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Naked Astronomy, from the Naked Scientists

Latest episodes

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Apr 25, 2022 • 44min

Return to the Moon

With the first Artemis mission on the launchpad, Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham look ahead to the next footsteps on the Moon. They chat to Libby Jackson from the UK Space Agency about Gateway - "a one bed studio flat" in orbit around the Moon - and lunar SatNav. Plus, John Vrublevskis from Thales Alenia Space UK explains the challenge of getting oxygen out of Moon rocks. We also feature an interview - never before broadcast in full - with Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke. He talks about landing on the Moon, looking back at Earth and his faith... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Mar 1, 2022 • 54min

Do we need astronauts?

It's the Space Boffins' most controversial episode yet, as Don Goldsmith talks about his new book written with Astronomer Royal Martin Rees - The End of Astronauts and why robots are the future. Also, we visit one of the cleanrooms at Airbus in Stevenage to see the new Biomass satellite to measure the carbon locked in the world's forests. Plus author Kevin Cook talks about his book, The Burning Blue, on Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger disaster. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Jan 28, 2022 • 60min

Fiery Worlds and go for Mars

In a bumper new year edition, we hear the latest on the Webb space telescope, discuss volcanoes on distant worlds and look ahead to Europe's mission to Mars. ESA's Mark McCaughrean talks about what's next for the James Webb Space Telescope; UCL's Andrew Coates covers the Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover launching this year, and the OU's Natalie Starkey talks about her new book Fire and Ice. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Dec 15, 2021 • 53min

Flowers in Space

Gardeners of the Galaxy podcast host Emma Doughty discusses the challenges and joys of growing flowers, chillies and vines (for wine!) in space. Sue and Richard also chat to self-confessed space nerd John Chinner about the Astro Pi computers on the International Space Station, 3-D printed rovers and the best (space) movie ever made. Plus, Richard ventures out to a real control room tracking the progress of an innovative new space debris removal mission, currently in orbit around the Earth... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Nov 22, 2021 • 1h 11min

James Webb and astronaut Jessica Meir

ESA's senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean joins Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to enthuse about the most powerful space telescope ever built. And NASA astronaut Jessica Meir discusses coming back from the ISS to a world in the grip of Covid-19, her first all women space walk, and her preparations as part of the Artemis astronaut corps. Plus new CEO of the UK Space Agency, Paul Bate, on the UK's continued success within the space industry. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Nov 1, 2021 • 46min

BepiColombo lobster eyes and Apollo legends

After BepiColombo's recent flyby of Mercury, Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson hear from the University of Leicester's Dr Charly Feldman about its onboard lobster eye optics and their increasing use in new spacecraft. They're also joined by the UK Space Agency's Liz Cox on the importance of space when it comes to climate change, and the legendary NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill - whose career there is 55 years and counting - talks about Apollo 1 and Apollo 10. And, yes, there are plenty of Snoopy references! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Sep 29, 2021 • 31min

SETI: Looking for Life across the Universe

This month, Naked Astronomy goes in search of the civilisations with which we might share this Universe. Andrew Siemion, Director of Berkeley SETI Research Center, joins Ben McAllister and Adam Murphy to discuss how likely it is that we are not alone, how we are probing the distant reaches of space for intelligent life, what might thwart us and what's been found so far... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Sep 10, 2021 • 55min

Europe leads the space station

ESA astronaut and soon to be Commander of the International Space Station, Samantha Cristoforetti, talks Dragons, Star City, and preparing for leadership. We hear from meteor expert Richard Greenwood on how Japan's Hayabusa 2 mission has returned "the most important extra-terrestrial samples ever collected" - rocks from the very start of the solar system. And journalist Kate Arkless Gray describes a decade of space journalism and how to make friends with the head of NASA... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Aug 12, 2021 • 54min

Space Station Commander

Shuttle pilot and International Space Station Commander, Terry Virts, chats to Space Boffins about flying the Shuttle, commanding the ISS, photographing the Earth ...and UFOs. And after the triumphant flight of Wally Funk, Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by space reporter and commercial spaceflight expert, Sarah Cruddas, to talk about space tourism and space entrepreneurs. But will the price of spaceflight ever come down so the rest of us can afford it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists
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Jul 13, 2021 • 55min

Wally Funk Heads for Space

On the 10th anniversary of Space Boffins, BBC Science and Space Correspondent Jonathan Amos comes aboard to celebrate Mercury 13 legend Wally Funk as she prepares to launch to space with Jeff Bezos. We also catch up on ten years of space developments, chat to ESA's project scientist for the JUICE mission to Jupiter's icy moons, Olivier Witasse, and celebrate Apollo 15 with an epic montage featuring astronaut Al Worden. Here's to the next ten years! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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