Universe Today Podcast

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:14
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bmthiCOpbMQ
If SpaceX no longer want Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon, why won't NASA just buy them for themselves? What would a perfect space station look like? What is being done to improve the deep space network? And in Q&A+, finally, a Lagrange Point question.
00:00 Intro

00:27 [@kairon156] What would a perfect space station look like?

08:13 [@endigo2007] Can NASA buy the remaining Falcon 9's and operate them to send Dragon to ISS?

10:57 [@musicover5] Is there work being done to increase the bandwidth of the deep space network?

14:14 [@jamessobek196] Does the Moon jiggle L2 Lagrange points?

18:04 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 17:14
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/S7Vbh0p5Vfc
Team Human https://www.teamhuman.org/
A Moon lava tube mission. Remnants of the Moon’s magnetosphere. Where are the wondering supermassive black holes. And on Space Bites+, why Mars’ ice caps are mostly dust free.
00:00 Intro

00:14 Finally, A Moon Lava Tube Mission https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-selects-gimli-to-search-the-marius-lunar-pit-for-a-potential-lunar-base-site

03:06 Possible lunar dynamo https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-buried-volcano-on-the-moon-hints-at-an-ancient-lunar-dynamo

06:11 Pulsar Feeding from a Companion's Stellar "Wind" https://www.universetoday.com/articles/xrism-makes-first-ever-detection-of-a-pulsar-feeding-from-a-companions-stellar-wind

07:45 Origin of Mars and Earth https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-study-shows-that-earth-and-mars-had-different-origins

10:10 Vote results 10:36 Wandering Black Holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/wandering-black-holes-may-hold-clues-to-the-evolution-of-the-universe

12:30 Searching for black holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/thousands-of-black-holes-could-be-lurking-in-our-backyardand-you-can-help-find-them

14:57 Hubble's 200,000th orbit https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-hubble-marks-its-200000th-orbit-by-watching-lensed-supernova

16:09 Supernova near Sag A* https://www.universetoday.com/articles/chandra-x-ray-observatory-drops-new-view-of-our-galaxys-unruly-centre

17:14 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mars-north-pole-ice-is-far-cleaner-than-expected

18:14 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:42
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B_h8kKdiHe8
Why do star shades look like flowers? Is Mars colonization just a Ponzi Scheme? Why would it be worth doing? And on Q&A+, should you scream into the void?
00:00 Intro

00:23 [@silasmiller4417] Why are renders of orbital star shades shaped like flower pedals?

05:37 [@illyakuryakin5024] Anyone notice no one is talking about the Ponzi scheme called "Mars Colonization" anymore?

12:13 [@illyakuryakin5024] why would it be so "amazing"?

17:42 [@Alienalloy] If I scream in the vacuum of space have I gone beyond compony health and safety procedures so already a lost cause?

20:20 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 25:44
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube https://youtu.be/B8xbSUstIhA
🟣 Guest: Dr. Artur Davoyan https://samueli.ucla.edu/people/artur-davoyan/
Solar sails are great. It's a propulsion method that doesn't require carrying fuel. But the need to be really big to be efficient. How do you fold them on Earth and unfold in space? What's a reliable way to do that? NASA recently awarded a NIAC grant specifically for that.
📜 Coilable Stacked Solar Sails for Very High delta-V Missions https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/coilable-stacked-solar-sails-for-very-high-delta-v-missions/
👉 All 2026 NIAC Selections https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections/
00:00 Intro

01:31 Solar sail as a propulsion method

25:44 Alternative propulsion methods

38:38 Current obsessions

44:54 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:37
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eLHeqk2Yh1Q
How bright is space? What's the best way to go under the ice on Europa? Are there new gravitational wave detectors in the works? And on Q&A+, have we actually seen black holes grow?
00:00 Intro

00:23 [@Noxelius] What's the best way to get under the ice of Europe or Enceladus?

01:46 [@jvan120] how bright is it in space?

05:16 [@luiscarneiro4123] How can we make governments invest more money in space?

09:11 [@rJaune] Are there any plans to make new Gravitational Wave detectors?

12:27 [@AproposOfWetSnow] What if Pluto got into Mercury's orbit?

14:37 [@GeraldBlakefield] Have we actually seen black holes grow?

17:39 Final thoughts