The Space Show
The Space Show
The Space Show focuses on timely and important issues influencing the development of outer-space commerce, space tourism,space exploration and space development. The Space Show is committed to facilitating our becoming a space-faring nation and society with a growing and self-sustaining space-faring economy. The Space Show also focuses on other related subjects of interest to us all.
Station feed:  Created by: David Livingston |
Created on: 12 May 2005 Language: English |
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Dr. Steven Moore & Dr. Valentina Dilda, NSBRI, Monday, 11-22-10 (45.06MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. Steven Moore, Dr. Valentina Dilda. Topic: Electrical trickery on the brain to induce realistic spaceflight effects and why this is so important. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed Dr. Steven Moore and Dr. Valentina Dilda, researchers with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) regarding their Galvanic vestibular stimulation research on the brain to induce realistic spaceflight effects. You can read the official NSBRI press release on the experiments and findings at www.nsbri.org/newsflash/indivArticle.asp?id=454&articleID=133. In our first segment, Dr. Moore described a major problem in that 20% of all Space Shuttle landings are outside the touchdown parameters for the vehicle. It is believed that the vestibular system may be adversely impacted by spaceflight so the two doctors developed a way to electrically stimulate the brain to induce realistic spaceflight effects within the vestibular system. In talking about what the effects were like, our guests said it was described by one of the volunteers as a "two martini sensation!" Dr. Dilda reported a test group of 60 subjects not prone to motion sickness. When asked if there were gender differences, Dr. Dilda did report them but said that they were statistically insignificant. Listen to what she said about the findings of their tests. 31 was the average age with test subjects ranging from 20-55 years of age. Also, only about 10% in total stopped the experiments. Dr. Moore described the hardware used for the test as it was very portable. They even walked around a shopping center with it but they did not press their luck and try going through TSA airport screening wearing the electrodes. Near the end of this segment, we asked about mitigation techniques and remedies to the problems being researched. So far, these issues remain challenges. In the second segment, our guests talked about running the experiments on parabolic zero gravity flights but said they were disappointed with the results in that there was not much of a difference. Another question arose about countermeasures but as you will hear, they don't exist and there are not yet a series of flight protocols that can minimize the effects that were being addressed by this research. We also talked about the astronaut and research subject feedback from the experiments and the posturing swaying front to back that results from the vestibular issues. Later in the segment, the issue of these effects in lower gravity came up and our guests had much to say about this issue, artificial gravity, and more. They also said that the lack of available data on these is issues was a problem for this type of research. In our last segment, we talked about the cognitive effects and put them into the overall context of challenges to be resolved for human spaceflight missions. The major issue centers around safety as the sensory motor system is impacted by these effects. Toward the end of the program, I asked Dr. Moore about the competitive nature of funding for these types of grants and if this research would be impacted by the retiring of the shuttle and little or seldom access to the ISS. Don't miss what he had to say about this issue. He talked about their being no goals and that we would be extremely limited by the limitation on up mass to the ISS. A concern that we have lost our spark was expressed at the end of this program. For questions or comments for Dr. Dilda or Dr. Moore, please post them on the blog. You can also send them to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and to the NSBRI contact person, Brad Thomas at rbthomas@bcm.edu. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:40:29 UTC
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Dr. June Scobee Rodgers & Dr. Scott Parazynski; Open Lines (64.81MB; download) -- Guests: Dr. June Scobee Rodgers, Dr. Scott Parazynski. Topics: Challenger Center For Space Science Education followed by Open Lines. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Additionally, you can learn more about the topics discussed in today's program by visiting The Challenger Center website at www.challenger.org, Dr. Parazynski's website at www.parazynski.com, and the Star Challenger book series website, www.starchallengers.com. You can also purchase the book, "Moonbase Crisis" through the One Giant Leap Foundation Amazon partners website and Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show. www.amazon.com/dp/1934857289?tag=onegialeafou-20. As said on air, this book will make an outstanding holiday gift for your child of any age. Our guests, Drs. Rodgers and Parazynski were with us for the first hour to share with us all sorts of information about the Challenger Center For Space Science Education. Having inspired over 4,000,000 school children worldwide and about 400,000 kids a year through 50 global centers during their 25 year history, this is an outstanding organization with amazing facilities and programming. Having been fortunate to attend the opening of the Challenger Center in Downey, CA during the AIAA Space 2010 conference and meeting June Scobee Rodgers, I urge all of you to visit a center near you, encourage students, teachers, classrooms, and parents to do field trips to a Challenger Center as there really is nothing finer that I have come across for teaching, inspiring, and leading kids to STEM education and space careers. As you listen to our discussion and visit the Challenger Center website, you will see why I am so positive toward this organization. During our hour with our guests, many calls and questions came in about how the Centers work, the programming, their mission manuals, even starting a Center in an area where there is currently no center. We also talked about the Star Challengers book series and the first book which is now available, "Moonbase Crisis." There will be three books in this series and the next one is due out in January. Since Dr. Parazynski is a medical doctor, he was asked about life science issues at the Challenger Center rather than a focus only on engineering and propulsion. As you will hear, Challenger Center programming does pay attention to human factors for space missions. We also talked about using metrics to follow the Challenger Center alumni to measure the impact of this training and these experiences as these students go through college and develop their careers. If you have questions or comments for our guests or about The Challenger Centers, please post it on the blog URL above. You should also direct them to the Challenger contact page, www.challenger.org/contact.cfm and reference The Space Show in your note. Questions for Dr. Parazynski can be directed to his website listed above. In the second hour, we had a vibrant Open Lines discussion, mainly about educational problems in the U.S. There was some bleed over from the Friday show on science fiction movies as well as from a few earlier programs where RLV topics were discussed. John from Montana talked about the need for having a more productive and unified space enthusiast effort with a common voice, sort of a United Way for Space Organizations. See what you think of the idea. Your Open Lines comments are welcome to be posted on the blog as well. If you would like to contact any of the Open Lines participants, please send your note through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward it to the person you wish to contact. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:59:02 UTC
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Laura Delgado, Friday, 11-19-10 (55.72MB; download) -- Guest: Laura Delgado. Topics: Science fiction movies and space commerce and the impact on the public's perception of space development. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed Laura Delgado to the program regarding her AIAA Space 2010 paper and presentation, "The Commercialization of Space in Science Fiction Movies: The Key to Sustainability or the Road to a Capitalist Dystopia?" While her paper is only available through AIAA, you can read Laura's guest blog article on this subject in Space News at www.spacenews.com/commentaries/101019-blog-popcorn-perspective-space-commercialization.html. In our fist segment, Laura put forth her thesis referencing the science fiction movies that she used to illustrate her points that the genre of science fiction movies mentioned show corporations to have surpassed or taken over the role of the state and often the corporation is hostile, disapproving of the state, and basically ruining things in space as well as on Earth. As these movies have been around for decades and are seen by millions of people, the idea is that many people form their ideas about space and private business from the films. At the same time and as evidenced by the space policy debate underway now, commercial space is portrayed differently, as essential for improving our world, not hurting it. But the space message is lost on the public in comparison to the message of the science fiction movies. There were several callers that amplified and clarified from their perspective what Laura was talking about. Additional movies were brought up that were not included in her research including Avatar, Star Trek, Star Wars, and more. We talked about why the negative image was more powerful and influential than the positive image put forth by the actual space community. In our second segment, we talked about Hollywood, the likely future for science fiction movies, how some movies such as Star Trek actually show that social problems have been solved through the true multi-cultural and racial mix of the crew and more. These are very positive statements but they do not displace the negative evil corporation in the science fiction block busters from decades ago through today. More callers called in to help us understand why this particular image of corporations and commercial space are key to the science fiction genre as opposed to the realities of the commercial space industry today. Another issue that came up that got lots of attention was the development and settling of space as a frontier. As you will hear, this model does not appeal to Laura and I referenced the previous Thalia show where Thalia told us how disconnected the frontier model was from her peer group. I also brought in the responses to this disconnection from those that support the frontier model when its been a topic on The Space Show. We spent a considerable time talking about the frontier model and why it appeals to different segments of society more than others. Toward the end of the program, the subject of images came up for how better to sell space and commercial space development as opposed to selling it based on the frontier idea. The use of warm and glowing pictures of places or things in space used much in the way the travel industry uses pictures to sell a destination was put forth. I then mentioned the power and effectiveness of using a good image and referenced the famous Earth rise picture and what that has meant for groups not so supportive of space development and how its used by groups that are engaged in promoting commercial space. If you have questions or comments for Laura Delgado, please post them on the blog above. You can also email Ms. Delgado at ldelgado@gwmail.gwu.edu. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:56:29 UTC
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Open Lines, Tuesday, 11-16-10 (78.14MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. David Livingston. Topics: NASA, air launching rockets, commercial space, human space flight regulations, what the public thinks of space and more. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Our first segment was about 70 minutes and the second was about 75 minutes so this is a longer than usual program. Initially, I put on the table several possible discussion points: 1) Flakey space projects and having a Crackpot Week on the show; 2) The Wayne Hale blog article, "The Coming Train Wreck for Commercial Human Spaceflight," 3) The Space News article by Dr. Joan Johnson-Freese: "Reality Bites: The 2010 National Space Policy," 4) Topics suggested by listener Tom Hanson including air launch, selling space based on the hoarding of rare earth elements by China, the rocket equation and relativistic mass increase, and his version of Crackpot Week. I urge listeners to read both the Wayne Hale article and the Space News article by Dr. Johnson-Freese. In addition, Wayne posted an update to his Coming Train Wreck article and I urge all of you read the updated post and keep it in mind as you hear the listener comments regarding NASA human spaceflight rules. You can find these two articles at http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/the-coming-train-wreck-for-commercial-human-spaceflight and http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/trying-to-clean-up-a-mess. You can read the Space News article by Dr. Johnson-Freese at www.spacenews.com/commentaries/101115-blog-reality-bites.html. These topics and a few others were the drivers behind tonight's Open Lines program. Dr. Jurist called in to discuss air launch and relativistic mass, and then told us his UPS horror story. I commented with a UPS story of my own, but also went out of my way to applaud Federal Express with a story I have told before on the program about their going the extra mile to deliver refrigerated meds to my son. This discussion resulted in a broader discussion about customer service in both the public and private sectors. Many regular callers were predictable letting us know that they agreed with Wayne's comments though I wish his second post had been available to us at air time. I also read parts of the Johnson-Freese article on air as I found it to be right on the money addressing important issues we frequently discussed on the program. Trent from Australia updated us on space activities in Australia, he commented on the upcoming Falcon 9 launch, the Discovery problems, a reentry license, and the SpaceX plan for tugging Dragon back to shore. Mark called in from Huntsville to give us an update on the situation there as he is a NASA contractor. We talked about the need for space infrastructure and markets which if in existence could change the dynamic of human spaceflight. The issue of the entrepreneurial and commercial companies taking federal money and being culturally changed in the process was again discussed and many listeners believe this is a risk. Charles called in to repeat his mantra that we need to bypass NASA in our commercial space development efforts. Near the end of the program, Tim called in from Huntsville to talk about air launch along with the RLV and SSP. We spent some time on RLV economics, launch rates and demand, and on the economics of SSP. I'm sure my comments will be viewed as heresy by many in the space community so I've battened down the hatches in anticipation of being raked over burning flames for not worshiping at the RLV and SSP alter. John Jurist called back to go over some of the financial and economic considerations of RLVs and to point out that the saltwater recovery of a liquid rocket motor and turbo pump is no easy thing to do. (please see the rest of the program description at www.thespaceshow.com). Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:32:50 UTC
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Dr. Peter Smith, Monday, 11-15-10 (41.17MB; download) -- Guest: Peter Smith. Topics: The search for life on Mars and Mars science missions. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed to the show Dr. Peter Smith from the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Smith was with us for one full hour, then we took a short break and returned for a few minutes in which I outlined future Space Show programming. Our discussion with Dr. Smith focused on the history and efforts to determine if there was or is some sort of biological life on Mars. Dr. Smith explained the Viking experiments to us and then brought us current given the changes in the search for Martian life that began around six years. He spoke at length about the Phoenix Mission of which he was the PI but also about the prep work that was done in advance of the Phoenix mission. This prep work included visits to Devon Island, the Arctic and Antarctica. Dr. Smith talked about microbes and life in these desolate places and you will realize why these areas make good Mars analog sites right here on Earth. As Dr. Smith was telling us his story, he got sidetracked by listener questions and some questions from me about the next steps that should be pursued for Mars exploration. One of the ideas he suggested was to go to an asteroid and see if we could slightly move it. Don't miss this discussion as our guest was also asked about unintended consequences for doing this. He was also asked about humans going to Phobos instead of Mars. You might be surprised by his response to this question. At this point in our discussion, Dr. Smith returned to discussing Phoenix and talked about the discovery of perchlorates in the Martian soil and what this has meant in terms of the old Viking experiments and new experiments where perchlorates has been introduced to dry soil as in the Chilean desert and how it produces the same sort of data as Viking recovered. This could mean that Viking might actually have discovered organics in the Martian soil but the existence of perchlorates in the Martian soil distorted the data. The upcoming Mars Science Lab (MSL) has experiments on board to determine if organics are on Mars. Dr. Smith then talked about the discovery of methane and the efforts to track down the source of that methane on Mars. We talked about funding Mars research and the lag time as well as turn around time from getting exciting data to develop a follow up Martian mission. I asked about private sector opportunities for funding Martian science missions. Don't miss his response to this line of questioning. A listener asked about a news article saying scientists were now interested in doing a one way human mission to Mars. Dr. Smith had much to say about this idea. Another topic brought up was the use of the Mars programs to attract students to do the hard studies in science and engineering programs. You will hear what Dr. Smith had to say about this as it relates to the University of Arizona programs. Also discussed was the idea that robotics and HD Video could replace humans on a Mars mission, extremophiles on Earth and what that might mean for microbial survival on Mars, and suggestions for how best to use energy and resources for the space enthusiasts interested in humans to Mars. We also talked about searching for life on Europa as compared to Mars. We concluded our discussion with Dr. Smith telling us all to pay close attention to the MSL when it is deployed on Mars. Please post your questions and comments for Dr. Smith on the blog URL above. His UofA website is www.lpl.arizona.edu/resources/faculty/faculty-s.php?nom=Smith. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:12:04 UTC
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Dr. Mike Gruntman, Sunday, 11-14-10 (60.49MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Mike Gruntman. Topics: USC Department of Astronautics and a Soviet spy at USC pre and during WWII. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. You can also obtain all of Dr. Gruntman's book, including "Enemy Amongst Trojans" from the One Giant Leap Foundation Amazon partners book page. Remember, if you buy his books or any books from this site, Amazon makes a contribution to The Space Show. Please visit www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/books. In addition, please visit these sites for more information about Dr. Gruntman, his work, and the USC Department of Astronautics: http://astronauticsnow.com/SpaceEducation; http://astronauticsnow.com/courses and his highly-popular space mission educational videos http://astronauticsnow.com/vp. In our first segment, Dr. Gruntman explained the reorganization that was recently completed at USC regarding aerospace engineering and the forming of a completely new department focusing on space engineering, the Department of Astronautical Engineering. Mike explained why this was necessary, the results so far, and what this has meant for aerospace engineering students at USC and around the country. We talked about STEM education and aerospace engineering at the college level in general. He explained the USC Distance Learning program and how growth in that program and its rising importance serves an important part of the professional community. In our second segment, Dr. Gruntman talked about his new book, "Enemy Amongst Trojans: A Soviet Spy at USC." There is a remote connection to space with this story because Mike stumbled on it by accident when doing research on the possibility of Soviet ballistic missile espionage in the 40's similar to the espionage that went on in the atomic program. While Mike could not verify the existence of ballistic missile espionage with the former Soviet Union, he did discover the story about the former USC student Ignacy Samuel Witczak who mysteriously disappeared from a Southern California beach in 1945 only to show up later in the Soviet Union as Col. Zalman V. Litvin. The story that Mike tells in his book and on this show was made possible because recently several important documents were declassified in the U.S., Russia, and the UK. For the balance of our program, Mike Gruntman tells the story of this spy and his work, his return to the Soviet Union and then his fall from grace from his Mother Country as the country pursued abusive anti-Semitic policies. This is a fascinating story that you will want to hear. Mike tells how this spy and his family came from Canada using stolen passports from volunteers that went to Spain to fight against General Franco. In discussing this story, listeners asked Dr. Gruntman several questions about life in the former Soviet Union and now. Remember, from earlier appearances on The Space Show, Dr. Gruntman actually escaped from behind the Iron Curtain to America when it was still the Soviet Union so he knows of which he speaks - first hand. Later in our discussion, Mike was asked several questions about Communism, Socialism, and Marxism and could such systems be managed today without the killing and human rights violations associated with them. You do not want to miss what he had to say about this and what these systems do to the spirit and free will of individuals. We also talked about specific Soviet rocket programs and their heritage in the context of possible missile espionage in the early years. If you have a question or comment for Dr. Mike Gruntman, please post it on the blog URL above. You can also send him an email using mikeg@usc.edu. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:49:54 UTC
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Dr. Robert (Bobby) Braun, Friday, 11-12-10 (49.91MB; download) -- Guest: Dr. Robert (Bobby) Braun. Topics: NASA technology for the future. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. In addition, please visit the NASA Chief Technologist website at www.nasa.gov/offices/oct as this website has the details to many of the programs and projects Dr. Braun discussed on the show. In our first segment which was about 75 minutes, Dr. Braun explained the Office of the Chief Technologist, its reporting parameters, its purpose, and the type of programs under its jurisdiction. He described the past and current status of Research and Technology (R&T) within NASA and how that is now changing and will continue to change into the future as more emphasis is put on R&T. He explained how they solicit ideas, the competitive nature of the program, and the two main areas, grand challenges and road mapping. Listener questions came in via email addressing the use of tethers, nuclear and advanced propulsion, and heavy lift rockets. Other email questions dealt with new technology changes for robotic missions and DARPA TTOs. Dallas called in to ask Dr. Braun for the top three technologies.. John also called in to talk about affordable and reusable first stage rockets and as you will hear, Dr. Braun said that reusability was useful if it contributed to more affordable space access. You don't want to miss this discussion. I asked Dr. Braun about technology partnerships with other governmental agencies such as DARPA and DOD as well as other national space programs as long as ITAR did not block such partnerships. Later in the discussion, we extended this question to partnering with private, commercial corporations with the profit motive. This is another important discussion you do not want to miss. Dr. Braun and I also talked about suborbital research opportunities and then I asked Dr. Braun about student as well as professor feedback regarding the new directions and changes being implemented in NASA and our civil and commercial space industry. Dr. Braun had much to say about this subject. Additionally, we talked about the need for government programs to show more stability and credibility over time than they currently do. Also, NASA and the space industry in general must do a better job of communicating the importance and need for space development to the public and to members of Congress. Other topics included heavy lift and propellant depots, and then I asked him about landing high mass payloads on Mars given his previous appearance on The Space Show last year regarding his paper on this subject. As you will hear, progress is being made on landing high mass payloads on Mars, but its still a huge challenge, especially for human missions. Toward the end of the show, Dr. Braun outlined his space vision for the future. We concluded the discussion with a segment on risk tolerance. Dr. Braun made it clear that this issue is vitally important to our space program development, both on the robotic and scientific side as well as the human space flight side of NASA. He talked about adopting more of the DARPA model and the need for NASA flexibility concerning risk tolerance. There was a short second segment for Open Lines for listeners to discuss the interview with Dr. Braun. I also used this segment to tell the audience about upcoming programs. Nancy called in with some heavy lift questions and I answered with my own opinion regarding shuttle derived systems but right now there is so much uncertainty until the FY 11 program is actually funded and in place and until we get a good handle on the new incoming Congress, that our future gazing crystal balls are fuzzy at best. If you have a question or comment for Dr. Bobby Braun, please post it on the blog URL above. You can also send your comments to bobby.braun@nasa.gov. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Sat, 13 Nov 2010 17:54:41 UTC
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Derek Webber, Tuesday, 11-9-10 (46.62MB; download) -- Guest: Derek Webber. Topics: Space tourism, aviation and rocket history per his book, "The Wright Stuff: The Century of Effort Behind Your Ticket to Space." Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. In addition, Derek's book can be purchased on the OGLF Amazon page and Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show. Please use www.amazon.com/dp/1926592174?tag=onegialeafou-20. Derek's website has lots of free information on it so take a look, www.spaceportassociates.com. In our first segment, Derek explained how he wrote the book in that he had to go backwards from today to 1903 in order to explain where we are today and how we got to where we are. As you will hear, he documents both aviation and rocketry back to 1903, the 1927 Lindberg flight across the Atlantic and more. He has lots of photos to support his information, some of which are rare. He also attended the Personal Spaceflight Symposium and Spaceport America runway dedication in Las Cruces, NM a few weeks back and he shared his thought with us on that, specifically the two mile runway in the middle of nowhere. When asked if he had updated his market research for the earlier Futron-Zogby Report, he said that he did not see a need to update it. Listen to his explanation for this. He also talked about the categories he used in the book for Aviators, Rocketmen, and Xmen. Taking risk was a common theme throughout this segment and the entire interview. Additionally, he told us some stories from his experiences as a docent for the Smithsonian. One story about a 12 year old and the Apollo 11 capsule was disconcerting since the kid had never heard of our having gone to the Moon. Derek received questions about the price for suborbital tourism coming down and the regulatory regime now in place for space tourism and how it might change in coming years. In our second segment, I asked Derek for the most influential US presidents that facilitated the growth of both aviation and space. On the aviation side, he said presidents did not lead but if he had to pick one, it would be FDR. For space, he said JFK stood out as did Bush 43. Listen to his reasons for making these selections. Tim in Huntsville called to ask questions about HOTOL and Reaction Engines with Dr. Alan Bond. Derek had much to say about Dr. Bond and his projects so don't miss this conversation. Later in this segment, Derek did say that the suborbital industry was "unstoppable" as he mentioned the various contenders in the developing industry. When asked about European companies, he mentioned the EADS project but we both questioned if it would ever be developed. In the context of EADS being able to make a space tourism plane, I brought the DHL Airbus 300 SA-7 missile attack from 2003 and the plane was able to be landed, a testament to both the Airbus and the DHL flight crew. We started the third and final segment with Derek telling us about the "Wright Stuff Awards" on page 151. Here, Derek issued awards to the heroes of each chapter in his book. He then received a listener question asking about the frequent comparisons of the space tourism industry to the days of barnstorming and also the DC3 era of flight. He got another question asking him if anyone on one of his Smithsonian docent tours ever challenged him our having gone to the Moon. As you will hear, Derek has never had that happen but the Smithsonian trains the docents to respond to that question. See what you think of that training to enable a response to someone saying we never visited the Moon. You can learn much more about space tourism and the subjects discussed today from Derek Webber's website. Please post your comments on the blog URL and send them to Derek at dwspace@aol.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:59:51 UTC
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Chris Carberry, Artemis Westenberg, Monday, 11-8-10 (45.79MB; download) -- Guests: Chris Carberry, Artemis Westenberg. Topics: Explore Mars, Inc. projects and humans to Mars programs. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed back Chris Carberry, Executive Director of Explore Mars, Inc. and Ms. Artemis Westenberg who is the President and a Director of Explore Mars, Inc. We started our first segment with Chris bringing us up to date on Explore Mars programs since he was on several months ago introducing us to the new organization. You can find out more about all of these programs by visiting their website, www.exploremars.org. The first project discussed was the Mars Educational Challenge, a program in partnership with the National Science Teachers Association and The Planetary Society. This program challenges science educators in the U.S. to create Mars related curricula and support materials for students. We also asked Artemis about the support for human Mars missions in the Netherlands and across Europe. Another program our guests talked about involved programs to discuss how best to use the ISS to advance humans to Mars missions. The organization wants to expand these meetings to Europe and other key space fairing countries. Many questions came up regarding space policy and the direction the U.S. may be taking with regards to Mars missions. International cooperation and efforts were stressed by both guests throughout the program. Other topics discussed in this segment included closed loop environmental systems, Mars analog bases, and insitu resource utilization. Toward the end of this segment, Chris and Artemis told us about the Mars Exploration Magazine which will be made available off their website. In the second segment, our guests got a question about a human mission to Phobos rather than Mars. This came up many times through the balance of the program as it related to excitement, student and general population inspiration, even private sector involvement in a Mars mission. Don't miss what our guests had to say about the idea of humans to Phobos before or instead of putting humans on Mars. A Little Rock listener asked for more information about the Explore Mars Agriculture Workshop which our guests described in detail. In the third and final segment of the program, we began our discussion by talking about the Mars Talk program. This program will consist of interviews with people in the Mars community to help facilitate interest and activity in Mars missions. Our guests also stressed the volunteer network Explore Mars works with and needs. Listeners were invited to inquire about volunteering and being involved with Explore Mars, Inc. In this segment, we discussed in some detail the ISRU Challenge which offers a $50,000 prize . Listeners also wanted to know about using nuclear propulsion to get to Mars fasters and several questions came in about Mars analog stations which Artemis fielded on behalf of the listeners. Toward the end of the show, we talked about the possibility of finding life on Mars and what this would mean for Mars human missions. We ended the discussion with both our guests suggesting meaningful ways for listeners to advocate on behalf of human Mars missions. You will definitely want to hear their suggestions. If you have questions or comments for our guests, please post them on the blog URL above. You can also send them to carberry@exploremars.org, artemis@exploremars.org or drspace@thespaceshow.com. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:51:50 UTC
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Leonard David, Mark Mayfield, Sunday, 11-7-10 (73.28MB; download) -- Guests: Leonard David, Mark Mayfield. Topics: Human spaceflight history, commercial space, NASA policy. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Mark Mayfield's book, "The Spaceflight Vault: A History Of NASA's Manned Missions," is available from the One Giant Leap Foundation website as an Amazon partner. If you buy the book from OGLF, Amazon makes a contribution to The Space Show. Please use www.amazon.com/dp/0794830463?tag=onegialeafou-20. In our first segment, Mark started off by telling us about his book which is unique among space books, especially given the inserts and interactive approach so very well done in this book. I loved it and strongly recommend it for everyone. You will hear me say several times during the show that this book is a terrific holiday present idea for your favorite space cadet or even yourself. Mark Mayfield's book is exceptional! Leonard joined in with similar praise for the book and then we started talking about our space future. The three of us came to a consensus that the space future is at this time, unknown. Of course one does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out but as you hear the discussion unfold, you will get the inside story on the details behind our unknown future in space. Leonard talked about his growing up in the San Diego area, rocket town, to the noise of Atlas engines being tested and more. He, like the rest of us, thought we would have a different space program than what we have. Mark suggested that people were frustrated with the lack of direction and Leonard even offered that many people feel "betrayed." Our guests said that on the positive side, the international space community is gearing up and making great strides forward. It may not be the US that leads us into space in the future but both said we are going forward, even if other nations lead the way. Commercial space came up and our guests said it still needs to be proven but they held very high regard for proven vehicles such as Atlas and Delta. SS2 and Sir Richard Branson came up and our guests talked about the contribution of Virgin to the movement. Mark has a section in his book on SS2 and Virgin as well. As we started the second and final segment of this 2 hour 25 minute discussion, we talked about external events that could come about that have the potential to both jump start the US human spaceflight program or destroy it. You do not want to miss the wildcards that our guests pointed out as being out there that could impact our space program in either direction. Leonard brought up SETI and Project Dorothy and Mark talked about how political our program has become. Several listener questions asked about the shuttle program and its pending retirement. Don't miss what Leonard and Mark had to say about shuttle, its capabilities, and its retirement. Our guests were asked about heavy lift and jobs were introduced into this discussion. New technology was talked about including electromagnetic launch. I asked about private R&D as compared to government financed R&D. Our guests thought joint participation in public private partnerships were the way to go. Near the end of the program, I asked them for a rating of their optimism for a five year period. Some final questions about innovation and Technical Readiness Levels (TRL) came up and both our guests said that our government cannot just walk away from space. We concluded by saying there were terrific opportunities developing and we all hoped that America would be properly positioned to take advantage of them. You can post your comments and questions on the blog URL above and also by sending them to Leonard David at newsspace@aol.com. Mark Mayfield can be reached at markmayfield@mmpublishinginc.com. You can also send your comments to me at drspace@thespaceshow.com and I will forward them to our guests. Selected by: David Livingston [ stations ], Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:21:07 UTC
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