Astronaut Paolo Nespoli joins Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham for a podcast special recorded at the European Space Agency's ESTEC facility in The Netherlands during their Open Day. Thousands of people travel from across Europe and beyond to see where the European Space Agency tests its spacecraft before launch and the birthplace of many of its science missions. Joining the ever entertaining Nespoli on the Space Rocks stage is space debris expert Luisa Innocenti, head of ESA's Clean Space Office, on better alternatives for spacecraft materials plus trainee aerospace engineer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a special edition of Space Boffins, Richard Hollingham meets a man rarer than a Moonwalker - a spy satellite engineer. Phil Pressel led the team that built the camera for the Hexagon spy satellite system - the most complicated satellite ever launched. Hexagon took pictures on 30 miles of film and returned it to Earth in cannisters, which were captured by aircraft. The interview includes revelations about the capabilities of the satellite, secrecy and Phil's incredible upbringing. Did spy satellites help prevent World War 3? You decide Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's a rocket special on this month's Space Boffins with Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham. As the UK's plans for a Spaceport forge ahead, two microlauncher companies are at the forefront of a commercial space race for launching small satellites from the UK. Sue hears from Orbex's Chris Larmour and Skyrora's Daniel Smith to find out what they have planned. Richard reports from the European spaceport Vega C launch pad in French Guiana with engineer Marco Calcabrini and inside the Ariane 5 and Vega control room with Jean-Marc Durand from Arianespace. Astronomer and science writer Stuart Clark... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's the 7th anniversary of Space Boffins and Sue and Richard are joined by BBC Science Correspondent, Jonathan Amos - a guest on the very first podcast. Meanwhile, Richard reports from the new Ariane 6 launchpad being built at the European spaceport in French Guiana, and we meet the European Space Agency astronaut training with the Chinese. The team also get to the bottom of some mysterious Skylab space banter. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Magnificent Mercury is in full focus. Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are at the National Space Centre in Leicester with BepiColombo mission scientists Professor Emma Bunce and Dr Suzie Imber. They also visit London's Science Museum to see the newly installed thermal spacecraft model for Europe's first mission to Mercury in October. Expect to hear from ESA's chief scientific advisor, Mark McCaughrean, the low down on a Soviet space toilet in Leicester, and hear why NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield is complete space shambles - in a good way of course... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Asteroid expert Professor Simon Green joins the Space Boffins to discuss missions to collect samples from space rocks and return them to Earth, and the perils of re-directing asteroids heading our way. Richard and Sue also chat to Romanian astronaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu about life on the first international space station, Salyut 6, and Europe's ambitious Mercury mission gets packed-up ready for launch. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

After 2000 days on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover is still going strong. In this month's Space Boffins Richard visits Imperial College London to talk to one of the lead scientists on the mission, Sanjeev Gupta, about water on Mars, life and future astronaut missions. Meanwhile, in Liverpool, Sue discovers the connection between the Beatles and space science, author Vix Southgate chats to Richard about Soviet space dogs and the words of Yuri Gagarin from orbit. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Could life on Earth be wiped out by a killer asteroid? The short answer is yes. This month the Space Boffins hear about a new European telescope to spot the threat before it's too late. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined at the Royal Astronomical Society in London by Robert Massey and Helen Klus to discuss how astronomy could save the world. Richard also chats to NASA astronaut Steve Bowen who reveals what it will be like to live in the 'cramped' new Orion spacecraft and the perils of returning to Earth after a mission to the Moon or Mars. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Queen guitarist, rock star and astronomer Brian May adds some celebrity stardust and big hair on this month's podcast for the launch of the 2019 Starmus Festival. May talks about the essential humanity of a science, arts and music overlap and reveals that he's been quietly contributing to not one, but two space missions. Also on the podcast, Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman discusses the future of orbiting space stations and Chris Welch bigs up the International Space University and explains why he has a Project Juno poster. Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are presenting... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Sue bags a flight on Europe's 'Zero G' aircraft to experience microgravity. Back in the studio, Richard and Sue are joined by Libby Jackson from the UK Space Agency to discuss her new book on women in space. And the Boffins celebrate the era when Britain led the space race with the Skylark rocket. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists