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573 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Ep. 616: Hangout-A-Thon Episode 1 - The Great Observatories
29 oktober 2021 · 33 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 616: Hangout-A-Thon Episode 1 - The Great Observatories by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Well, you're familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope of course, but it's just one of NASA's Great Observatories. After Hubble came 3 more incredible telescopes. Each greater than the last! (That's not true… The first one was the greatest.) But together they would fill in almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Lees meer
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Ep. 615: Planet 9
18 oktober 2021 · 32 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 615: Planet 9 by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay After Pluto lost its planethood we were down to 8 planets. But there's growing evidence of another world or worlds out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Is Planet 9 out there and how will we find it? Could there even be a Planet 10? Lees meer
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Ep. 614: Centaurs, Comets & Asteroids
11 oktober 2021 · 27 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 614: Centaurs, Comets & Asteroids by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So there are asteroids, and there are comets. But there's an entirely separate class of objects called centaurs. But instead of half human, half horse, imagine an object that's half comet, half asteroid, but 100% interesting! Lees meer
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Ep. 613: Pluto's Demotion: 15 Years Later
4 oktober 2021 · 27 min
Astronomy Cast - Ep. 613: Pluto's Demotion: 15 Years Later by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It's been 15 years since Pluto was kicked out of the planet club. It also happens to be the topic of our very first episode of Astronomy Cast more than 600 episodes ago. Are there any updates? Does Pluto have a chance of regaining planethood again? Lees meer
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Ep. 612: Hiatus Message
12 juli 2021 · 3 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: Hiatus Message by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Fraser & Pamela will return in early September with more episodes of Astronomy Cast. We hope you all have a safe, relaxing and prosperous summer!
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Ep. 612: The SETI Renaissance
5 juli 2021 · 29 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: The SETI Renaissance by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about the various ways that astronomers could detect the presence of intelligent civilizations by observing technosignatures. This week we'll give you an update on the state of the search for extraterrestrials. This field has gone from a collection of pariahs to a completely legitimate field of research. What's changed? Lees meer
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Ep. 611: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Intelligence Edition
28 juni 2021 · 31 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 611: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Intelligence Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about what it's going to take to confirm basic biological life across the Solar System and the Milky Way. This week, we'll discuss what it's going to take to detect intelligent life out there in space. Lees meer
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Ep. 610: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Non-Sentient Edition
21 juni 2021 · 28 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 610: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Non-Sentient Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Are we alone in the Universe? It's one of the biggest scientific questions we can possibly ask. And yet, with rovers on Mars, missions planned to visit Europa and Ganymede. Powerful telescopes able to detect the atmospheres of exoplanets, we're closer than ever to finding out the answer. Lees meer
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Ep. 609: Volcanos With Benefits: Lava Tubes, Hydro Thermal Vents & More
14 juni 2021 · 28 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 609: Volcanos With Benefits: Lava Tubes, Hydro Thermal Vents & More by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Volcanos can be some of the worst natural disasters that we can experience here on Earth. But life wouldn't even exist without them. So, what are volcanos good for anyway? Lees meer
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Ep. 608: NASA Perseverance, The First 100 Days
7 juni 2021 · 28 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 608: NASA Perseverance, The First 100 Days by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay As you all know, Pamela refuses to talk about any missions which aren't actually doing science. Well, Perseverance has crossed the line, from fantasy to an actual working rover, scooping regolith and yeeting helicopters. What has the rover accomplished in its first 100 days? Lees meer
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Ep. 607: InSight and Earthquakes
31 mei 2021 · 28 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 607: InSight and Earthquakes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Mars is cold and dead today, but the massive volcanoes tell us what the planet used to be like, millions and even billions of years ago. But how volcanically active is the planet today? That's what NASA's Mars InSight lander is there to figure out. Lees meer
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Ep. 606 - Time Dilation: Skipping Thru Time
24 mei 2021 · 25 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 606 - Time Dilation: Skipping Thru Time by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Have you ever wanted to be a time traveler? Well, good news! You're time traveling right now. Into the future at one second per second. Taking too long? Don't want to wait? Good news, Einstein's got you covered. Today, let's talk about the weird world of time dilation. Also: There are monitor forts to consider… #MonitorFort Lees meer
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Ep. 605: Sounding Rockets
17 mei 2021 · 26 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 605: Sounding Rockets by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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. Lees meer
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Ep. 604: Balloon Astronomy
10 mei 2021 · 27 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 604: Balloon Astronomy by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So when you think about the world's observatories, I'm sure you're imagining huge telescopes perched atop mountain peaks or space telescopes like Hubble. But you might be surprised to learn that some telescopes are carried high into the atmosphere on board balloons. What can they accomplish? Lees meer
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Ep. 603: New Colors of the Radio Spectrum
3 mei 2021 · 25 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 603: New Colors of the Radio Spectrum by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about how new telescopes and techniques are allowing astronomers to explore the shortest wavelengths of light. This week we go to the other end of the electromagnetic spectrum and explore the longer radio waves which are now accessible to astronome Lees meer
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Ep. 602: The New Colors of Gamma Rays - Getting Shorter
26 april 2021 · 25 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 602: The New Colors of Gamma Rays - Getting Shorter by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay The Earth's atmosphere protects us from a Universe that is definitely trying to kill us. But it also blocks our view of the entire cosmos, like seeing X-rays and gamma radiation. Space telescopes are changing our view of the most extreme events in the Universe. Lees meer
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Ep. 601: Unexpected Light Pollution
19 april 2021 · 26 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 601: Unexpected Light Pollution by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Day-by-day we're loosing our connection with the night sky. Already one third of humanity lives in so much light pollution that they can't see the Milky Way without a drive. And now satellite constellations are adding additional light pollution, even in the darkest skies on Earth. Lees meer
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Ep. 600: Looking Ahead
29 maart 2021 · 27 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 600: Looking Ahead by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Today we are gonna gaze into the future of space and astronomy. What upcoming missions & events are we excited about?
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Ep. 599: Zodiacal Light
22 maart 2021 · 25 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 599: Zodiacal Light by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Pamela has told us in the most flowery terms about the diffuse dust across the inner solar system left over from the formation of the inner planets. well, it turns out she was wrong. Super wrong. Time to update! Lees meer
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Ep. 598: How You Could Overturn Cosmology
15 maart 2021 · 29 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 598: How You Could Overturn Cosmology by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay You've probably heard of dark matter and dark energy, but maybe you don't fully understand what they are. Or maybe the idea itself just rubs you the wrong way and you'd like to know why scientists think they can just make stuff up like this. So you'd like to overturn cosmology? Here's all you need to do. Lees meer
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Ep. 597: The Expansion of the Universe
8 maart 2021 · 26 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 597: The Expansion of the Universe by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It's been a while since we checked to make sure the Universe was still expanding. Yeah, apparently, that's still a thing. But in the last few years powerful new telescopes and expansive surveys have given us much more knowledge about what's happening. Especially at the earliest times. Lees meer
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Ep. 596: The Universe's Background Noise
1 maart 2021 · 27 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 596: The Universe's Background Noise by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay You might be familiar with the cosmic microwave background, but that's just one of the background radiations that astronomers look at. Some are well known and cataloged. While others are just starting to be possible to see at all. All of them tell us more about our Universe. Lees meer
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Ep. 595: Planet Hunting - Revisited
15 februari 2021 · 28 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 595: Planet Hunting - Revisited by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay This is gonna be another one of those evergreen topics where we come back again and again. Finding planets. Every time we talk about this now it seems like we've gained thousands of new planets. Well, buckle up! New techniques will grow that by tens of thousands and even millions! Lees meer
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Ep. 594: Juno - Primary Mission Highlights
8 februari 2021 · 28 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 594: Juno - Primary Mission Highlights by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Pamela is always loath to talk about spacecraft until the mission's in space and the science is rolling. NASA's Juno Mission just received a mission extension, adding Jupiter's moons to the menu. Now, finally, we can talk about Juno! [Ed. Juno what I mean?] Lees meer
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Ep. 593: Stellar Parasites
1 februari 2021 · 32 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 593: Stellar Parasites by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Stars often come in groups of 2 or more. And if they're orbiting close enough to each other one star can feast on the other and when that happens, well, mayhem ensues!
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Ep. 592: Gamma-Ray Bursts - Updated
25 januari 2021 · 29 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 592: Gamma-Ray Bursts - Updated by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe are gamma-ray bursts, capable of blasting a beam of death half way across the galaxy. In just the last few years astronomers have discovered a tremendous amount about these blasts and what's actually causing them. The answer, of course, is that it's more complicated than we originally thought. The old Gamma-Ray bursts show: http://www.astronomycast.com/2007/05/episode-36-gamma-ray-bursts/ Lees meer
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Ep. 591: What Are We Gonna Do With All That Space Junk?
18 januari 2021 · 33 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 591: What Are We Gonna Do With All That Space Junk? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Remember the good old days when there were only a few thousand living and dead satellites? Well, those days are long over. We're now entering an era where there will be tens of thousands of satellites. Not to mention the spent rocket boosters and other space junk. What kind of risk do we face and what can be done about it? Lees meer
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Ep. 590: Lunar Hazards: Dust, Radiation and More
11 januari 2021 · 31 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 590: Lunar Hazards: Dust, Radiation and More by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 2024 can't come soon enough. You know, that's the year when humans will set foot on the Moon again. Now don't you roll your eyes! That's the plan. Unless the plan changes. But my point is, explorers going to the Moon will need to be concerned about all kinds of hazards, like dust, radiation and gigantic Moon worms. I believe. Lees meer
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Ep. 589 - Lunar Resources: Water (Update) & Other Volatiles
21 december 2020 · 30 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 589 - Lunar Resources: Water (Update) & Other Volatiles by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We've talked about the Moon and its water many times here on Astronomy Cast, but there've been a bunch of big updates thanks to new research from NASA and others. Today we're gonna give you an update on the state of water on the Moon and the plans to take advantage of it. Lees meer
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Ep. 588 - Lunar Resources: Lava Tubes
14 december 2020 · 33 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 588 - Lunar Resources: Lava Tubes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay All eyes are on the Moon. We're going back, this time to stay, right? One of the best resources on the Moon will be the lava tubes that criss-cross the subsurface of the Moon. These can provide protection from space, and a look at the geologic history of the Moon, and they can be enormous! Lees meer
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Ep. 587: The Artemis Accords
7 december 2020 · 34 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 587: The Artemis Accords by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So the Moon is about to become a very busy place with multiple countries and private companies planning missions in the next few years. It's been decades since the Outer Space Treaty was negotiated. It's time for the Artemis Accords! Lees meer
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Ep. 586: Life As We Know It: Habitable Exoplanets & Extremophiles
30 november 2020 · 33 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 586: Life As We Know It: Habitable Exoplanets & Extremophiles by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay As scientists continue to explore the Earth, they're discovering life, surviving and even thriving in extreme environments. What hints can this give us about what we might find as we search for live on other worlds. Lees meer
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Ep. 585: Super Earths, Mini-Neptunes & Gas Dwarfs
23 november 2020 · 32 min
Astronomy Cast 585: Super Earths, Mini-Neptunes & Gas Dwarfs by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Astronomers are finding even more new extrasolar planets and they're starting to discover entirely new categories. There are classes of planets out there that we just don't have any analog here in the solar system. Let's talk about them! Lees meer
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Ep. 584: Sample Return Missions From Asteroids
2 november 2020 · 30 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 584: Sample Return Missions From Asteroids by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So with a sample of asteroid Bennu firmly inside OSIRIS-REx's return capsule, it's time to bring this treasure home. So scientists can study the composition and history of the space rock. But it's not the only sample return mission out there, with Japan's Hyabusa II mission also bringing asteroid debris home. So today, let's talk about the missions and what we've learned so far. Lees meer
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Ep. 583: The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics
26 oktober 2020 · 30 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 583: The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay This year's Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three brilliant researchers who worked out some of the secrets of black holes. Today we're going to talk about the chain of discoveries that led to this award. Lees meer
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Ep. 582: Building Bigger Black Holes
19 oktober 2020 · 32 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 582: Building Bigger Black Holes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Did you hear the news? Nobel prizes for Black Holes! Now, we know there are stellar mass black holes and supermassive black holes, but how do you get from one to the other? How do black holes get more massive? Lees meer
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Ep. 581: Other Kinds Of Novae
12 oktober 2020 · 32 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 581: Other Kinds Of Novae by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Don't ever accuse us of not comprehensively covering every kind of exploding star. This week we gather up all the left over ways that stars partially or fully explode or don't. Probably. Enjoy! Lees meer
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Ep. 580: Exploding Dwarfs
5 oktober 2020 · 33 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 580: Exploding Dwarfs By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So you think that a white dwarf star is the end of a stellar life, and it's all downhill from there, a long, slow cool down towards the end of everything. But in some situations even dead stars can get exciting again, briefly becoming some of the brightest objects in the Universe. And maybe, just maybe, the last exciting thing that'll ever happen in the Universe. Lees meer
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Ep. 579: White and Black Dwarf Stars
28 september 2020 · 34 min
Astronomy Cast 579: White and Black Dwarf Stars by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay I've got some bad news for you. Stars die. At some point in the next few billion years or so our Sun is going to start heating up, using up all the fuel in its core, and then eventually die, becoming a white dwarf. It'll then slowly cool down to the background temperature of the Universe, becoming a black dwarf. Let's learn about this fascinating process. Lees meer
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Ep. 578: Venus Updates - or - Life on Venus?!?
21 september 2020 · 31 min
by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So have you heard the news? Of course you have. Evidence of phosphene on Venus. Which could be a biosignature of life on our evil twin planet. There have been a lot of surprising stories about Venus, so let's get you all caught up! Lees meer
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Ep. 577: Mars in Opposition
14 september 2020 · 32 min
Astronomy Cast 577: Mars in Opposition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Every 2 years or so Mars lines up nicely with the Earth. It takes only 2 minutes to communicate with the rovers. You can see the polar ice caps in a small telescope. And it's the best time to send your spacecraft to the Red Planet. Oct 3rd: Moon & Mars conjunction, 1.1° separation. Oct 6th: Mars opposition. Dec 21st: Jupiter/Saturn conjunction, 0.1° separation! Feb 18th "Percy" lands on Mars' Jezero crater. Lees meer
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Ep. 576: Summer Stargazing Special
29 juni 2020 · 31 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 576: Summer Stargazing Special by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It's time once again for Astronomy Cast to go on hiatus. You've got a couple months on your own to explore the night sky. But before we say goodbye, we'd like to make a few suggestions. Lees meer
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Ep. 575: Observing The Moon
22 juni 2020 · 32 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 575: Observing The Moon by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay As amateur astronomers, we curse the Moon every month. Seriously! Why doesn't someone get rid of that thing! This week, something occurred to us. What if we actually pointed our telescopes at the Moon? What would we see? The Lunar "X" that Fraser talked about will be visible this Friday, June 26th! So go out with binoculars or a telescope and enjoy! Lees meer
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Ep. 574: Trojan Asteroids
15 juni 2020 · 30 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 574: Trojan Asteroids by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We imagine the asteroid belt as a place where all the rocks hang out in the solar system. But there are 2 huge bands of asteroids that orbit the Sun with Jupiter called the Trojans. And soon we may actually get a chance to see them up close! Lees meer
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Ep. 573: Exoplanet Atmospheres
8 juni 2020 · 31 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 573: Exoplanet Atmospheres Not only have astronomers discovered thousands of exoplanets, but they're even starting to study the atmospheres of worlds thousands of light years away. What can we learn about these other worlds and maybe even signs of life. Lees meer
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Ep. 572: Twists in Planet Formation
1 juni 2020 · 30 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 572: Twists in Planet Formation by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We're all looking to the next generation of exoplanetary research where we get planets directly. But astronomers are already making great strides in directly observing newly forming planets help us understand how our solar system might have formed. Lees meer
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Ep. 571: Extreme Binaries
25 mei 2020 · 31 min
Streamed live on May 22, 2020. So we're familiar with regular binary stars. Two stars orbiting each other. Simple. Of course the Universe has come up with every combination of things orbiting other things, and this week we look at some extreme examples. Lees meer
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Ep. 570: Discovering Comets
18 mei 2020 · 31 min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 570: Discovering Comets Discovering comets is one of the fields that amateurs can still make a regular contribution to astronomy. But more and more comets are getting found by spacecraft, automated systems and machine learning. This week we'll talk about how comets are discovered and how you can get your name on one! Lees meer
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Ep. 569: Ethics of Commercial and Military Space, Part 1: Private Space Flight
12 mei 2020 · 27 min
Every year, more and more people are making their way to space. Some private citizens have already gotten their astronaut wings, paying for a trip to space out of their own pocket. What are the ethical implications of this as the costs of spaceflight come down? Lees meer
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Ep. 568: In Situ Resource Utilization
6 mei 2020 · 31 min
The key to surviving in space will be learning how to live off the land. Instead of carrying all your fuel, water and other resources from Earth, extract them locally from your destination. It's called In Situ Resource Utilization, and if we can figure it out, it'll change everything. Lees meer