WeMartians Podcast

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a storied history of exploration, but if you go back far enough the stories get pretty wild. Its early days feature a gutsy team of rocket engineers blowing up engines in the hills around Pasadena while moonlighting as communists and occultists. This "Suicide Squad" is featured in a new podcast series by MG Lord, and MG joins Jake to talk about it.

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• Blood Sweat and Rocke...

Last year saw a successful Artemis 1 flight, the launch of multiple lunar robotic missions, and the continued development of the CLPS program. What's ahead for 2023? Will it continue this string of exciting progress in lunar exploration? Friends of the show and space reporters Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck join Jake to talk it through.

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• Emilee's Twitter (@ EMSpeck)
• Fox Weather Earth and Space
• WMFE...

The Artemis I Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific this week, a triumphant finale to a mission that faced so many challenges getting to launch. With Artemis I behind us, what's ahead for the Artemis program and the road to a lunar landing? Ars Technica journalist Eric Berger joins Jake to talk about the future of the program and the challenges it will face.

We Orion, SLS, Starship and Artemis

• Here’s why NASA’s Arte...

Juno has been exploring the Jupiter system since 2016, and has taught us a lot about the clouds, the magnetosphere, and the origin of the largest planet in our solar system. Now in its extended mission, it's exploring the Jovian moons in a series of flybys, including a recent pass by Europa. The mission's PI Scott Bolton joins Jake to talk about this flyby, the science results we've gotten, and what's ahead for this intrepid explor...

Voyagers 1 and 2 have been exploring our solar system for over 45 years now. Despite the age of their instruments and computers and power source, they continue to deliver scientific data and contribute to present day discovery. Dr. Linda Spilker, who worked on Voyager since its launch, joins Jake to talk about its value today and its legacy tomorrow.

We talk Voyager 1 and 2

• Voyager 1 AACS Anomaly
• Voyager 45th Anniversary
<...

The clouds of Venus have long been a dream of humans to explore, and at last a mission concept called Phantom could be here to do it! But the road ahead for this idea is neither straight nor easy. Paul Byrne joins Jake to talk about how it will help us understand the solar system, and why it might not even get the chance to compete for a spot.

We talk Phantom and New Frontiers 5

• Twitter Thread about Phantom
• New Frontiers ...

NASA's SLS rocket has been in development for over a decade and at last was ready to take off from the Space Coast. But leaks and other technical problems thwarted it on its first attempts. Jake travelled to Florida to see it and reports on how it went, and how weaknesses in the program's architecture don't end at lift off.

We talk the Space Launch System

• 1st Scrub - Space News
• 2nd Scrub - Space News
• Years after shuttle, N...

The Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program (CLPS) began in 2018 with the promise of bootstrapping a new, inexpensive lunar delivery economy; it was to be a pathway for lunar science to the Moon's surface. Since then, a handful of companies have been racing to get the first launches off, but it hasn't all been smooth sailing. Main Engine Cut Off's Anthony Colangelo joins Jake to talk about their progress, and what we should keep ...

Curiosity landed on Mars ten years ago and has been exploring Gale Crater ever since. After achieving its primary mission, it's embarked on a series of extended missions to continue to unravel mysteries in the rocks. Deputy Project Scientist for the mission Abigail Fraeman joins Jake to talk about her favourite moments and to discuss what comes next for the impressive rover.

We talk Curiosity and Mars

• Curiosity Mission U...

BepiColombo, a joint mission between ESA and JAXA, is on a long meandering journey to Mercury. Last month, it made its 2nd of six flybys of the innermost planet, spiralling its trajectory down to a place where it can enter orbit. Lina Hadid, a space plasma physicist from the Laboratoire de Physique des Plasma in Paris, joins Jake to talk about the flyby campaigns, what science we can do on them, and how we're warming up for the big...

For two decades, the modern Mars program has been sending spacecraft almost every launch window to Mars, and we have Scott Hubbard to thank for much of that. As the first director of the Mars Program, he instituted much of the paradigm we have today. But with Mars Sample Return on the horizon, Scott joins Jake to talk about how things are changing and what it means for the future.

We talk Mars Sample Return and the Mars Program<...

NASA is headed to the Moon in more ways than one. A coalition of human spaceflight, planetary science, and commercialization advocates stand to make an exciting decade of Lunar exploration. But such a collaboration does not come easy, and there's lot of work to get done before we execute it. Planetary Scientist Brett Denevi joins Jake to talk about the opportunities, the challenges, and the incredible science that awaits.

We tal...

Last month, the new Planetary Science Decadal Survey was released and recommended as its top flagship mission a Uranus Orbiter and Probe. It's been 36 years since we last visited the Ice Giant, and now the science community is ready to take a closer look. Dr. Amy Simon from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center joins Jake to talk about the mission, how it works, and why it's so important to understand the Ice Giants.

We talk Uranus...

Every ten years, the National Academies convenes an extraordinary survey of the planetary science community to produce a recommendation for NASA on what to prioritize in planetary exploration for the next decade. It's a remarkable endeavour to scientifically and democratically determine a consensus on questions, priorities and methods used to explore the planets. Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate of the Planetary Society, joins Jake in ...

Every ten years, the National Academies convenes an extraordinary survey of the planetary science community to produce a recommendation for NASA on what to prioritize in planetary exploration for the next decade. It's a remarkable endeavour to scientifically and democratically determine a consensus on questions, priorities and methods used to explore the planets. Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate of the Planetary Society, joins Jake in ...

New Horizons flew past Pluto in 2015 but work continues on discovering its secrets. One area of study is the activity of so called cryovolcanoes, icy mounds spewing liquidy water and reshaping Pluto's surface. Dr. Kelsi Singer, deputy project scientist for New Horizons, joins Jake to talk about her recent paper on the subject.

We talk Pluto, cryovolcanoes and subsurface oceans

• Kelsi's Paper on Cryovolcanoes
• New York Times...

Rocket Lab is about more than just rockets. With their Photon bus, they can provide an end to end platform service to enable low-cost planetary exploration to multiple destinations. With flights coming up to the Moon, Venus and Mars, they've become an important player in the planetary exploration space. CEO Peter Beck joins Jake to talk about their approach and why it's important.

We talk Rockets, Planets, and More

• Rocke...

Since the last time the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference was held in person, the Venus community went from 0 to 3 missions on the books. Their energy at the conference was electric, and Jake catches up with people working on all three of the missions to find out how they're preparing for this sudden resurgence in study, and how VERITAS, EnVision, and DAVINCI will help us uncover the fascinating mysteries of the 2nd planet.