Space Boffins Podcast, from the Naked Scientists

Sep 09 2019 88 ep. 37 mins 8.6k
Space Boffins Podcast, from the Naked Scientists artwork

Publishing monthly, Space Boffins brings you cutting edge conversation and debate about the past, present and future of space science.

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Boffins on Mars

Sep 09 2019 44 mins  
How clean is really clean? This month, as Europe's Rosalind Franklin Mars rover leaves the UK, Space Boffins visit the clean room to discover the effort needed to keep Mars safe from Earth-bugs. With guest NASA Curiosity mission scientist Sanjeev Gupta from Imperial College London, we hear about the two Mars rovers heading to the red planet in 2020 and their search for past or pres

Lunar Heritage and Lost Meteorites

Aug 13 2019 38 mins  
Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson with a TinTin style headline for this month's podcast: lunar heritage and the lost meteorites of Antarctica. Recorded at the recent Bluedot festival, Space archaeologist and co-deputy chair of Australia's Space Industry Association, Dr Alice Gorman, explains why we need to think about preserving the Apollo sites before we return to th

Apollo 11 Special (Part 2)

Jul 09 2019 57 mins  
This is a Space Boffins podcast to blow your minds. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings, it features the only woman in launch control for Apollo 11, JoAnn Morgan, talking about her work as an instrumentation controller and coping with sexism on the job. Former Apollo engineer David Baker joins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson in the British Interplanetary Society

Apollo 11 Special (Part 1)

Jun 09 2019 55 mins  
As mankind celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings, Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by bestselling Apollo 11 author David Whitehouse at the British Interplanetary Society. Universal Pictures' highly anticipated documentary film, Apollo 11, is out in UK cinemas on June 28 and, with a sneak preview, Sue meets the film's director Todd Miller and

Remarkable Women: A hidden history

May 15 2019 30 mins  
Space Boffin Sue Nelson interviews two remarkable women for this podcast: Hidden Figure Christine Darden and Mercury 13 legend and astronaut wannabe, Wally Funk. Darden, who featured in the book Hidden Figures, worked at NASA for 40 years as a mathematician, computer programmer and sonic boom expert. Sue's book, Wally Funk's Race for Space, is out in paperback in June. To celebrate

Giant Rockets to the Moon

Apr 09 2019 47 mins  
The Space Boffins get to see inside the NASA's famous Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Centre - a building so large that it has its own weather system. It's being adapted so that NASA's Saturn V replacement the new SLS or Space Launch System rocket will be built. The senior NASA engineer who's overseeing the project, Ken Tenbusch, gives Richard Hollingham a personal t

Spacecraft Reunited

Mar 10 2019 30 mins  
This month Space Boffins contemplates the missing universe, the nature of humanity and reunites astronaut Nicole Stott with her Space Shuttle Atlantis. Richard Hollingham is joined by theoretical physicist and comedian Dr Fran Day to discuss a new European mission, Euclid, which will be investigating dark matter. He also chats to NASA's new chief flight director in mission control

Astrofest Live!

Feb 10 2019 29 mins  
Space Boffins are live on stage at Astrofest 2019 in London with a stellar line-up of guests to discuss landing on Phobos, weirdly-shaped space rocks and Europe's mission to Mercury. They're joined by science writer Stuart Clark, the Japanese Space Agency's Elizabeth Tasker, New Horizons scientist Simon Porter and Suzie Imber, who's working on the BepiColombo mission. Also featurin

Flying Hotdogs

Jan 15 2019 39 mins  
Mice and flying hotdogs on the podcast as we report from NASA on how to save Apollo's famous mission control and discuss China's landing on the far side of the Moon. Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are in Milton Keynes where they are joined by Dave Rothery, professor of planetary geosciences at the Open University. Richard hits the jackpot, however, with a tour of a

Mission to the Moon

Dec 12 2018 50 mins  
Apollo 8 commander, Frank Borman, joins Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson in this month's podcast. Fifty years ago Apollo 8 became the first manned mission to orbit the Moon and so the podcast has a lunar theme. Recorded at the Royal Astronomical Society in London, guests include Dr Robert Massey and art historian Dr Alexandra Loske, authors of Moon: Art, Science, Cul