Ep. 430: Coming Home from Mars
Landing on the surface of Mars is very difficult. In fact, it’s probably the toughest planet to land on in the whole Solar System. Today we’ll talk about what it’s going to take to get to and return from Mars! [Note – This episode was interrupted due to a power outage on Fraser’s end. They’ll reschedule to finish episode on 12/5 (most likely – Fraser is traveling this week!), and we’ll put the pieces together when we have them and release as audio podcast!]
Ep. 429: Living on Mars
When Elon Musk announced plans to send humans to Mars, he conveniently left out one important aspect. How are we supposed to survive on a place this hostile to life? Seriously, Mars sucks, and it’s going to take some impressive techniques and technologies to make it on the Red Planet.
Ep. 428: The Moons of Mars
We begin a miniseries on Mars. How many episodes will we do? Who knows? But we start today with a discussion of the two Mars moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Ep. 427: Click Bait vs Clear Science
Did you hear that Dark Energy doesn’t exist any more? Neither does Dark Matter? It turns out that NASA recalculated the Zodiac and now you’re an Ophiuchan! Science is hard enough, but communicating that science out to the public when there are publications hungry for traffic is even harder! Here’s how to parse the click-bait science titles.
Ep. 426: Confirmation Bias
I hate to tell you this, but that meat computer in your skull is constantly betraying you. Don’t worry, we’ve all got the same, but fortunately, scientists have learned how this happens, and can help us make sure our science, and lives don’t suffer because of it.
Ep. 425: Naming Spacecraft
Have you ever noticed spacecraft missions have some pretty cool names? How does anyone decide what to call these things?
Ep. 424: Lightning
It turns out that nature figured out how to use electricity long before humans did. Lightning storms are common across the Earth, and even the Solar System. What causes this electricity in the sky, and how can science use it?
Ep. 423: Cyclones
As Hurricane Matthew reminded us, cyclonic storms are a force to be reckoned with. What causes these storms, and how can they form across the Solar System.
Ep. 422: Geysers
So if you’ve been to Yellowstone National Park, you’ve seen one of the most amazing features of the natural world – geysers. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about geysers on Earth, and where they might be in the solar system.
Ep. 421: Space Games!
As you probably know, Fraser is an avid video gamer, especially if it has anything to do with space. Today we turn things around, as Fraser talks about the games he plays, and what he thinks you should be playing too.