Trekzone's Talkin' Science

NASA announces asteroid Bennu contains carbon and water, a comet explosion may have kick started agriculture in Syria and the light pollution from artificial satellites has now reached the point where the brightest stars in the night sky can't compete for our attention...

A successful crash landing back to Earth. Seven years and a handful of days after it was launched, OSIRIS-REx returns home with the all important samples of asteroid Bennu. Within 90 minutes NASA teams had secured the payload and moved it to a temporary clean room at the Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City. There, it's under a constant bath of nitrogen - to avoid Earthly contamination.Your deep dive into OSIRIS-REx, and the only podcast to speak with NASA scientists is right here on Trekzone's Talkin' Science.

Hydrogen surrounding NGC 4632 could make it a rare polar ring galaxy. A bubble of galaxies has been found - measuring a billion light-years across, and Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un meet at an east Russian cosmodrome seemingly to discuss space collaboration efforts…

Second time's a charm. Chandrayaan-3 makes India the first country to reach the Moon's southern pole. Artificial Intelligence takes the pressure off … finding a Near Earth Asteroid has now gotten twice as fast… and Australia's three space launch providers have news to share. From a multi-year deal at ELA to permanent facility approval at Southern Launch and streamlining technology integration at Gilmour Space.

It's the 29th week of 2023. In research led by a West Aussie, a new type of stellar object has been discovered. India launches Chandrayaan Three, their second attempt to land on the lunar surface. And more evidence found supporting the theory that Mars once had the building blocks of life…

Southern Launch's new corporate look, possible fingerprints of gravitational waves, a planet that shouldn't exist, and just what the heck is THAT on the moon?

Welcome to the 200th Talkin' Science. A test for the SETI network continues, plus we now have to Question our understanding of fast radio bursts, studying lightning on Jupiter and China's next epedition to their space station lifts off.

The 15th biannual space forum was recently held in Adelaide, the home of Australia's space industry. Trekzone was invited to attend and I spent the day learning about the incredible work being undertaken to advance Australia's sovereign space capabilities.

Fast Radio Burst research, testing new meta-optical surfaces, a record break amateur rocket launch and Artemis 2 training begins…

The 15th Australian Space Forum. James Webb snaps an asteroid belt, China's mysterious space plane and Virgin Galactic announces it's getting back into flying.

It was a big April for our friends at Southern Launch. From signing a memorandum of understanding to retrieve payloads at Koonibba (and relaunch them from Whalers Way) to gearing up to building permanent structures at the Nullarbor Plains site and also receiving several nominations at the forthcoming Australian Space Awards.

Southern Launch gears up to receive satellites at Koonibba, environmental groups sue the FAA over Starship, astronomers hunt for pulsars and Jupiter and Saturn may be contributing to their moons smooth surfaces..

Australia's largest rocket testing facility gets the green light. An Aussie startup's revolutionary Earth observation computer and the fall out from that Starship launch continues…

Starship delayed, the first solar eclipse to grace australian skies since 2014, a student led lunar rover and some fascinating news from deep out in the universe.

A coastal town in Western Australia gears up for a tourist influx as JUICE prepares to get it's launch down to the second. Plus will Starship go orbital and a Japanese probe gets ready to make history.

When Artemis II flies next year and breaks free from Earth's gravity, they'll be talking via one of three relay stations in the Deep Space Communication Network. Goldstone in California, Madrid in Spain and the Aussies working at the Tidbinbilla Station in Canberra.

A second coronal hole has been detected on the sun as Gilmour Space continues construction efforts at the Bowen Spaceport. Plus – NASA announces the Artemis 2 crew… our deep dive into the four person team who will take humanity back to lunar orbit next year. Who are they and what's the Aussie connection?

80's and 90's Aussie kids will remember Ranger Stacey from Channel 7's Agro's Cartoon Connection and Channel 10's Totally Wild. She dropped by to chat during the World Science Festival!

Dan Ilic is an Aussie comedian who has been spending his recent time creating his podcast A Rational Fear, in Brisbane for the World Science Festival we caught up with him to find out about that and his work as a panel moderator for conventions like the WSF…

An Australian mission to study the Proxima Star System, Oumuamua's odd propulsion, that leaky Soyuz and NASA's plans to explore Titan. Plus, we take a quick dive into our week at the World Science Festival…

The James Webb Space Telescope has been smashing it out of the park with incredible data since it launched over a year ago. Armed with press passes and a desire to learn more from the scientists appearing on stage – we headed down to the World Science Festival in Southbank.

NASA and Australia confirm a strategic lunar partnership, Gilmour Space signs on to get a leg up in orbit, revolutionising communication with satellites, has evidence of subsurface oceans been found orbiting Uranus? And Detailed Contingency plans being drafted at Virgin Orbit.

An Aussie initiative to repair broken satellites, Crew 6 arrives, an asteroid fly by, China's martian rover remains dormant and NASA agrees to launch Israel's first space telescope.

Stopping climate change… with moon dust? An X-Class Solar Flare, studying Venus, a Damaged Soyuz and strange spokes on Saturn.

Moving in to UAP territory – what the US is telling the world about the Chinese balloon. Our last view of the green comet, rocket launches could be punching a new hole in the ozone and the James Webb Space Telescope stumbles upon an asteroid…

NASA prepares to test a nuclear powered engine, the meteorite that crashed in to a UK driveway reveals it's secrets and Earth's core may have just reversed it's direction of spin…

China launches three secret satellites, we dive into the Milky Way's supernova remnants, diverting lightning with lasers and an asteroid photobombs hubble!

Orion Vehicle Manager Frank Lin beams in to give us the low down on what's next for the first human rated spacecraft in fifty years to reach the Moon.

Gilmour Space gear up for two launches this year, we beam over to NASA to hear more about the Orion capsule as it's heatshield is inspected. Virgin Orbit fails to fire and some incredible astronomical findings…

Remembering Apollo 7's Walter Cunningham, Skykraft Launches, a coronal mass ejection recorded, two lunar mission successes and we peer behind Sharpless 54…

So many incredible discoveries made in the realm of science and space this year, milestones too for space travel both here and abroad. Join us as we look back on the biggest stories we covered this year on Talkin' Science.