Are We There Yet?

One of the rovers on Mars made a big discovery on the red planet: the largest organic carbon molecules to date. This discovery could lead scientists closer to answering the age-old question: could there have been life on Mars? Plus, just like pirates roam the seas, the idea of pirates or criminals in space could be more of a reality than science fiction.

In an interview with Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, Starliner’s commander Butch Wilmore revealed that the spacecraft’s thruster issues led to one of the most harrowing journeys in his aerospace career. Plus, while we send robots to the moon, the success of a mission begins in the control room.

The “Are We There Yet?” team hosted a live panel discussion featuring experts on telescopes at the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences. For centuries, telescopes have played a crucial role in science and exploration.The way telescopes work is simple: They magnify distant objects by collecting and focusing light. But through this simplicity, they can illuminate the complexities of the cosmos.

Lunar Trailblazer, a mission to explore water on the lunar surface, is having some issues along its mission. Plus, the book “Alcohol in Space” and documentary explores the idea that alcohol should be more available so people can relax and have an important part of Earth’s culture while away from our home planet.

Exercise while in space is vital for the human body, but scientists are studying how important cardio workouts are for long duration missions. Plus, engineers and scientists have worked to keep Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 going for almost 50 years by turning off some of the systems.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft broke apart during a test flight. The debris from the rapid unplanned disassembly prompted the ground stoppage of many airline flights from Florida, highlighting the relationship between air traffic and space traffic. Plus, NASA is closing several of its offices in an attempt to reduce its forces—a reaction from new policy changes under the Trump administration.

NASA and other international partners are tracking an asteroid the size of a football field as it approaches Earth. Plus, one company sent a data center to the moon to preserve Earth's data and help advance the lunar economy.

The podcast “The Other Moonshot” explores the stories of three Black engineers and their contributions to the Apollo program. Plus, a look ahead at three missions that are launching this year that will help us understand and study our universe like never before.

Boeing is a contractor for NASA’s SLS rocket that will take astronauts on the moon, but Boeing recently announced plans to lay off over 400 employees from its SLS team. Plus, one professor’s experiment went for a spin on Blue Origin’s recent launch of New Sheppard that mimicked lunar gravity.

Researchers have uncovered evidence that Pluto may have found one of its moons through what they call the “kiss and capture method.” Plus, a centaur named Chiron has characteristics of both a comet and an asteroid; making scientist wonder what else makes this celestial body unique.