This week’s episode was the third installment of the “Settling the Solar System” (or “Great Migration”) segment. Previous episodes covered how humans could one day live on the Moon and Mars. In this latest installment, I discussed how humans (with the right technology and strategies) could live on Venus. Well, not exactly on Venus, since the planet is a total hellhole!

The air pressure alone is enough to crush your bones, the average temperature is literally hot enough to melt lead, and there’s also sulfuric acid rain! Basically, Venus is the WORST piece of real estate in the Solar System! At least… it is on the surface. But above the cloud tops, where temperatures are mild, the air pressure is decent, and the sulfuric acid rain is sparse, floating cities could be established.

Over time, these settlements could be used to terraform the planet into an ocean paradise. Check out the episode to hear how it could be done!

Where to Listen:

• Simplecast
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music

A few months back, my publisher announced that, unfortunately, they could no longer publish my trilogy, known as the Formist Series. The pandemic had hit the publishing industry pretty hard, especially smaller operations, and they were no longer able to keep producing their clients’ books. Fortunately, there’s a wealth of independent author resources out there, and I have some experience with them.

So as soon as I reacquired the rights to my books – The Cronian Incident, The Jovian Manifesto, and The Frost Line Fracture – I reissued them immediately via Kindle Direct Publishing. For the first little while, nothing much changed. But a few short weeks ago, I noticed that the number of ratings had climbed considerably, especially for the first novel. Allow me to present it in table format. I like doing that!

Book	Cronian Incident	Jovian Manifesto	Frost Line Fracture
Ratings (formerly)	38 (13)	11 (8)	2 (1)
Reviews	16	6	1
Avg. Rating	4.3	4.5	4.5

Doing the math, CI’s ratings have increased by 292%, JV’s have increased by a comparatively modest 37.5%, and FLF’s have increased by 100% (but only because it went from 1 to 2). I’m not sure what led to this uptick, but I think the way my online profile has increased in the past decade has directed more people to my books. And it seems likely to me that this is recent since the increase has been concentrated on the first installment in the series so far.

While it’s certainly the case that most readers will pick up the first book in a series and hesitate to buy more, that much of a gap between the first books and the sequels suggests to me that anyone who bought the first one (and left a rating) are still deciding if they want to read further. Personally, I hope they do because (imho) the second book is the best one, while my publisher claimed that the third one is. I invite readers to decide for themselves!

We come to it at last! The first installment of a new segment on my podcast series, titled “Settling the Solar System” (or “the Great Migration”) has just aired. In this episode, I started with our nearest celestial neighbor and the first stop for any migration beyond Earth – the Moon. Human beings will be returning there soon. Only this time, we plan to leave more than “footprints and flags.”

This time, we plan to build the necessary infrastructure that will allow for ongoing exploration and development. That means creating lunar habitats, resource exploration (and exploitation), commercial missions, and lunar tourism. If all goes as planned, these efforts could even lead to a permanent lunar settlement. The challenges are legion, but they are surmountable given enough time, money, strategies, and a long-term commitment. Have a listen to find out!

Where to Listen:

• Simplecast
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music

In last week’s episode, I addressed the topic of how astrobiologists look for extraterrestrial life by searching for telltale indicators of biological processes at work (aka. “biosignatures”). This week, the subject was how scientists engaged in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) look for advanced life. In this case, they are looking for signs of technological activity that we would recognize (aka. “technosignatures”).

This field is evolving rather rapidly, and there are some big developments expected in the near future. To date, the vast majority of SETI surveys have been limited in scope and confined to looking for radio transmissions. But in the future, observatories worldwide and in space could be working in concert to search for everything from neutrinos and directed energy (lasers) to gravitational waves and megastructures! Check it out below!

Where to Listen:

• Simplecast
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music

This week, I got into the subject of astrobiology and how scientists look for life beyond Earth. Since we can’t explore exoplanets directly, astrobiologists are confined to looking for the telltale chemical signatures that we associate with life and organic processes here on Earth (aka. biosignatures). Some examples include oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water, methane, and ammonia. In this episode, I explain how this is done and how next-generation telescopes are going to make it a lot easier!

And, of course, I get into how this whole process is complicated b our very limited frame of reference. As it stands, humans know of only one planet and chemical arrangement under which life can emerge and thrive. In short, planet Earth, with its nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere (and trace amounts of CO₂), water on its surface, and orbiting around a G-type yellow star. As a result, we are confined to the “low-hanging fruit” approach.

But as long as we’re looking, we can expand the scope of “life as we know it.” Check it out below!

Where to Listen:

• Simplecast
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music

Hello all! Many moons ago, I posted an update where I explained how I would be teaching a course through the Kepler Space Institute (KSI). Titled “The Exploration and Potential Settlement of Mars,” this six-part course will examine how Mars has inspired our mythological/astronomical traditions, the history of Martian exploration, and the possibility that humans will live there someday.

Well, as of a few weeks ago, the starting date has been set! This course will commence this Summer (on July 24^th) and will last for six weeks. If all goes well, a second cohort will commence in the Fall and could lead to me reaching other courses through KSI. The six-part course breaks down as follows:

Session 1: Perceptions and Portrayals of Mars

This lesson deals with how ancient peoples perceived Mars, how it has inspired mythology and folklore, and how its passage across the heavens influenced our cultural development. From there, the lesson moves into what we have learned about Mars and how that led to its changing portrayal over time. From a deity to a planet, from the site of another civilization to a lifeless ball of rock. And now, a world that may have supported life and could again someday.

Session 2: History of Proposals

This lesson focuses on the history of proposed mission architectures that would send astronauts to Mars. These include Von Braun’s “The Mars Project,” the earliest plan for mounting crewed missions to the Red Planet. During the Cold War Era, as NASA got closer to setting foot on the Moon, several plans were drafted for what would come next. By the 1990s, there were renewed plans for missions that would leverage In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). By the mid-2000s, work began on the next generation of launch vehicles to make this happen. Today, NASA and China plan to send crews there by the 2030s, with other space agencies following in the ensuing decades.

Session 3: Mars in Popular Culture

Mars has always occupied a special place in the hearts and minds of people, not the least of which are science fiction writers. The moment we realized Mars was a planet with similarities to Earth, speculation began that there might be a civilization there. The nature of this civilization reflected humanity’s hopes and fears, alternating between hostile invaders to benevolent creatures endangered by humanity. By the 1970s and after, SF portrayals shifted to one where Mars was a dead world and the first Martians would be humans. And with the growing knowledge that the planet was once warm and watery, we now portray humans living there and even restoring it to what it once was.

Session 4: Getting There

This session explores the major challenges in sending missions to Mars. Using current technology, missions are generally restricted to making transits every 26 months (when Earth and Mars are closest to each other), and transit times can last from six to nine months. For this reason, next-generation propulsion technologies have been explored for decades, including nuclear rockets! In addition to time, other challenges include radiation, microgravity, supplies, waste management, and more.

Session 5: Living There

Once we’ve solved the problem of getting there, there is the rather large challenge of how humans can operate there for extended periods. This includes a hostile environment (thin atmosphere, toxic air, radiation), providing food and water, sourcing power, seasonal hazards (like dust storms), and Martian gravity (40% of Earth). This lesson addresses these challenges, how they could be mitigated in the short term, and how space agencies and commercial space companies plan to do that.

Session 6: Staying There (Making a Garden)

What about the long term? Can humans live on Mars indefinitely, giving rise to the first “Martians”? What would this take in terms of planning, technology, and living strategies? And if we really want to think about the long term, how could ecologically engineer Mars to make it more like Earth (aka. terraforming)? What would that take? And what would implications would human settlement and terraforming have for any possible lifeforms that could still be living there?

To learn more, check out the course info at the Kepler Space Institute.

This week, I sat down with noted researcher Caroline Piaulet, a doctoral student at the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) and the Université de Montréal. Caroline is an astrophysicist who specializes in the study of exoplanets that are between Earth and Neptune in terms of size. These are the planets that are largely missing from the exoplanet census. Caroline and her colleagues intend to find out why!

Caroline also specializes in the study of “Water Worlds,” a strange and exotic type of exoplanet where water makes up a significant fraction of their mass. This means that they are covered in oceans many kilometers deep, far far greater than anything we know here on Earth! These worlds are something astronomers never imagined until they began popping up in telescope data less than two decades ago and the implications they could have for finding life in our Universe could be immense!

These and other fascinating topics came up in the course of our half-hour conversation. Her research and the topic itself warranted way more time, but she’s a busy person. Check it out below!

Where to Listen:

• Simplecast
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music