Program Archives

ANDREW CHAIKIN ON THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF APOLLO 8
December 29, 2008
Guests: Andrew Chaikin
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The author of "A Man on the Moon" and "A Passion for Mars" shares his thoughts about the first human mission beyond Earth and how the iconic Earthrise image challenges us to explore. Bill Nye says...  more »

REPORT ON THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
December 22, 2008
Guests: Emily Lakdawalla
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Our own Emily Lakdawalla reports on her visit to the AGU, where she heard the latest news about Mars, two moons of Saturn and our own Moon. Bill Nye is inspired by a couple of house-shaking sonic...  more »

GOING TO THE MOON WITH INDIA!
November 24, 2008
Guests: Carle Pieters
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Planetary scientist Carle Pieters is Principal Investigator for the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, now circling the moon on India's first spacecraft to venture beyond low Earth orbit. Bill Nye the Planetary...  more »

DAVID MORRISON OF NASA'S LUNAR SCIENCE INSTITUTE AND JACK GREGG ON THE LUNAR REGOLITH CHALLENGE
August 11, 2008
Guests: David Morrison, Jack Gregg
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Distinguished scientist David Morrison of NASA's Lunar Science Institute, while Jack Gregg heads speaks about the 2nd Lunar Regolith Challenge.  more »

TURNING MOONDUST INTO AIR AND WATER
May 5, 2008
Guests: Gerry Sanders
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NASA is learning how future Moon colonists will mine and refine lunar regolith, turning it into the oxygen and water they'll need to survive without constant resupply by Earth. Gerry Sanders heads...  more »

BUILDING THE J-2X ROCKET ENGINE FOR THE RETURN TO THE MOON
November 5, 2007
Guests: John Vilja
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John Vilja is Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne's Program Manager in charge of building the latest version of a rocket engine with a very distinguished legacy. He tells us about its development and how...  more »

A NEW RACE TO THE MOON: THE GOOGLE LUNAR X PRIZE
September 24, 2007
Guests: Buzz Aldrin, Shana Dale, Peter Diamandis, Elon Musk, Larry Page
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The X Prize Foundation announced its newest competition a few days ago. The Google Lunar X Prize competition will award $20 million to the first private team to put a successful rover on the Moon,...  more »

LOU FRIEDMAN ON THE INTERNATIONAL LUNAR DECADE
March 19, 2007
Guests: Louis Friedman
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It promises to be an intense period of lunar science and exploration, with an unprecedented level of global participation. Planetary Society Executive Director believes it should be made official as...  more »

PROTESTING THE IAU PLANET DEFINITION AND A SMART-1 LUNAR IMPACT RECAP
September 11, 2006
Guests: Mark Sykes, Detlef Koschny
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We have a busy show -- Mark Sykes, Director of the Planetary Science Institute, talks about his petition to the International Astronomical Union protesting its planet definition. And we look back a...  more »

LAKES ON TITAN AND AN INTERNATIONAL LUNAR DECADE
July 31, 2006
Guests: Rosaly Lopes, Louis Friedman
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There are lakes on Saturn's moon Titan! We'll hear about them from JPL's Rosaly Lopes. Lou Friedman returns from China where he unveiled a proposal for an International Lunar Decade. Emily...  more »