Aspiring Martians

Hope you're prepared for a conversation that is as honest as it is powerful.

In this week's episode, Joe sits down with Lina Borozdina where she shares what brought her to space aboard Virgin Galactic, but this discussion goes far beyond the mechanics of spaceflight. Together, they explore the emotional reality of chasing a space dream in public and the resilience required to keep going in the face of dismissive, hurtful, an...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Dr. Kshitij Mall, an assistant professor at the University of South Alabama and director of the BRAHMAND Lab whose work sits at the cutting edge of propulsion, plasma-assisted flows, and extreme-environment engineering.

Kshitij is one of the minds behind Mission ShakthiSAT, a low-cost lunar transfer and micro-lander and program dedicated to empowering thousands of girls around the g...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Dr. Adriana Marais: theoretical physicist, astrobiologist, disruptor, explorer, and one of the most compelling voices shaping the future of human settlement beyond Earth.

Adriana’s scientific background spans quantum effects in biology, the origins of life’s building blocks in space, and award-winning work in quantum biology. She’s a Director at the Foundation for Space Development ...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Keisha Schahaff, a trailblazer whose journey has inspired millions across the Caribbean and beyond. Keisha made history as the first Caribbean woman in space, flying aboard Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 02 mission, where she and her daughter became the first mother-daughter duo to reach space together.

Keisha talks about what her flight gave her: the shift in perspective, the overwhelm...

This November — the month of elections here in the USA — we’re taking the spirit of civic engagement off-world.

In this Everyday Mars special, Joe talks with Dr. Kelly Weinersmith, an author, researcher, and one of the sharpest, funniest minds thinking about the future of space settlement. Kelly and her husband Zach wrote A City on Mars, a book that takes a wildly entertaining, deeply researched look at the realities of living off-p...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Dr. Shawna Pandya, the first named female commercial Canadian astronaut — and one of the most fascinating humans you’ll ever hear from.

She’s an emergency and aeromedical transport physician, an aquanaut, a blackbelt, and the Director of the IIAS Space Medicine Group, where she leads research into how humans adapt to the most extreme environments imaginable — underwater, in microgra...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe talks with Sahda Haroon — a space advocate, STEM communicator, and unstoppable force for representation and empowerment in science.

Sahda’s story is one of courage, curiosity, and contagious passion. She’s been part of the Mars Generation, a leader in the STEAM Squad, and a voice reminding us that diversity in space exploration isn’t just nice to have — it’s essential. Her journey is proof that wh...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Ilia-Daniel Gashinbaki — a 17-year-old Nigerian space visionary and the Executive Director and Founder of the Africa Space Foundation.

Daniel’s story started when he was just 11 years old, chosen by Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development Agency as one of the nation’s Space Ambassadors. That experience sparked a lifelong mission: to bring space science and education to com...

Food keeps us alive — but it also keeps us human.

In this Everyday Mars episode, Joe talks with Dr. Flávia Fayet-Moore, or Dr. Flav, a scientist, entrepreneur, and space nutritionist who’s making the future of food exciting again — on Earth and beyond it.

Dr. Flav is the founder and CEO of FOODiQ Global, co-founder of Food is Cool, and an alum of the International Space University’s Space Studies Program. Her work blends nutritional ...

This week on Aspiring Martians, we’re doing something special.

Just before the government shutdown, NASA worked with us to make sure we could sit down with members of the CHAPEA 2 crew — and two days after the hatch sealed, those interviews are now here.

The CHAPEA 2 mission officially began on October 19, 2025, when four volunteers — Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery, and James Spicer — entered NASA’s Mars Dune Alpha habit...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe talks with Dr. Dianne McGrath — explorer, sustainability expert, and one of the final 100 Mars One astronaut candidates.

Dianne grew up in the wide open stretches of the Australian Outback, where curiosity was her first compass. That same spirit carried her from studying environmental engineering and food sustainability to applying for a one-way mission to Mars — and, just for good measure, sailin...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe talks with Alejandro Perez — a biomedical engineer turned space educator whose energy is strong enough to replace your morning espresso.

Alejandro’s path started in Connecticut, where he grew up obsessed with how both nature and machines worked. He’s studied tissue engineering, led human stress experiments, worked on Martian regolith and plant genetics research with NASA’s CASIS division, built ag...

In this Everyday Mars special, Joe explores a question that’s equal parts science and heart: which pets might one day travel with us to Mars?

Last month we looked at dogs and cats, and why they’re unlikely to be early spacefarers. This month we turn to everything else — from goldfish that bred successfully in orbit to quail chicks hatched on Mir, from cockroaches conceived in space to tortoises that circled the Moon. We trace the lo...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe talks with Rachel Lyons — aerospace engineer, leadership coach, and former Executive Director of Space for Humanity. Today, she runs EarthRise Leadership, where she fuses her background in aerospace and economics with a passion for helping people step into who they want to be — on Earth and beyond.

Rachel’s work has been featured on CNN, NPR, and stages around the world, but her story goes deeper ...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe talks with Sergii Iakymov — aerospace engineer, Mars One 100 finalist, and the Director of the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.

Born in Germany, raised in Ukraine, and now splitting his time between Utah and California, Sergii has spent over 15 years designing, testing, and leading in aerospace and exploration. He’s managed crews in the Utah desert, joined a 45-day HERA mission in Houston, an...

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe talks with Josh Richards — a physicist, former Australian Army and UK Royal Marine commando, cave diver, writer, and one of the most visible Mars One finalists.

Josh’s background is extraordinary: growing up in a military family, serving in multiple branches of the armed forces, and even turning to comedy as a way of processing the scars of service. In our conversation, he shares candidly about hi...

This week on Aspiring Martians, I talk with Olanrewaju Paul Oladunni — a pioneer in Africa’s space advocacy movement and the Founder and Regional President of Space Tourism Society Africa.

Paul’s journey started with a simple dream: bringing people closer to the stars. From founding one of Nigeria’s first space clubs in the early 2000s to representing Africa at the global level with Space Renaissance International, he’s worked tirel...

Dogs have been humanity’s companions for thousands of years—guardians, workers, comforters, and beloved family members. But what about Mars?

In this special Everyday Mars episode, released in honor of International Dog Day, I sat down with Dr. Clive Wynne, ethologist at Arizona State University and author of Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You. Dr. Wynne is one of the foremost experts on the behavior of dogs and their wi...

This week on Aspiring Martians, I spoke with Rahaf Adi, the first Syrian woman to graduate with a space engineering degree. Rahaf’s journey has taken her from childhood dreams of building rockets to designing real experiments bound for space, including work at Purdue’s legendary Zucrow Labs on thrust-vectored engines. She was even chosen as the Banner Bearer for Purdue’s College of Engineering, leading the graduation procession wit...