Ep.111 Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Ask an Astronaut—with Dr. Edward Lu of B612

Dr. Edward Lu is an astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut who logged 200-plus days in space between 1995 and 2007. Today, he serves as the Cofounder and Executive Director of the Asteroid Institute at the B612 Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroid impacts. On this episode of Boost VC, Ed joins us to discuss what makes space fun, describing what daily life is like in zero gravity and why he thinks we’ll colonize space within the next few decades. 

 

Ed shares his experience training for a rescue mission to the International Space Station, weighing in on how spacecraft tech has (and has not) evolved and why we can’t stay in space for longer than six months at a time. Listen in for Ed’s insight on the likelihood that aliens exist and learn about the most recent advancements in asteroid tracking—and why it’s crucial to predict where they’re headed decades in advance.

 

Topics Covered

 

What makes being in space fun for Ed

• Dream to fly, incredible ship made by people
• Amazing view (new continent every 15 minutes)

 

Ed’s experience on a rescue mission to the space station

• Supplies/transport cut off after Columbia crash
• Trained to command Soyuz in just 9 weeks

 

What inspired Ed to become an astronaut

• Worked as astrophysicist, became pilot for fun
• Friend at work mentioned NASA application

 

Ed’s take on what it takes to be an astronaut

• Ability to operate ALL systems of spacecraft
• Pilot, scientist and submarine crew combined

 

How daily habits are different in zero gravity

• Can’t put items down on table
• No arc when passing objects

 

Why we can’t stay in space for long periods

• 6-month lifetime of spacecraft
• Fuel decays, one-time use batteries for reentry 

 

How spacecraft tech has evolved since the 1960’s

• Style of rocket similar (dictated by physics)
• Systems inside spacecraft ALL different

 

Ed’s work with the B612 Foundation

• Protect Earth from asteroid impacts
• Find and track path with telescopes

 

The greatest advancement in asteroid tracking

• LSST opening in 2023 at Rubin Observatory
• Collect more data than all telescopes combined

 

Why it’s crucial to track asteroids

• Identify 1 to 2 near-Earth asteroids per week
• Gives decades of notice to plan and deflect

 

The biggest change in space tech over the years

• Reduction of cost in both launch and electronics
• Allows for more small startups to innovate

 

Why Ed thinks we’ll colonize space in a few decades

• Reduction in cost = cheap infrastructure
• Recent compound growth in space sector

 

How Ed thinks about the likelihood that aliens exist

• Hundreds of millions of planets in our galaxy
• Shocked if there isn’t life somewhere

Connect with Ed

 

B612 Foundation https://b612foundation.org/

B612 on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/b612foundation/

B612 on Twitter https://twitter.com/b612foundation

Ed on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-lu-3a997833/

 

Resources

 

James Randi https://web.randi.org/about-james-randi.html

Tunguska Event https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-tunguska-explosion/  

Vera C. Rubin Observatory https://www.lsst.org/

LeoLabs https://www.leolabs.space/

Chess.com https://www.chess.com/

Kepler Space Telescope https://www.space.com/24903-kepler-space-telescope.html

 

Connect with Boost VC

 

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