Podcasts about surrey space

There's currently about 8,000 tonnes of space debris orbiting planet earth and there are a number of reasons why this is a problem that needs to be dealt with swiftly. I spoke to Richard Duke of the Surrey Space centre who landed in the international news headlines last months with their REMOVE DEBRIS satellite and its space harpoon and net. Richard tells us about the satellite's development with Airbus and how Elon Musk and the ISS astronauts helped get the satellite into orbit for it's groundbreaking first in-orbit test. This podcast is brought to you by my own book DARK: The A to Z Of Astronomy & The Cosmos - it's part Universe A-Z explainer and part beautiful coffee table fodder. It's with crowdfunding publisher UNBOUND so every single pledge makes a massive difference in seeing this book get made. All pledges get your name in the book itself but there's lots of different pledge levels including bespoke artwork / limited edition art from the book and lots more. About the book: www.unbound.com/books/dark www.twitter.com/JC_Wilkins About this REMOVE DEBRIS: https://twitter.com/spaceatsurrey?lang=en https://www.surrey.ac.uk/surrey-space-centre/missions/removedebris

Over the past several decades, advancements in space technology have led to an unprecedented number of satellites being put into orbit, which has led to a number of exciting new insights and findings. However, it's come at a cost: with a few thousand tons of space debris from old and nonfunctional satellites orbiting the earth at a rate of about seven kilometers per second, each individual piece of debris poses the threat of colliding with another, or with a new satellite. This is a problem that must be addressed in order to continue using satellites safely.  Professor Guglielmo is the director of the Surrey Space Center at the University of Surrey in England, and he joins the podcast today to discuss this problem and the ways in which he's trying to solve it. He explains that when large particles of debris collide with one another, a cascade effect of collisions ensues, worsening the problem. And of course, if a large piece of debris were to collide with a new satellite, the satellite would be destroyed. According to Guglielmo, then, the largest threat is none other than the largest pieces of debris.  Tune in for all the details about the work that's being done at Surrey to develop a solution, and the biggest challenge facing the development of that solution. Learn more at www.surrey.ac.uk/surrey-space-centre. 

Earlier this week, the US space agency successfully put a new probe in orbit around Jupiter. The Juno satellite, which left Earth five years ago, had to fire a rocket engine in a tricky and precise manoeuvre in order to brake and become ensnared by Jupiter's gravity. Fran Baganal is a mission scientist for Juno and tells Adam Rutherford what measurements Juno is now in position to make. Space is full of junk left over from past space missions: from flecks of paint to used rockets, dead satellites, also debris from past collisions of space junk. This junk is speeding around the Earth at several thousand miles per hour. At those speeds even small pieces of rubbish just fractions of a millimetre across can damage communication satellites which are vital for the web, mobile phones, and satellite navigation on earth. The Surrey Space centre team are preparing to launch the world's first space litter-picking mission. The RemoveDebris team share their clean up designs with Adam. Researchers have had success growing body parts like windpipes and ears in the laboratory for use in transplants. A group of scientists at Barts Cancer Institute in London are making own tumours; tissues we don't want. However, it is important to study how they grow, and co-opt other cells in the body. Reporter Anand Jagatia heads to their tissue lab to see what they've grown. All animals take risky decisions all the time. The ability to assess the potential gain from the potential harm, and make the right choice, gives the animal an evolutionary advantage. A new study suggests that plants are capable of making similar calculations, despite not having brains. Alex Kacelnik at Oxford University is one of the scientists behind the experiment that suggests that pea plants are willing to gamble. Presenter: Adam Rutherford Producer: Adrian Washbourne.

Aaron Knoll and Chris Bridges join Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham at the Surrey Space Centre for a virtual ride into space. Plus science minister David Willetts argues for a spaceport in Scotland, and shuttle astronaut and B612 Foundation founder Ed Lu explains why we should act now to save the Earth from an asteroid with our name on it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Aaron Knoll and Chris Bridges join Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham at the Surrey Space Centre for a virtual ride into space. Plus science minister David Willetts argues for a spaceport in Scotland, and shuttle astronaut and B612 Foundation founder Ed Lu explains why we should act now to save the Earth from an asteroid with our name on it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Aaron Knoll and Chris Bridges join Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham at the Surrey Space Centre for a virtual ride into space. Plus science minister David Willetts argues for a spaceport in Scotland, and shuttle astronaut and B612 Foundation founder Ed Lu explains why we should act now to save the Earth from an asteroid with our name on it... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists