Space Boffins Podcast, from the Naked Scientists

Could factories in space be the future of manufacturing? Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham meet the head of the UK company, Space Forge, about to launch a (very small) factory into orbit. Sue also visits a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London exploring whether life could exist elsewhere in the universe, and the weird 1960s design that could have seen astronauts return to Earth on a paraglider... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Dinner chat on the space station, landing in the Shuttle and flying with William Shatner! Hosts Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham chat to NASA astronaut Nicole Stott about painting in space and whether we should send politicians into orbit! They also visit Space Shuttle Discovery in Washington to meet curator Jennifer Levassuer, Sue talks to Blue Origin astronaut Chris Boshuizen who pioneered phones in space, and the proposed NASA budget and what that means for Europe goes under the microscope...Contact us @spaceboffins and podcast@spaceboffins.com Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's all about returning to the Moon and protecting the Earth this time with Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham. Sue goes to Thales Alenia Space in Italy to see HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) - the first completed module for NASA's orbiting lunar space station, Gateway and a mock up of Europe's planned lunar IHAB module. We also hear about the ESA mission Vigil to improve space weather forecasts... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Incoming! NASA's acting head of planetary defence, Kelly Fast, discusses asteroids, YR2 and how to protect our planet. The UK Space Agency's head of Earth Observation and Climate, Beth Greenaway, and chief scientist, Shaun Quegan, discuss the upcoming European Biomass mission to measure how much carbon is being stored in tropical forests. And Kelly Weinersmith - co-author of A City On Mars - explains why living on the red planet will be much harder than anyone thought... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month, recently-retired BBC space correspondent, Jonathan Amos, and former NASA employee Herb Baker, author of From Apollo to Artemis: Stories from my 50 years with NASA, discuss reporting from a rocket launch, growing up with classmates whose dads are Apollo astronauts, and how material Herb's mother used to fix an aircon unit at home helped her save a Skylab mission. Plus, Richard sees a Soviet-era VA space capsule in the Manx Motor Museum on the Isle of Man... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Have we been visited by space aliens? This month space boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham delve into the history and science of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). They discuss UFOs with Pennsylvania State College professor and author of After the Flying Saucers Came, Greg Eghigian. They also talk to Thomas Zurbuchen, the longest ever serving head of science at NASA who commissioned an official report on UFOs. What does he believe? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA's Europa Clipper mission is about to head off on a five year mission to explore one of Jupiter's largest moons. Planetary geologist mission scientist Cynthia Phillips joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to discuss why this icy body could potentially be habitable. Plus, engineer, author and president of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin, on his book The New World on Mars, and how societies and cities will emerge on the red planet once colonisation is underway... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Former paralympic athlete, surgeon and European Space Agency (ESA) reserve astronaut, John McFall joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to share his experiences of the Fly study to investigate whether people with physical disabilities could become astronauts. Also on the show, astronaut Tim Peake, who now has a new role at Axiom Space, Saxa Vord CEO, Frank Strang, and director of operations, Scott Hammond, discuss how they are building a spaceport in Shetland... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Was the Space Shuttle fundamentally flawed? Richard Hollingham talks to Adam Higginbotham, author of a new book on the Space Shuttle to discuss the design, the dream, and the wishful thinking that led to the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Sue Nelson visits London's Design Museum to visit a new Barbie exhibition and talk "Space Barbie". Also, discussions on the future of the International Space Station, Star Trek: The documentary, and betting on smarties. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA astronaut and pilot of the Artemis II mission to the Moon, Victor Glover, joins Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to discuss the first Starliner launch, SpaceX, Artemis, Orion, NASA's mojo and his upcoming mission around the Moon. Plus space investor Mason Angel, crew of the recent Blue Orion sub-orbital flight, shares his experiences and what it was like to be to share the ride alongside 90 year-old Ed Dwight, NASA's first Black astronaut candidate... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham discuss the upcoming ESA EarthCARE mission with scientist Robin Hogan, the status of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury which will arrive at its destination next year and an exclusive as yet unheard interview with NASA legend George Abbey, who died recently, where he pays tribute to the Brits of Apollo... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Chief Scientist for Intuitive Machines, Ben Bussey, joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to talk through the first US soft landing on the Moon since 1972, IM-1. They discuss the landing, the broken legs, experiments and whether the IM control room is really based on Star Trek. Sue also travels to Farnborough to meet the chief engineer for novel nuclear at Rolls Royce, Jake Thompson. He hopes to build a nuclear reactor for a future Moonbase. Plus how Cornwall is fast becoming a centre for lunar communications.Contact us @spaceboffins on Facebook and X or email podcast@spaceboffins.com Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

After the first soft Moon landing from the US in over 50 years, Ken Kremer shares his excitement for Intuitive Machine's Odysseus lander, NASA's ongoing lunar ambitions, and his concerns over China stealing a lunar edge. Also UK Space Agency Head of Space Exploration, Libby Jackson on Artemis 2 and 3, Gateway and the all-British Axiom mission. Plus the decisions going into de-orbiting a satellite... (Image IM-1 lunar descent, courtesy Intuitive Machines). Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Legendary NASA flight director Gerry Griffin and award-winning filmmaker Chris Riley join Space Boffins after a showing of London's immersive Moonwalkers exhibition. Gerry discusses working on the Apollo missions and that infamous SCE to AUX switch as well as his thoughts on Artemis and a verdict on Moonwalkers. We also hear how Chris co-wrote the show with Tom Hanks, who played Jim Lovell in the Apollo 13 movie. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's a seasonal special from Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham with a previously unbroadcast interview with Apollo-era legend Frank Borman. Commander of Gemini 7 and Apollo 8, Colonel Borman passed away in November 2023 aged 95. His Apollo 8 mission was the first manned mission to the Moon, where the crew captured the famous Earthrise image and read from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve 1968. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

With the announcement of a planned all-UK astronaut mission, hosts Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson chat to ESA reserve astronaut Meganne Christian about astronaut selection, life in Antarctica and commercial space stations. Tim Peake - the possible commander of the Axiom mission - talks about his new book, Space The Human Story, which covers the history of human spaceflight from an astronaut's perspective. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

A Shuttle emergency you may not have heard of, sending your DNA into space, and a scientist studying the samples from asteroid Bennu. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham meet Natural History Museum meteorites curator, Natasha Vasiliki Almeida, and talk to Celestis founder, Charles Chafer, about sending your remains into space. Plus Sue chats to Jean Wright about sewing the blankets for the Space Shuttle, and a space repair reminiscent of Apollo 13. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA's new head of science, Dr Nicola Fox, joins Space Boffins to chat about Mars sample return, solar missions and asteroids. Also, ESA new astronaut recruit, Pablo Alvarez, and experienced astronaut Alexander Gerst on preparations for the Artemis missions to the Moon, and we discuss the joy of boffins, Starship's rapid unscheduled disassembly and which ESA astronaut will be the first to step on the lunar surface? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

European Space Agency Juice mission to Jupiter's Michele Dougherty talks about icy moons, magnetic fields and life elsewhere in the solar system, and the UK Space Agency's Caroline Harper discusses the Juice launch preparations in French Guiana. Also, the hidden history of Space Shuttle Enterprise: Eric Boehm at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum talks about the prototype shuttle's test flights and the aftermath of the Columbia disaster and the military space shuttle. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's the burning question that every space fan wants to know...what's the toilet like in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft? ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer reveals what a mission in the Dragon is like. He also talks about his Cosmic Kiss mission to the International Space Station and future Moon missions. Plus, author Meredith Bagby discusses her new book about the 35 New Guys - the group of Space Shuttle astronauts who changed spaceflight forever... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Two big interviews this month: Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham meet Hubble astronaut Mike Massimino and UK 'Space Minister' George Freeman MP. Mike chats about how he was inspired by Apollo, Artemis, Hubble and what he learned from astronaut legend John Young about going to the toilet on the Moon. With the Minister we talk about launch from the UK, the recent European Space Agency (ESA) Council of Ministers meeting, astronauts, Mars and cleaning up space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Nasa's outgoing head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen talks about saving the James Webb Space Telescope, future missions to the Moon and Mars, and research into UFOs. The team also visit the Science Museum's sci-fi exhibition and talk to its curator, Glyn Morgan, about Aliens, Star Trek and AI. Plus, the seeds that accompanied Shaun the Sheep on the Artemis 1 mission and what they mean for growing food on the Moon and Mars. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham celebrate the drama of the Spirit and Opportunity rover missions with NASA rover engineer Doug Ellison and JPL research scientist Abigail Fraeman from the film Goodnight Oppy. Recalling how the robots developed personalities, they talk about the mission's highs and lows. We also hear about the new SWOT mission to measure the Earth's water, and talk space books for kids with Raman Prinjah and Sheila Kanani. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this special bonus episode - for the first time in full - we play Richard's interview with the last man on the Moon, Gene Cernan. Recorded in summer 2016, it's thought to be the astronaut's last broadcast interview. In a wide-ranging and candid conversation, Cernan describes his "spacewalk from hell" during Gemini, his near-death experience at the Moon in Apollo 10 and his final words on the lunar surface during Apollo 17...Do send any thoughts or comments to Richard and Sue @spaceboffins via Facebook and Twitter or email podcast@spaceboffins.com Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Astronaut Stuart Roosa was a real-life action hero - Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham speak to his daughter about the Apollo 14 Command Module Pilot's life, mission and the seeds he carried with him to the Moon. Sue visits a real Moon Tree down the road from Space Boffins HQ, and we chat to the Chair of the UAE Space Agency about their mission to Mars, astronauts and international partnerships. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do you design a space settlement government without it descending into tyranny? Charles Cockell shares his research with hosts Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham. And as the UK prepares for its first rocket launch in 50 years, the UK Space Agency's Matt Archer talks about launch plans and ambitions, and Richard heads to Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall to hear how a dish that brought the world Live Aid is now communicating with Mars. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a brave move, the Space Boffins attempt a podcast about pictures without any pictures! Joining them are science writer Andy Saunders, who's spent years remastering images from the Apollo missions to reveal details never seen before, Oxford astrophysicist and podcast host Becky Smethurst about the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, and space artist Jackie Burns. It's an (audio) visual feast! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Apollo legend Poppy Northcutt joins Richard and Sue this month The only woman in mission control for the Moon missions, Poppy talks about the challenge of getting astronauts back from the Moon, the drama of Apollo 13 (and why she's not seen the film) and what was on channel 53. With the first launches from the UK fast approaching, Deputy Head of the UK Space Agency, Ian Annett, chats about the prospects for Britain's rocket programme, funding for astronauts and aerobatic flying. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Not one but four astronauts feature in this month's Space Boffins. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham chat to astronaut Nicole Stott about her book Back to Earth; we hear about the drama of launch, what to do when things go wrong and the challenges of interviewing other astronauts. Sue also attends a glamorous space event in London to catch up with two Apollo legends, British ESA astronaut Tim Peake, and Space Shuttle pilot Susan Kilrain. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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

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

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

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

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

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

Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

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

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

Two astronauts, one space hipster, a writer and a musician all feature in this month's Space Boffins. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by podcaster and founder of the Space Hipsters, Emily Carney. They also hear from pioneering astronaut Anna Fisher in conversation with astronaut Nicole Stott. And David Brown, author of The Mission, talks about Jupiter's moon Europa and the chances of finding life on the icy and watery world... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a podcast exclusive, Britain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman, joins the Space Boffins 30 years after her 1991 Juno mission. She describes the selection process, training in the Soviet Union and her return. Author of the Martian, Andy Weir, chats about his latest book, Jason Achilles Mezilis is the musician behind the Mars microphone, and we commemorate the death of Apollo 11 legend Mike Collins. It's another epic podcast... how do we do it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In an epic edition of the Space Boffins Podcast we ambitiously celebrate the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight and the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Space Shuttle. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by live guests Stephen Walker author of Beyond, a new book on Gagarin, and Libby Jackson who leads the human space programme at the UK Space Agency. They also talk to two Space Shuttle astronauts: Sid Gutierrez about flying and commanding the Shuttle, and Kathy Sullivan, one of the first American women in space. She shares stories of the challenges of training for... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

AS NASA's Perseverance rover makes it safely to Mars, we chat to science writer Elizabeth Howell about the array of missions now studying the red planet. Also the European Space Agency's head of diversity, Ersilia Vaudo, talks about plans for parastronauts, and the UK ground station that relayed the first footsteps on the Moon gears up for the next big lunar adventure. Plus, find out who was right in the great US first-astronaut debate... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month science journalist Katia Moskvitch joins the Space Boffins to discuss the zombies of the cosmos, neutron stars, as well as the European Space Agency's new astronaut recruitment and Yuri Gagarin's birthplace. They also hear about the new communications system fitted to the space station, ColKA, and talk to author Neal Thompson about the Don Draper of astronauts, Alan Shepard. And see if you agree with Richard's controversial comment about America's first astronaut! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space journalist Andrew Jones and his cat join the Space Boffins this month to discuss China's ambitious plans for the Moon and beyond. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham also talk to Nellie Offord from UK company SSTL about their lunar communications satellite (and whether it will go beep), hear from author Rebecca Siegel about the enormous egos of the Mercury astronauts and celebrate space chimp Ham. And should Space Boffins be renamed? You decide... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a specially recorded face to (socially-distanced) face interview to mark the fifth anniversary of his mission to the International Space Station, British European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake reveals the details of his perilous space station docking, physically challenging return to Earth and launchpad music selections. He also discusses the legacy of his flight and the influence it's had on a generation of students. Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham also talk to Libby Jackson about her new book featuring extraordinary stories of space exploration, and Professor Robert... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA has just collected a sample from an asteroid and work is well underway to land a woman on the Moon. Space journalist David Whitehouse chats about whether President Trump was good for space. Dr Sara Russell discusses the OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu, and Thales Alenia Space UK CEO Andrew Stanniland explains how they'll build a fuel station for the Moon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

To celebrate 20 years of people living on the International Space Station, we feature only ISS astronauts in this special edition of Space Boffins. NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott joins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson and we revisit interviews with Chris Hadfield, Cady Coleman, Scott Kelly, Sergei Krikalev, Luca Parmitano and Michael Foale. What other podcast on the planet gives you seven astronauts in an hour? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Skylab's perilous and dramatic mission, life on Venus, the religion of Cosmism, and Brexit all get discussed this month. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by astronomer and writer Dr Stuart Clark to chat about our relationship with the night sky. Also aboard are David Hitt, author of Homesteading Space - the Skylab Story, and Arfan Chaudhry, from the UK Space Agency, on new UK space programmes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists