they talk about the mission's highs and lows. We also hear about the new SWOT mission to measure the Earth's water, and talk space books for kids with Raman Prinjah and Sheila Kanani. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In this special bonus episode - for the first time in full - we play Richard's interview with the last man on the Moon, Gene Cernan. Recorded in summer 2016, it's thought to be the astronaut's last broadcast interview. In a wide-ranging and candid conversation, Cernan describes his "spacewalk from hell" during Gemini, his near-death experience at the Moon in Apollo 10 and his final words on the lunar surface during Apollo 17...Do send any thoughts or comments to Richard and Sue @spaceboffins via Facebook and Twitter or email podcast@spaceboffins.com Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Astronaut Stuart Roosa was a real-life action hero - Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham speak to his daughter about the Apollo 14 Command Module Pilot's life, mission and the seeds he carried with him to the Moon. Sue visits a real Moon Tree down the road from Space Boffins HQ, and we chat to the Chair of the UAE Space Agency about their mission to Mars, astronauts and international partnerships. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How do you design a space settlement government without it descending into tyranny? Charles Cockell shares his research with hosts Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham. And as the UK prepares for its first rocket launch in 50 years, the UK Space Agency's Matt Archer talks about launch plans and ambitions, and Richard heads to Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall to hear how a dish that brought the world Live Aid is now communicating with Mars. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In a brave move, the Space Boffins attempt a podcast about pictures without any pictures! Joining them are science writer Andy Saunders, who's spent years remastering images from the Apollo missions to reveal details never seen before, Oxford astrophysicist and podcast host Becky Smethurst about the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, and space artist Jackie Burns. It's an (audio) visual feast! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Apollo legend Poppy Northcutt joins Richard and Sue this month The only woman in mission control for the Moon missions, Poppy talks about the challenge of getting astronauts back from the Moon, the drama of Apollo 13 (and why she's not seen the film) and what was on channel 53. With the first launches from the UK fast approaching, Deputy Head of the UK Space Agency, Ian Annett, chats about the prospects for Britain's rocket programme, funding for astronauts and aerobatic flying. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Not one but four astronauts feature in this month's Space Boffins. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham chat to astronaut Nicole Stott about her book Back to Earth; we hear about the drama of launch, what to do when things go wrong and the challenges of interviewing other astronauts. Sue also attends a glamorous space event in London to catch up with two Apollo legends, British ESA astronaut Tim Peake, and Space Shuttle pilot Susan Kilrain. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
With the first Artemis mission on the launchpad, Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham look ahead to the next footsteps on the Moon. They chat to Libby Jackson from the UK Space Agency about Gateway - "a one bed studio flat" in orbit around the Moon - and lunar SatNav. Plus, John Vrublevskis from Thales Alenia Space UK explains the challenge of getting oxygen out of Moon rocks. We also feature an interview - never before broadcast in full - with Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke. He talks about landing on the Moon, looking back at Earth and his faith... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
It's the Space Boffins' most controversial episode yet, as Don Goldsmith talks about his new book written with Astronomer Royal Martin Rees - The End of Astronauts and why robots are the future. Also, we visit one of the cleanrooms at Airbus in Stevenage to see the new Biomass satellite to measure the carbon locked in the world's forests. Plus author Kevin Cook talks about his book, The Burning Blue, on Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger disaster. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In a bumper new year edition, we hear the latest on the Webb space telescope, discuss volcanoes on distant worlds and look ahead to Europe's mission to Mars. ESA's Mark McCaughrean talks about what's next for the James Webb Space Telescope; UCL's Andrew Coates covers the Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover launching this year, and the OU's Natalie Starkey talks about her new book Fire and Ice. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Gardeners of the Galaxy podcast host Emma Doughty discusses the challenges and joys of growing flowers, chillies and vines (for wine!) in space. Sue and Richard also chat to self-confessed space nerd John Chinner about the Astro Pi computers on the International Space Station, 3-D printed rovers and the best (space) movie ever made. Plus, Richard ventures out to a real control room tracking the progress of an innovative new space debris removal mission, currently in orbit around the Earth... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
ESA's senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean joins Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to enthuse about the most powerful space telescope ever built. And NASA astronaut Jessica Meir discusses coming back from the ISS to a world in the grip of Covid-19, her first all women space walk, and her preparations as part of the Artemis astronaut corps. Plus new CEO of the UK Space Agency, Paul Bate, on the UK's continued success within the space industry. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
After BepiColombo's recent flyby of Mercury, Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson hear from the University of Leicester's Dr Charly Feldman about its onboard lobster eye optics and their increasing use in new spacecraft. They're also joined by the UK Space Agency's Liz Cox on the importance of space when it comes to climate change, and the legendary NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill - whose career there is 55 years and counting - talks about Apollo 1 and Apollo 10. And, yes, there are plenty of Snoopy references! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month, Naked Astronomy goes in search of the civilisations with which we might share this Universe. Andrew Siemion, Director of Berkeley SETI Research Center, joins Ben McAllister and Adam Murphy to discuss how likely it is that we are not alone, how we are probing the distant reaches of space for intelligent life, what might thwart us and what's been found so far... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Shuttle pilot and International Space Station Commander, Terry Virts, chats to Space Boffins about flying the Shuttle, commanding the ISS, photographing the Earth...and UFOs. And after the triumphant flight of Wally Funk, Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by space reporter and commercial spaceflight expert, Sarah Cruddas, to talk about space tourism and space entrepreneurs. But will the price of spaceflight ever come down so the rest of us can afford it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
On the 10th anniversary of Space Boffins, BBC Science and Space Correspondent Jonathan Amos comes aboard to celebrate Mercury 13 legend Wally Funk as she prepares to launch to space with Jeff Bezos. We also catch up on ten years of space developments, chat to ESA's project scientist for the JUICE mission to Jupiter's icy moons, Olivier Witasse, and celebrate Apollo 15 with an epic montage featuring astronaut Al Worden. Here's to the next ten years! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Two astronauts, one space hipster, a writer and a musician all feature in this month's Space Boffins. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by podcaster and founder of the Space Hipsters, Emily Carney. They also hear from pioneering astronaut Anna Fisher in conversation with astronaut Nicole Stott. And David Brown, author of The Mission, talks about Jupiter's moon Europa and the chances of finding life on the icy and watery world... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month on Naked Astronomy, we're seeking the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. We're looking at the "God Equation", an equation that could describe everything we know in physics. What would it look like, and what would it mean? Adam Murphy and Ben McAllister were joined by physicist Michio Kaku, author of the God Equation, to discuss how this kind of equation would come about, and the kind of science that might be needed to explain it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In a podcast exclusive, Britain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman, joins the Space Boffins 30 years after her 1991 Juno mission. She describes the selection process, training in the Soviet Union and her return. Author of the Martian, Andy Weir, chats about his latest book, Jason Achilles Mezilis is the musician behind the Mars microphone, and we commemorate the death of Apollo 11 legend Mike Collins. It's another epic podcast... how do we do it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In an epic edition of the Space Boffins Podcast we ambitiously celebrate the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight and the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Space Shuttle. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by live guests Stephen Walker author of Beyond, a new book on Gagarin, and Libby Jackson who leads the human space programme at the UK Space Agency. They also talk to two Space Shuttle astronauts: Sid Gutierrez about flying and commanding the Shuttle, and Kathy Sullivan, one of the first American women in space. She shares stories of the challenges of training for... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month on Naked Astronomy we're setting our sights on the Sun. How do storms form on the Sun? How can they wreak havoc here on Earth? And what can we do to predict them? To find out, Ben McAllister and Adam Murphy are joined by University College London solar physicist Stephanie Yardley... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
AS NASA's Perseverance rover makes it safely to Mars, we chat to science writer Elizabeth Howell about the array of missions now studying the red planet. Also the European Space Agency's head of diversity, Ersilia Vaudo, talks about plans for parastronauts, and the UK ground station that relayed the first footsteps on the Moon gears up for the next big lunar adventure. Plus, find out who was right in the great US first-astronaut debate... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month on Naked Astronomy, we're waxing lyrical about aliens. What might they look like? Can we apply the principles of biology to other worlds? To do that, Ben McAllister and Adam Murphy were joined by Arik Kershenbaum to chat about alien evolution... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month on Naked Astronomy, we're mulling over Mars. We'll be chatting about the question of liquid water on the surface of Mars. Is it there at all? And if it is, how do we find it? And to do that, Ben McAllister and Adam Murphy were joined by Lujendra Ojha from Rutgers University to chat about why Mars fascinates us... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Space journalist Andrew Jones and his cat join the Space Boffins this month to discuss China's ambitious plans for the Moon and beyond. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham also talk to Nellie Offord from UK company SSTL about their lunar communications satellite (and whether it will go beep), hear from author Rebecca Siegel about the enormous egos of the Mercury astronauts and celebrate space chimp Ham. And should Space Boffins be renamed? You decide... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month we're diving into dark matter, that unknown stuff that makes up a quarter of the Universe. Where is it, what is it, and how do we know it's even there? To find out, Adam Murphy and Ben McAllister speak to Alan Duffy from Swinburne University, who works in the newly-minted Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, which is also where Ben works! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In a specially recorded face to (socially-distanced) face interview to mark the fifth anniversary of his mission to the International Space Station, British European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake reveals the details of his perilous space station docking, physically challenging return to Earth and launchpad music selections. He also discusses the legacy of his flight and the influence it's had on a generation of students. Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham also talk to Libby Jackson about her new book featuring extraordinary stories of space exploration, and Professor Robert... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
This month on Naked Astronomy, we're taking a closer look at the largest telescope ever to be built, the Square Kilometre Array. The SKA spans continents, with some of it in South Africa, and some of it in Australia, but how does that work? And also, what is the SKA going to show us about our universe. To find out, Ben McAllister and Adam Murphy spoke with Phil Diamond, the Director General for the SKA project...Ben - You're probably familiar with the concept of a telescope - humans have been making them for at least hundreds of years, and using them to learn about the Universe beyond our... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
NASA has just collected a sample from an asteroid and work is well underway to land a woman on the Moon. Space journalist David Whitehouse chats about whether President Trump was good for space. Dr Sara Russell discusses the OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu, and Thales Alenia Space UK CEO Andrew Stanniland explains how they'll build a fuel station for the Moon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In this episode of Naked Astronomy we're taking a look at all the ways that the universe could come to a close. From the dramatic to the slow and ponderous, we're chatting about how space will evolve. Ben McAllister and Adam Murphy are joined by theoretical cosmologist Katie Mack, from North Carolina state University, and author of The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) to talk about our ultimate fate... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
To celebrate 20 years of people living on the International Space Station, we feature only ISS astronauts in this special edition of Space Boffins. NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott joins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson and we revisit interviews with Chris Hadfield, Cady Coleman, Scott Kelly, Sergei Krikalev, Luca Parmitano and Michael Foale. What other podcast on the planet gives you seven astronauts in an hour? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Skylab's perilous and dramatic mission, life on Venus, the religion of Cosmism, and Brexit all get discussed this month. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by astronomer and writer Dr Stuart Clark to chat about our relationship with the night sky. Also aboard are David Hitt, author of Homesteading Space - the Skylab Story, and Arfan Chaudhry, from the UK Space Agency, on new UK space programmes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Space Boffins celebrate their 100th Naked Scientists' edition with two major guests: NASA's head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen, and the UK Space Agency's head of human space exploration, Libby Jackson. They discuss the future of the International Space Station and lunar exploration and the inside-track on the troubled James Webb Space Telescope. Also aboard, Charles Cockell on asteroid mining, and Tim Gagnon on mission patch design. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Mars is the destination of choice for three Mars missions this summer, with the US, China and the United Arab Emirates all preparing for launch. Also, UAE plans for a Mars habitat, the UK engineer working on ways to return samples to Earth, the Mars Society's Lucinda Offer outlines plans for Martian settlements, Nicolas Booth talks landers, life, and rovers, and a review Spaceship Earth, the new movie about the 1990s Biosphere 2 experiment... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Following the successful Crew Dragon launch, Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman talks about the terrors of splashdown, and Shuttle astronaut and aquanaut Kathy Sullivan describes the choreography of spacewalking. The Boffins are also joined by TV presenter Gareth Jones and hear about a mission to remove space debris, and listen to the latest release from Kraftwurst... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
With astronauts preparing for the first flight in the Dragon spacecraft, space reporter Sarah Cruddas discusses this new era in space travel. Richard and Sue hear about the space industry's response to Covid-19, astronaut Nicole Stott talks about space art and we feature another song about Hubble that should have been a Britpop classic. As the Space Boffins in lockdown go mildly hysterical, enjoy the calming effects of Atom Bomb Yoga... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
In a special bonus episode of Space Boffins Richard Hollingham celebrates Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who died in March. The podcast features extracts from interviews Richard conducted with Al, including previously unbroadcast material, and includes the astronaut's comments on being the loneliest human, the stamps controversy and his relationship with mission commander Dave Scott. Al describes what it was like to make the first space walk in deep space and his work since leaving the space programme. Richard also talks to Vix Southgate - Al's friend and business manager in the UK - about the... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson celebrate Hubble's 30th birthday with Shuttle astronaut Kathy Sullivan, who deployed the space telescope, and hear from NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill about his warning alarm system for Apollo 13, celebrating its 50th lucky escape anniversary. And Craig Clark, of AAC Clyde Space, shows them around the cubesat pioneer's HQ in Glasgow. All this with bonus space-themed added music.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
The Sun, stamps and exoplanets in this edition. ESA's senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean reflects on the emotional launch of Solar Orbiter, Nobel Prize winner Didier Queloz talks CHEOPS as the telescope prepares to start studying planets outside our Solar System, and Stuart Clark reveals his role in the UK's recently released Visions of the Universe space stamps. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Live at Astrofest 2020, Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham talk to UK Space Agency chief scientist Chris Lee, space law expert Chris Newman and the European Space Agency's Antonella Nota. They discuss Hubble's legacy, the James Webb, legality of lunar ownership, and the impact of hundreds of new satellites. Plus, TRUTHS - the new climate-monitoring mission. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Shuttle astronaut Mike Mullane recounts stories of space sexism, toilets and M and Ms in the first Space Boffins podcast of 2020. We also meet the engineer developing the controls for a new robotic arm for the space station - or 'Man Machine Interface' - and Richard and Sue are joined by science writer Colin Stuart to look ahead to the next year in space. Warning: this podcast features some disturbing audio of a space toilet malfunction. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Shuttle astronaut Mike Mullane recounts stories of space sexism, toilets and M and Ms in the first Space Boffins podcast of 2020. We also meet the engineer developing the controls for a new robotic arm for the space station - or 'Man Machine Interface' - and Richard and Sue are joined by science writer Colin Stuart to look ahead to the next year in space. Warning: this podcast features some disturbing audio of a space toilet malfunction. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
On the tenth anniversary of Naked Astronomy, Dark Matter physicist Ben McAllister delivers our State of the Universe Address and asks "what's changed" in astronomy over the decade since we launched this programme. World leaders explain the impacts of the first photographs of a black hole, the Nobel prize for the detection of exoplanets, the new insights arising from the study of the cosmic microwave background radiation, and the revolution in physics that was the first detection of gravitational waves... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Rubber gloves, sew sisters and a mission to the Sun with Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson this month. Richard talks to Solar Orbiter ESA and NASA mission scientists in Munich. Sue reports from the US on the seamstresses to the stars - including Jean Wright, who sewed thermal blankets on the Space Shuttle and Jeanne Wilson, who helped make Neil Armstrong's spacesuit. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
What would a house on Mars look like? Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson tackle the tricky topic of Mars interior design and the challenges of moving to Mars. They're joined by the Head of Science for the UK Space Agency, Chris Lee, to also discuss a new mission to a comet - a comet that's not yet been discovered - and future international science missions. They also hear from Apollo 12 Flight Director, Gerry Griffin, recalling the dramatic launch of Apollo 12 and the switch - and puppet show - that saved the day. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham visit Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne factory floor in Long Beach, California and Sue heads to Spaceport Cornwall, where Virgin Orbit plans to launch its small satellites from a modified Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl. Shahida Barick from SSC Space UK joins them in the studio to explain what Sweden has to offer the space industry and there's a tribute to cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, featuring an interview with the world's first spacewalker and an exclusive extract from Audible's The Space Race docudrama. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham visit Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne factory floor in Long Beach, California and Sue heads to Spaceport Cornwall, where Virgin Orbit plans to launch its small satellites from a modified Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl. Shahida Barick from SSC Space UK joins them in the studio to explain what Sweden has to offer the space industry and there's a tribute to cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, featuring an interview with the world's first spacewalker and an exclusive extract from Audible's The Space Race docudrama. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
How clean is really clean? This month, as Europe's Rosalind Franklin Mars rover leaves the UK, Space Boffins visit the clean room to discover the effort needed to keep Mars safe from Earth-bugs. With guest NASA Curiosity mission scientist Sanjeev Gupta from Imperial College London, we hear about the two Mars rovers heading to the red planet in 2020 and their search for past or present life. We also go inside the Airstream trailer in California where Apollo astronauts lived after returning from the Moon and there's (yet another) new jingle - can you identify where the clips come from? For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson with a TinTin style headline for this month's podcast: lunar heritage and the lost meteorites of Antarctica. Recorded at the recent Bluedot festival, Space archaeologist and co-deputy chair of Australia's Space Industry Association, Dr Alice Gorman, explains why we need to think about preserving the Apollo sites before we return to the Moon and Dr Katherine Joy discusses her latest meteorite mission. Bjorn from Sweden provides a jingle, the joys of Lego and the Royal Astronomical Society's Dr Robert Massey joins the fun to add to a long list of very interesting, we repeat interesting, questions... It will all become clear on the podcast. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
This is a Space Boffins podcast to blow your minds. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings, it features the only woman in launch control for Apollo 11, JoAnn Morgan, talking about her work as an instrumentation controller and coping with sexism on the job. Former Apollo engineer David Baker joins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson in the British Interplanetary Society library with contributions from Apollo propulsion engineer John Tribe and former NASA Johnson Space Centre head, George Abbey. It also features David Fairhead, director of the new Armstrong movie, and a sneak preview of a fantastic new audio series The Space Race, featuring former Star Trek captain Kate Mulgrew and co-produced by Boffin Media and B7 Media for Audible. It's an Apollo 11 feast. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy
As mankind celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings, Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by bestselling Apollo 11 author David Whitehouse at the British Interplanetary Society. Universal Pictures' highly anticipated documentary film, Apollo 11, is out in UK cinemas on June 28 and, with a sneak preview, Sue meets the film's director Todd Miller and archivist Stephen Slater. If you've seen the Orion capsule you'll know it resembles Apollo and will splashdown too. Richard talks to Melissa Jones, the NASA landing and recovery director at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral.
Space Boffin Sue Nelson interviews two remarkable women for this podcast: Hidden Figure Christine Darden and Mercury 13 legend and astronaut wannabe, Wally Funk. Darden, who featured in the book Hidden Figures, worked at NASA for 40 years as a mathematician, computer programmer and sonic boom expert. Sue's book, Wally Funk's Race for Space, is out in paperback in June. To celebrate its release, we learn more about Funk as she reveals her incredible history and the continued drive to get into space through mementoes at her home in Texas - featuring walk on parts from Eileen Collins, Valentina Tereshkova and Osama Bin Laden
The Space Boffins get to see inside the NASA's famous Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Centre - a building so large that it has its own weather system. It's being adapted so that NASA's Saturn V replacement the new SLS or Space Launch System rocket will be built. The senior NASA engineer who's overseeing the project, Ken Tenbusch, gives Richard Hollingham a personal tour. Back in the studio Richard and Sue (Nelson) are joined by rocket expert David Wade and Oliver Morton, author of The Moon: A History for the Future. There's also an insight into Gene Cernan's experience during Apollo 10 from an interview recorded with the astronaut shortly before he died to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the mission.
This month Space Boffins contemplates the missing universe, the nature of humanity and reunites astronaut Nicole Stott with her Space Shuttle Atlantis. Richard Hollingham is joined by theoretical physicist and comedian Dr Fran Day to discuss a new European mission, Euclid, which will be investigating dark matter. He also chats to NASA's new chief flight director in mission control Houston, Holly Ridings, and we hear from Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart about his revelations from orbit. You can follow Space Boffins on twitter, @SpaceBoffins.
Space Boffins are live on stage at Astrofest 2019 in London with a stellar line-up of guests to discuss landing on Phobos, weirdly-shaped space rocks and Europe's mission to Mercury. They're joined by science writer Stuart Clark, the Japanese Space Agency's Elizabeth Tasker, New Horizons scientist Simon Porter and Suzie Imber, who's working on the BepiColombo mission. Also featuring live audience participation with how best to pronounce Houston and, completely unrehearsed, audience whooping.
Apollo 8 commander, Frank Borman, joins Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson in this month's podcast. Fifty years ago Apollo 8 became the first manned mission to orbit the Moon and so the podcast has a lunar theme. Recorded at the Royal Astronomical Society in London, guests include Dr Robert Massey and art historian Dr Alexandra Loske, authors of Moon: Art, Science, Culture. There's also an appearance by former European astronaut Thomas Reiter, who discusses the joint NASA and ESA plans for the Moon with Orion, and Caroline Geraghy explains how her son Hayden became the inspiration for a space-inspired Lottie doll.
The Space Boffins podcast is in New York with NASA astronaut, engineer and Big Bang Theory star Mike Massimino. Recorded on the Hudson River from the flight deck of the USS Intrepid - where Massimino works once a week - Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are also joined by the Sea, Air Space Museum's curator of aviation, Eric Boehm. Add a report on archiving space missions with NASA TV audio engineer Greg Wiseman and you have a NASAtastic edition and yes, we do discuss fruit loops
Astronaut Paolo Nespoli joins Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham for a podcast special recorded at the European Space Agency's ESTEC facility in The Netherlands during their Open Day. Thousands of people travel from across Europe and beyond to see where the European Space Agency tests its spacecraft before launch and the birthplace of many of its science missions. Joining the ever entertaining Nespoli on the Space Rocks stage is space debris expert Luisa Innocenti, head of ESA's Clean Space Office, on better alternatives for spacecraft materials plus trainee aerospace engineer Marta de Oliveira, who is working on a proposed future mission to Venus called EnVision.