Episode 71 of SfS – Voices of the Future: Frank Herbert – is now Live!

Episode 71 of SfS – Voices of the Future: Frank Herbert – is now Live!

This week’s episode picked up a series that I began long ago but then left untouched! Voices of the Future was intended to pay tribute to seminal thinkers and scientists who showed great insight and made some profound predictions about humanity’s future. The first installment was dedicated to the late and great Arthur C. Clarke. This week’s episode was dedicated to the man who literally wrote the book that made people “take science fiction seriously” – Frank Herbert!

In 1965, Frank Herbert released his best-known work, Dune. Over the next twenty years, he produced five sequels and died just a year after the release of the last installment: Chapterhouse: Dune. While much has been said about Frank’s social, political, philosophical, and historical commentary, what stands out for me all the years later was his predictions about humanity and AI. This was summarized in the event referred to as the “Butlerian Jihad,” which is part of the story’s deep background.

It was this event, which led to the Great Convention and its ban on AI, computers, and automation of any kind, that led to the power structure of the Imperium – with its absolute monarchy, feudal barons, religious proscriptions, and constant machinations and treachery. Basically, Frank appeared to present the Johad as something inevitable, which would have inevitable consequences. This nuance is completely lost in the prequels/sequels authored by his son and Kevin J. Anderson, who instead presented the Jihad as a cliche, humans vs. machines story.

This commentary and contrast are especially important today, amid fears about the development of AI and the often inarticulate (IMHO) existential concerns about it. Check the episode out below to hear more.

Where to Listen:

Episode 70 of SfS – The Crisis in Cosmology: What is the Hubble Tension? – is now live!

Episode 70 of SfS – The Crisis in Cosmology: What is the Hubble Tension? – is now live!

This week’s episode deals with a rather pressing matter for astronomers and cosmologists. Shortly after Einstein revealed his Theory of General Relativity in 1916, scientists began pondering how it predicted that the Universe was either expanding or contracting. The debate was settled when Georges Lemaitre and Edwin Hubble confirmed that it was expanding (in 1927 and 1929, respectively). In honor of their accomplishments, the rate at which the cosmos is expanding was named the “Hubble-Lemaitre Constant” (or more commonly, the “Hubble Constant”).

As the field of astronomy expanded and telescopes improved, scientists were able to make distance measurements for objects located farther and farther away. However, these observations were restricted to objects within 4 billion light-years due to the way Earth’s atmosphere distorts light. Depending on the distances involved, astronomers relied on different methods, which came to be known as the “Cosmic Distance Ladder.” In addition to determining the age and size of the Universe, these measurements allowed astronomers to refine their estimates of the Constant.

The Hubble Space Telescope revolutionized astronomy by gradually pushing the boundaries of the “observable Universe” to less than 1 billion years after the Big Bang (13 billion light years!) That’s when scientists noticed some discrepancies. Not only did they learn that the rate of expansion had accelerated over time, but distance measurements to objects located 13 billion light-years away (the earliest galaxies) yielded different values than local measurements. This came to be known as the “Hubble Tension” or the “Crisis in Cosmology.”

While it was hoped that the James Webb Space Telescope would resolve this crisis, its observations have only confirmed that Hubble was right on the money! The crisis endures, and scientists are seeking answers. Is Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, which is foundational to our cosmological models, wrong? Or are there additional physics/forces at work that we haven’t yet accounted for? Once we know that, we’ll know how just about everything in the Universe works!

Check out the episode below.

Where to Listen:

Episode 69 of SfS – Rendezvousing with an Interstellar Object (with Dr. Alan Stern) – is now live!

Episode 69 of SfS – Rendezvousing with an Interstellar Object (with Dr. Alan Stern) – is now live!

Hello all, it’s been a while, I know. Life has been crazy lately. Luckily, I’ve managed to find the time to podcast again. For this latest episode, I had a conversation with Dr. Alan Stern, an astrophysicist from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Principal Investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission. In a recent paper, Stern and his colleagues performed a concept study for an Interstellar Object Explorer (IOE), a mission that could rendezvous with interstellar objects (ISO).

In 2017, the first-ever ISO detected passed through our system – ‘Oumuamua – leaving astronomers intrigued and baffled. Based on the available data, the object defied classification, leading to some rather exotic explanations! Two years later, a second ISO (2I/Borisov) was detected, which was clearly identified as an interstellar comet. In the near future, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will become operational and will begin detecting dozens of ISOs a year.

Hence the desire for a spacecraft that could rendezvous with the next ISO that graces us. As Stern and I discuss, an IOE mission could have profound implications for astronomy, cosmology, and astrobiology. Studying ISOs would tell us a great deal about other star systems without actually having to go there. And if just a tiny fraction of those happened to be debris from an extraterrestrial civilization, as Prof. Loeb has suggested, the implications would be astronomical (no pun!)

Check out the links below to hear the entire conversation…

Where to Listen:

Episode 68 of SfS – The STASH Experiment and Hibernation Technology for Space, with Dr. Ryan Sprenger – is now Live!

Episode 68 of SfS – The STASH Experiment and Hibernation Technology for Space, with Dr. Ryan Sprenger – is now Live!

This week, I sat down with Dr. Ryan Sprenger, the Senior Research Physiologist at Fauna Bio Inc., a California-based biotech company specializing in genomics research. Sprenger and his colleagues have developed a new concept for testing hibernation in space, the Studying Torpor in Animals for Space-health in Humans (STASH) experiment. Their concept was selected by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program for Phase I development this year.

With NASA’s support, Sprenger and his team will develop a technology demonstrator that will be sent to the ISS. Their concept has the potential to revolutionize space exploration by allowing astronauts to enter synthetic hibernation during the long voyage to Mars and beyond. In essence, astronauts could sleep for the duration of long-term spaceflights, reducing the physiological impact of exposure to microgravity and radiation and the psychological impacts of months spent in a cramped spacecraft.

It will also reduce the amount of supplies missions need to bring along and the amount of waste produced. It will also have applications here on Earth, helping to mitigate aging, disease, and genetic disorders. Follow the links below to learn more!

Where to Listen:

Episode 67 – “Swarming Proxima Centauri: A Conversation with Marshall Eubanks” – is now Live!

Episode 67 – “Swarming Proxima Centauri: A Conversation with Marshall Eubanks” – is now Live!

This week, I sat down with Marshall Eubanks, a former engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), an astronomer with the U.S. Naval Observatory, and the CTO of the Lifport Group – a company dedicated to building a Space Elevator! Nowadays, he is the chief scientist of Space Initiatives Inc. and has been working with the Institute for Interstellar Studies (i4is) on Project Lyra, a spacecraft that could rendezvous with interstellar objects (like ‘Oumuamua) when they enter the Solar System.

He and his colleagues are also working on a concept that would send swarms of tiny spacecraft using direct-energy propulsion (lasers) that could travel to Proxima Centauri to explore the nearest exoplanet – Proxima b. Their concept was recently selected for Phase I development by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, which includes a grant to develop the concept further.

But this was just one topic we discussed during our chat. Follow the links below to learn more!

Where to Listen:

Episode 66 of SfS – The Cosmic Philosopher: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky – is Now Live!

Episode 66 of SfS – The Cosmic Philosopher: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky – is Now Live!

This week’s episode is dedicated to the life, times, and enduring influence of Russian rocket scientist, philosopher, and cosmologist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935). To many, he’s known as the “father of rocketry and astronautics,” whereas others credit him with being one of the “forefathers,” alongside Hermann Julius Oberth, Robert Esnault-Pelterie, and Robert Goddard (namesake of the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center).

Regardless of titles, Tsiolkovsky’s influence was immeasurable, and his contributions to science are still felt today. His many treatises on spaceflight, his famous “Rocket Equation,” and his designs for rockets and space stations remain foundational to spaceflight. His speculations about the future of humanity in space inspired generations of futurists, rocket scientists, and science fiction writers – in particular, Sergei Korolev and Werner von Braun, the lead Soviet and German-American rocket engineers during the Space Race.

In addition, Tsiolkovsky’s philosophical ideas were groundbreaking and anticipated future developments, such as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and the Fermi Paradox (“Where are all the aliens?”). For those who believe humanity’s future lies in space, Tsiolkovsky was a pioneer and progenitor who was ahead of his time. As he famously said, “Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever.”

Statue of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, part of “The Monument to the Conquerors of Space” in Moscow.

Where to Listen:

Episode 65 of SfS – Mars by 2040? Why Must We Wait? – is Now Live!

Episode 65 of SfS – Mars by 2040? Why Must We Wait? – is Now Live!

This week was a bit of a treat for me because it allowed me to talk about something that has been unfolding over at NASA for many years. As a science communicator, I have been privileged enough to watch it unfold and have had the opportunity to comment along the way. I am referring to NASA’s long-held plans for sending crewed missions to Mars in the next decade and the many decades’ worth of planning that went into it.

Since 2010, the plan has been to send missions back to the Moon in this decade, build habitats and other infrastructure there, and use it as a testing ground to prepare for Mars. The next step was to send the first crewed mission in 2033, followed by additional missions every 26 months (coinciding with Mars being at its closest to Earth). While there have been doubts for years that NASA could accomplish this goal in that timeline, it was announced this past summer that 2033 won’t happen.

While a flyby mission could occur that year, a crewed mission where astronauts land on the surface is not likely to happen until 2040 – and that would be an ambitious goal. Meanwhile, China is still hoping to make it there by 2033, and SpaceX wants to land there even sooner. But they aren’t in any position to promise that right now since they are dealing with similar challenges and delays. Check out the episode below to learn more about how we got here and what’s likely to follow:

Where to Listen:

Episode 64 of SfS – “The Europa Clipper Mission: A Conversation with Dr. Steve Vance” – is now Live!

Episode 64 of SfS – “The Europa Clipper Mission: A Conversation with Dr. Steve Vance” – is now Live!

In this week’s episode, I had the good fortune to sit down with NASA scientist and astrobiologist Dr. Steve Vance so we could talk about NASA’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission. This mission, which was decades in the making, will launch this coming October, sending a spacecraft to Jupiter to explore its satellite Europa. Ever since the Voyager probes flew past Jupiter and its moons in 1979, scientists have speculated that there might be an ocean beneath this moon’s icy crust.

The mission will arrive around Jupiter by 2030, where it will begin making flybys of Europa and studying its surface with an advanced suite of instruments. Among its objectives are the characterization of Europa’s surface, investigating surface plume activity, and determining the existence and chemistry of its interior ocean. Another major objective is the search for potential biosignatures, indications that this interior ocean may harbor life!

We got into all of that and a number of other things – including Europa’s depiction in Arthur C. Clarke’s famed Space Odyssey series. As Vance told me during our chat, Clarke played a role in the mission planning, and (contrary to the monoliths told humanity in his stories) we do have permission to “attempt a landing there.”

Where to Listen:

Episode 63 of SfS – “The Rare Earth Hypothesis” – is now Live!

Episode 63 of SfS – “The Rare Earth Hypothesis” – is now Live!

This week’s episode revisits the Fermi Paradox, the question that launched a thousand scientific papers! To recap, this paradox takes its name from Erico Fermi, the physicist who helped build the first nuclear reactor and one of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. In 1950, during a lunchtime conversation with colleagues, Fermi famously asked: “Where is everybody?” (aka. where are all the aliens?)

One proposed resolution is the idea that the conditions for life are far more stringent than we think. When it comes to astrobiology, scientists tend to be optimistic, thinking that rocky planets with fluffy atmospheres that orbit within their suns’ habitable zones have everything they need to give rise to life. But using Earth as a template, things like plate tectonics, a large moon, a large gas giant in the outer reaches of the system, and other factors may be necessary.

If this is true, then life (and, by extension, intelligent life) is likely to be rarer than previously thought. Perhaps that’s why we’re not hearing from any of them! Check out the links below to hear more.

Where to Listen:

Episode 62 of Stories from Space – Living on Saturn’s Moons – is now Live!

Episode 62 of Stories from Space – Living on Saturn’s Moons – is now Live!

This week, as part of my continuing series, The Great Migration: Settling the Solar System, we took a look at Saturn and its system of moons. With the right technology, know-how, and the right kind of advancements, humanity could someday settle on Saturn’s largest satellites! Much like Jupiter’s icy moons, these satellites are icy bodies, many of which have interior oceans that could harbor life!

Another thing they have in common is their abundant resources, which include water, volatile elements, silicate minerals, metals, hydrogen, and helium-3. But whereas Jupiter has three satellites that could be settled (Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), Saturn has six – Titan, Rhea, Tethys, Dione, Enceladus, and Mimas. And unlike Jupiter, Saturn has a mild radiation environment that makes harvesting hydrogen and helium-3 from its atmosphere easier and its larger satellites more habitable.

As famed aerospace engineer, science communicator, and space exploration advocate Robert Zubrin has said (many times), Saturn could become the “Persian Gulf of the Solar System,” providing the fuel for nuclear propulsion and fusion reactors across the Solar System. Take a listen to learn more!

Where to Listen: