WeMartians Podcast

135 - A Farewell to InSight (feat. Bruce Banerdt) Feb 09, 2023

NASA's InSight mission landed in 2018 and completed its primary mission two years later. From there it pursued an extended mission, gathering as much scientific data as it could before ultimately ending late last year as dust on the solar panels starved it of energy. Dr. Bruce Banerdt, the Principal Investigator for the mission, joins Jake to talk about its legacy and successes, and where we go from here.

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Bruce at JPL

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Horsepower Design

NASA's Space Launch system finally got the job done, that trusty old steed. Do you like horses as much as I do? If so, try on the new t-shirt design at the WeMartians shop today! Sometimes, a horse works just fine (space programs may or may not be included).

Goodbye, for now Jan 30, 2023

After seven years of exploring the solar system, Jake is ready to move on to new projects. Hear his final thoughts on WeMartians.

Stay in Touch

134 - Blood, Sweat, and Rockets (feat. MG Lord) Jan 29, 2023

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a storied history of exploration, but if you go back far enough the stories get pretty wild. Its early days feature a gutsy team of rocket engineers blowing up engines in the hills around Pasadena while moonlighting as communists and occultists. This "Suicide Squad" is featured in a new podcast series by MG Lord, and MG joins Jake to talk about it.

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Horsepower Design

NASA's Space Launch system finally got the job done, that trusty old steed. Do you like horses as much as I do? If so, try on the new t-shirt design at the WeMartians shop today! Sometimes, a horse works just fine (space programs may or may not be included).

133 - The State of the Moon (feat. Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck) Jan 10, 2023

Last year saw a successful Artemis 1 flight, the launch of multiple lunar robotic missions, and the continued development of the CLPS program. What's ahead for 2023? Will it continue this string of exciting progress in lunar exploration? Friends of the show and space reporters Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck join Jake to talk it through.

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Horsepower Design

NASA's Space Launch system finally got the job done, that trusty old steed. Do you like horses as much as I do? If so, try on the new t-shirt design at the WeMartians shop today! Sometimes, a horse works just fine (space programs may or may not be included).

132 - Artemis Ahead (feat. Eric Berger) Dec 13, 2022

The Artemis I Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific this week, a triumphant finale to a mission that faced so many challenges getting to launch. With Artemis I behind us, what's ahead for the Artemis program and the road to a lunar landing? Ars Technica journalist Eric Berger joins Jake to talk about the future of the program and the challenges it will face.

We Orion, SLS, Starship and Artemis

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Horsepower Design

NASA's Space Launch system finally got the job done, that trusty old steed. Do you like horses as much as I do? If so, try on the new t-shirt design at the WeMartians shop today! Sometimes, a horse works just fine (space programs may or may not be included).

131 - Juno at Europa (feat. Scott Bolton) Nov 03, 2022

Juno has been exploring the Jupiter system since 2016, and has taught us a lot about the clouds, the magnetosphere, and the origin of the largest planet in our solar system. Now in its extended mission, it's exploring the Jovian moons in a series of flybys, including a recent pass by Europa. The mission's PI Scott Bolton joins Jake to talk about this flyby, the science results we've gotten, and what's ahead for this intrepid explorer.

We talk Juno and Europa

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Scott's Twitter (@ScottBoltonJuno)

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Horsepower Design

NASA's Space Launch system is shelved again until November, which means the horse is headed back to the barn, so to speak. But hey, maybe you like horses! If so, try on the new t-shirt design at the WeMartians shop today! Sometimes, a horse works just fine (space programs not included).

130 - Voyager at 45 (feat. Linda Spilker) Oct 18, 2022

Voyagers 1 and 2 have been exploring our solar system for over 45 years now. Despite the age of their instruments and computers and power source, they continue to deliver scientific data and contribute to present day discovery. Dr. Linda Spilker, who worked on Voyager since its launch, joins Jake to talk about its value today and its legacy tomorrow.

We talk Voyager 1 and 2

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Linda's Twitter (@LindaSpilker)

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Horsepower Design

NASA's Space Launch system is shelved again until November, which means the horse is headed back to the barn, so to speak. But hey, maybe you like horses! If so, try on the new t-shirt design at the WeMartians shop today! Sometimes, a horse works just fine (space programs not included).

129 - Sailing the Clouds of Venus (feat. Paul Byrne) Oct 04, 2022

The clouds of Venus have long been a dream of humans to explore, and at last a mission concept called Phantom could be here to do it! But the road ahead for this idea is neither straight nor easy. Paul Byrne joins Jake to talk about how it will help us understand the solar system, and why it might not even get the chance to compete for a spot.

We talk Phantom and New Frontiers 5

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Paul's Twitter (@ThePlanetaryGuy)

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Horsepower Design

NASA's Space Launch system is shelved again until November, which means the horse is headed back to the barn, so to speak. But hey, maybe you like horses! If so, try on the new t-shirt design at the WeMartians shop today! Sometimes, a horse works just fine (space programs not included).

128 - Time Travelling Sep 19, 2022

NASA's SLS rocket has been in development for over a decade and at last was ready to take off from the Space Coast. But leaks and other technical problems thwarted it on its first attempts. Jake travelled to Florida to see it and reports on how it went, and how weaknesses in the program's architecture don't end at lift off.

We talk the Space Launch System

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Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

Used under fair use:

127 - Checking in on CLPS (feat. Anthony Colangelo) Aug 09, 2022

The Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program (CLPS) began in 2018 with the promise of bootstrapping a new, inexpensive lunar delivery economy; it was to be a pathway for lunar science to the Moon's surface. Since then, a handful of companies have been racing to get the first launches off, but it hasn't all been smooth sailing. Main Engine Cut Off's Anthony Colangelo joins Jake to talk about their progress, and what we should keep an eye on as the first launches approach.

We talk Commercial Lunar Payload Services

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Artemis 1 Launch Events

Artemis 1 is coming! If you're in the Cape Canaveral area around launch, we should meet up! Add your name to this mailing list for updates.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

126 - Ten Years of Being Curious (feat. Abigail Fraeman) Jul 27, 2022

Curiosity landed on Mars ten years ago and has been exploring Gale Crater ever since. After achieving its primary mission, it's embarked on a series of extended missions to continue to unravel mysteries in the rocks. Deputy Project Scientist for the mission Abigail Fraeman joins Jake to talk about her favourite moments and to discuss what comes next for the impressive rover.

We talk Curiosity and Mars

Curiosity Mission Updates

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

125 - Spiralling Down to Mercury (feat. Lina Hadid) Jul 12, 2022

BepiColombo, a joint mission between ESA and JAXA, is on a long meandering journey to Mercury. Last month, it made its 2nd of six flybys of the innermost planet, spiralling its trajectory down to a place where it can enter orbit. Lina Hadid, a space plasma physicist from the Laboratoire de Physique des Plasma in Paris, joins Jake to talk about the flyby campaigns, what science we can do on them, and how we're warming up for the big show.

We talk Mercury and BepiColombo

Science Opportunities of BepiColombo's Cruise Phase

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

124 - The Future of the Mars Program (feat. Scott Hubbard) Jun 28, 2022

For two decades, the modern Mars program has been sending spacecraft almost every launch window to Mars, and we have Scott Hubbard to thank for much of that. As the first director of the Mars Program, he instituted much of the paradigm we have today. But with Mars Sample Return on the horizon, Scott joins Jake to talk about how things are changing and what it means for the future.

We talk Mars Sample Return and the Mars Program

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

123 - A Moon-Sized Opportunity (feat. Brett Denevi) Jun 15, 2022

NASA is headed to the Moon in more ways than one. A coalition of human spaceflight, planetary science, and commercialization advocates stand to make an exciting decade of Lunar exploration. But such a collaboration does not come easy, and there's lot of work to get done before we execute it. Planetary Scientist Brett Denevi joins Jake to talk about the opportunities, the challenges, and the incredible science that awaits.

We talk NASA and the Moon

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

122 - Uranus Awaits (feat. Amy Simon) May 24, 2022

Last month, the new Planetary Science Decadal Survey was released and recommended as its top flagship mission a Uranus Orbiter and Probe. It's been 36 years since we last visited the Ice Giant, and now the science community is ready to take a closer look. Dr. Amy Simon from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center joins Jake to talk about the mission, how it works, and why it's so important to understand the Ice Giants.

We talk Uranus, Orbiters and Probes

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and explore Jupiter up close!

121 - The Decadal Survey Part 2 (feat. Casey Dreier) May 03, 2022

Every ten years, the National Academies convenes an extraordinary survey of the planetary science community to produce a recommendation for NASA on what to prioritize in planetary exploration for the next decade. It's a remarkable endeavour to scientifically and democratically determine a consensus on questions, priorities and methods used to explore the planets. Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate of the Planetary Society, joins Jake in an epic two part podcast series to discuss everything the report contains and how it will affect planetary science to come.

We talk Findings and Recommendations of the Planetary Science Decadal Survey

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

120 - The Decadal Survey Part 1 (feat. Casey Dreier) May 03, 2022

Every ten years, the National Academies convenes an extraordinary survey of the planetary science community to produce a recommendation for NASA on what to prioritize in planetary exploration for the next decade. It's a remarkable endeavour to scientifically and democratically determine a consensus on questions, priorities and methods used to explore the planets. Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate of the Planetary Society, joins Jake in an epic two part podcast series to discuss everything the report contains and how it will affect planetary science to come.

We talk Findings and Recommendations of the Planetary Science Decadal Survey

Follow Casey and the Planetary Society

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Probe Uranus Design

Lean in to the jokes and stand behind the Decadal Survey's recommendation to probe Uranus by picking up the new design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug. Explore the mysteries of Uranus today.

119 - Cryovolcanism on Pluto (feat. Kelsi Singer) Apr 19, 2022

New Horizons flew past Pluto in 2015 but work continues on discovering its secrets. One area of study is the activity of so called cryovolcanoes, icy mounds spewing liquidy water and reshaping Pluto's surface. Dr. Kelsi Singer, deputy project scientist for New Horizons, joins Jake to talk about her recent paper on the subject.

We talk Pluto, cryovolcanoes and subsurface oceans

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Great Red Spot Planetary Park Design

Celebrate Pioneer 10's 50th launch anniversary with the Great Red Spot Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and explore Jupiter up close!

118 - Planetary Exploration at Rocket Lab (feat. Peter Beck) Apr 05, 2022

Rocket Lab is about more than just rockets. With their Photon bus, they can provide an end to end platform service to enable low-cost planetary exploration to multiple destinations. With flights coming up to the Moon, Venus and Mars, they've become an important player in the planetary exploration space. CEO Peter Beck joins Jake to talk about their approach and why it's important.

We talk Rockets, Planets, and More

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Great Red Spot Planetary Park Design

Celebrate Pioneer 10's 50th launch anniversary with the Great Red Spot Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and explore Jupiter up close!

117 - Back to Venus (LPSC 2022) Mar 22, 2022

Since the last time the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference was held in person, the Venus community went from 0 to 3 missions on the books. Their energy at the conference was electric, and Jake catches up with people working on all three of the missions to find out how they're preparing for this sudden resurgence in study, and how VERITAS, EnVision, and DAVINCI will help us uncover the fascinating mysteries of the 2nd planet.

We talk Venus, VERITAS, EnVision and DAVINCI.

Follow Sue, Thomas and Margaret

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Great Red Spot Planetary Park Design

Celebrate Pioneer 10's 50th launch anniversary with the Great Red Spot Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and explore Jupiter up close!

116 - China and the Planets (feat. Andrew Jones) Mar 08, 2022

China has recently released a white paper outlining the next five years in spaceflight and it includes some interesting plans for the exploration of the planets. From lunar ambitions to Martian ones, Jupiter and beyond, China has big sights set. Andrew Jones returns to the show to talk about these plans and what China hopes to accomplish.

We talk Zhurong, Chang'e, and the Chinese National Space Administration

First sample attempt fails (August)

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Andrew's Twitter
Andrew's Author page on SpaceNews
[Andrew's Author page on Planetary.org[(https://www.planetary.org/profiles/andrew-jones)

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Great Red Spot Planetary Park Design

Celebrate Pioneer 10's 50th launch anniversary with the Great Red Spot Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and explore Jupiter up close!

115 - Pieces of Mars (feat. Avi Okon) Feb 22, 2022

The Perseverance rover has been exploring Mars for over a year now, and in that time it has collected six different rock cores. But these cores did not come easy, and Mars has thrown more than a couple curveballs at the rover operations team during this time. JPL's Avi Okon joins Jake to talk about these challenges, and how the sample caching system has performed throughout the first year.

We talk Perseverance, Drills, and Rock Samples

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Dare Mighty Things Design

Celebrate Perseverance's landing anniversary with the Dare Mighty Things design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

114 - New Beginnings for MAVEN (feat. Shannon Curry) Feb 08, 2022

NASA's MAVEN spacecraft is about to embark on its 5th extended mission observing the atmosphere of Mars, at a time when the sun's activity reaches a peak. The new PI for the mission, Dr. Shannon Curry, joins Jake to talk about this new mission, why it's so exciting, and how the work MAVEN is doing contributes to the overall exploration of our solar system.

We talk MAVEN, Mars, and the Sun

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

113 - What Makes a Planet (feat. Phil Metzger) Jan 25, 2022

In 2006, the IAU voted to define "Planet" in a way that had a profound impact on planetary science, most notably with regards to Pluto. But what is the story behind this decision, and why is it important to the field of exploration? Dr Phil Metzger joins Jake to talk about his new paper covering the very subject, and explains the context behind culture and science's different views on the subject.

We talk Pluto, Planets, and Taxonomy

Moons are planets: Scientific usefulness versus cultural teleology in the taxonomy of planetary science (Phil's Paper)

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

112 - Artemis in 2022 (feat. Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck) Jan 11, 2022

NASA's flagship human spaceflight program Artemis got through a tough 2021 and has a challenging 2022 ahead of it. Space reporters Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck join Jake to talk about these challenges, and what we're excited to cover in the year to come.

We talk Artemis, SLS, Starship, and Astronauts

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

There's More to Explore Jan 04, 2022

Jake talks about the decision to start covering more than just Mars in 2022.

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

Red Planet Review - Jan 1, 2022 Jan 01, 2022

In this free episode of Red Planet Review, Jakes keeps you up to date on Perseverance's new sample, Curiosity's holiday break, and the regulatory process for SpaceX big new rocket.

Headlines

FAA delays Starship Environmental Review Completion
Perseverance Update
Blog on the Jezero Geology
2021 in Samples - Perseverance
Robine with SuperCam rasters
New Perseverance Sample
Where is Perseverance?
Curiosity Update
Sols 3333-3343
Sols 3344-3346
Sol 3330 360 panorama
Where is Curiosity?

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

2021 Holiday Content Dec 14, 2021

Hi there, Martians!

The holidays are here and we're on our break until the new year, but I don't want you to be without content! Listen in to some info about two other shows you can check out: Off-Nominal and Red Planet Review.

Content

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

111 - Space Genes (feat. Chris Mason) Dec 08, 2021

Space is a dangerous and challenging environment for the human body, but we're not completely helpless against it. One way to adapt ourselves to space is to unlock the power of the human gene. Geneticist Dr Chris Mason joins Jake to talk about his book The Next 500 Years where he lays out the science behind gene therapy and how it can help us leave Earth to Mars and beyond.

We talk humans, genes and space

The Next 500 Years

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

110 - The Ancient Floods of Mars (feat. Tim Goudge) Nov 23, 2021

Mars' river valleys are an iconic feature, formed billions of years ago in a different climate. Planetary Scientist Tim Goudge joins Jake to talk about how they were formed, and how one such formation method may have been more important than we once thought.

We talk Mars river valley network

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

109 - Remembering Mariner 9 (feat. William K. Hartmann) Nov 09, 2021

Fifty years ago this month, the Mariner 9 mission became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet beyond Earth. It created the first global map of Mars and set the course for Martian exploration for the next five decades. Dr. William K Hartmann was a co-investigator on the mission and wrote the book The New Mars: Discoveries of Mariner 9, and he joins Jake to talk about the impact this mission has, even today.

We talk Mariner 9

NSSDC Profile for Mariner 9

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Marsti.me

Learn about time on Mars! See live mission clocks, learn about sols and Mars years and solar longitude, and discover your Martian birthday! Visit Marsti.me, a new site from Jake.

Tharsis Planetary Park

Celebrate Mariner 9's 50th anniversary with the Tharsis Planetary Park design at the WeMartians shop today! You can get it in a t-shirt or on a coffee mug.

108 - Space, UAE, and the World (feat. Sarwat Nasir) Oct 26, 2021

The UAE started their space agency in 2014 and have accelerated at a remarkable pace since then, including putting their first orbiter around Mars this year. The work continues with new mission announcements, astronaut selections and more. Dubai-based space journalist Sarwat Nasir joins Jake to report on Expo 2021 and IAC 2021, two back to back space conferences happening in the UAE.

We talk UAE, Space and the World

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Wheels Down

Pick up your Perseverance Wheels Down design at the WeMartians shop today!

107 - Perseverance in Conjunction (feat. Vivian Sun) Oct 13, 2021

The Perseverance Rover has been operating for over 200 sols already. It's travelled far with the help of the Ingenuity helicopter and is already delivering great science, including acquiring its first rock sample. NASA JPL's Vivian Sun joins Jake to talk about the mission's successes and failures, and what we can expect from it next.

We talk Perseverance Rover

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Vivian's Website

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Wheels Down

Pick up your Perseverance Wheels Down design at the WeMartians shop today!

106 - Sulfate Curious (feat. Ashwin Vasavada) Sep 07, 2021

Curiosity recently celebrated its 9th birthday on Mars and is exploring a new area of Gale Crater rich in sulphates. NASA JPL's Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity's project scientist, joins Jake to talk about this new area, the dramatic landscapes it holds, and what it can tell us about past life on Mars and the history of Mars' climate.

We talk Curiosity Rover and the Sulfate-bearing Unit

Curiosity enters a new area

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Ashwin's profile at JPL

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Immensely Complex and High Risk

Our new design pokes fun at some of the criticism of SpaceX's Starship system. Wear it proudly!

105 - Icy Flows of Arcadia Planitia (feat. Shannon Hibbard) Aug 24, 2021

Arcadia Planitia has attracted a lot of attention because of its potential as a human landing site on Mars. It's hidden water reserves, under the surface, are one of many reasons it may be ideal. Geologist Shannon Hibbard joins Jake to talk about the ice underground, and some of the interesting flows she's found.

We talk Ice, Glaciers and Arcadia Planitia

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Immensely Complex and High Risk

Our new design pokes fun at some of the criticism of SpaceX's Starship system. Wear it proudly!

104 - The Gooey Centre of Mars (feat. Simon Stähler) Aug 03, 2021

Over two years ago, NASA's InSight lander touched down on Mars and began listening for mars quakes. Now, scientists have used these data to reveal the interior structure of Mars. ETH Zurich's Simon Stähler joins Jake to talk about these results, how they help us understand Mars, and what we can do with this knowledge as we explore the rest of the solar system.

We talk InSight and SEIS

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Tharsis Planetary Park

Our new design celebrates the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Mariner 9 mission, first spacecraft to orbit Mars. Get it on a shirt or a coffee mug today!

103 - Space Lasers on Mars (feat. Nina Lanza) Jul 20, 2021

With the arrival of Perseverance at Jezero Crater, NASA now operates two space laser instruments - ChemCam and SuperCam. Together, they are exploring Mars' past by understanding the chemistry and mineralogy of the rocks. ChemCam's principal investigator Nina Lanza joins Jake to discuss the both instruments, what they're up to, and what we're learning from them.

We talk ChemCam and SuperCam

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Tharsis Planetary Park

Our new design celebrates the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Mariner 9 mission, first spacecraft to orbit Mars. Get it on a shirt or a coffee mug today!

102 - Bus Stops to the Moon (feat. Paul Bookout) Jun 22, 2021

The Orion spacecraft isn't the only payload flying on the Artemis 1 launch. NASA's new SLS rocket is also taking 13 secondary payloads to deep space, from science missions to tech demonstrations. Paul Bookout from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center joins Jake to talk about these payloads and how they integrate with the main mission.

We talk Artemis 1 SLS secondary payloads

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Tharsis Planetary Park

Our new design celebrates the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Mariner 9 mission, first spacecraft to orbit Mars. Get it on a shirt or a coffee mug today!

101 - SmartSuit (feat. Ana Diaz Artiles) Jun 08, 2021

Today's space suits get the job done, but come with drawbacks that slow astronauts down, cause fatigue and injury, and introduce risks to the mission. Engineer Ana Diaz Artiles joins Jake to talk about her NASA-funded SmartSuit concept, which could solve many of these problems for future astronauts.

We talk SmartSuit and space suits

SmartSuit Final Report - NIAC Phase 1

Follow Ana & The Bioastronautics Lab

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Tharsis Planetary Park

Our new design celebrates the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Mariner 9 mission, first spacecraft to orbit Mars. Get it on a shirt or a coffee mug today!

100 - Zhurong Rover on Mars (feat. Andrew Jones) May 25, 2021

The Chinese National Space Administration's Tianwen-1 mission made history this month when its Zhurong rover landed safely in Utopia Planitia, Mars. Space journalist Andrew Jones joins Jake to talk about the landing process, the surface operations, and what effect this mission's success will have on space domestically in China and abroad.

We talk Tianwen-1 and Zhurong Rover

Follow Andrew

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WeMartians 100 Sale Event!

Celebrate our 100th episode! Almost everything is on sale in the WeMartians Shop. Use the code WM100 to get free shipping on all orders of 2+ items. Discounted pricing on Mission Patches, Stickers and Discontinued shirt designs! Event lasts until June 6th, 2021!

Join Patreon, get a free Sticker Pack!

Join our Patreon at the $5 level or higher before June 6th and get a free Sticker Pack in the mail!

Tharsis Planetary Park

Our new design celebrates the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Mariner 9 mission, first spacecraft to orbit Mars. Get it on a shirt or a coffee mug today!

99 - A SpaceX Moon Lander for Artemis (feat. Casey Dreier) May 11, 2021

NASA has selected SpaceX's Starship to receive the sole award to take NASA astronauts to the surface of the Moon for the Artemis program. It's a non-traditional choice for NASA, and The Planetary Society's Chief Advocate Casey Dreier joins Jake to talk about what this means going forward for NASA and space exploration.

We talk SpaceX Starship and Artemis

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Ingenuity First Flight Commemorative Mug now available!

Celebrate the first flight of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity with this commemorative coffee mug, now available in the WeMartians Shop.

Sticker Packs now available!

Head over to the WeMartians shop and pick up our new Sticker Pack, featuring stickers of WeMartians, Off-Nominal, the JPL Parachute and Perseverance's wheel!

98 - Ingenuity Takes Flight (feat. Teddy Tzanetos) Apr 27, 2021

NASA made history this week as it flew Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter, for the first time. The small technology demonstrator is the first powered aircraft to fly on another planet. JPL engineer Teddy Tzanetos joins Jake to talk about how it works, how it came together, and what he hopes its success does for space exploration.

We talk Ingenuity the Mars Helicopter

Follow Teddy Tzanetos

Teddy's profile at JPL

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Ingenuity First Flight Commemorative Mug now available!

Celebrate the first flight of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity with this commemorative coffee mug, now available in the WeMartians Shop.

Sticker Packs now available!

Head over to the WeMartians shop and pick up our new Sticker Pack, featuring stickers of WeMartians, Off-Nominal, the JPL Parachute and Perseverance's wheel!

97 - The Future of Mars Exploration (feat. Bruce Jakosky) Apr 20, 2021

As NASA embarks on a journey to return samples from Mars, the Mars Program faces a challenge maintaining a diverse portfolio of spacecraft alongside the cost of its flagship missions. Planetary Scientist and MAVEN Principal Investigator Bruce Jakosky chaired the Mars Architecture Strategy Working Group and was tasked with helping NASA figure out how to solve it. He joins Jake to talk about how we can keep exploring the whole planet while focusing so many resources into samples.

We talk Mars Exploration Program at NASA

Follow Bruce Jakosksy

Bruce's Profile at University of Colorado

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Ingenuity First Flight Commemorative Mug now available!

Celebrate the first flight of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity with this commemorative coffee mug, now available in the WeMartians Shop.

Sticker Packs now available!

Head over to the WeMartians shop and pick up our new Sticker Pack, featuring stickers of WeMartians, Off-Nominal, the JPL Parachute and Perseverance's wheel!

96 - LPSC 2021 Mar 30, 2021

This year, the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference goes virtual, and Jake reports "live" to catch up on mission updates and science themes. Scientists Sabrina Khan, Alyssa Pascuzzo, and Eva Scheller join Jake to report some interesting results from Mars.

We talk Mars Planetary Science

Follow Sabrina, Alyssa and Eva

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WeMartians Season 5 Mission Patches Now Available

Celebrate the arrival of Hope, Tianwen-1 and Perseverance with our Season 5 Mission Patch, featuring art by Beth Kerner. Available on the WeMartians Shop.

Sticker Packs now available!

Head over to the WeMartians shop and pick up our new Sticker Pack, featuring stickers of WeMartians, Off-Nominal, the JPL Parachute and Perseverance's wheel!

95 - Big Rocket Roundup (feat. Anthony Colangelo) Mar 16, 2021

The next two years could see multiple new heavy lift rockets enter the space world, bringing with them the capability to send bigger and better payloads to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Main Engine Cut Off Podcast host Anthony Colangelo joins Jake to catch us up on the latest developments in SLS, New Glenn, Vulcan and Starship.

We talk Big Rockets

Follow Anthony and Main Engine Cut Off

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WeMartians Season 5 Mission Patches Now Available

Celebrate the arrival of Hope, Tianwen-1 and Perseverance with our Season 5 Mission Patch, featuring art by Beth Kerner. Available on the WeMartians Shop.

Sticker Packs now available!

Head over to the WeMartians shop and pick up our new Sticker Pack, featuring stickers of WeMartians, Off-Nominal, the JPL Parachute and Perseverance's wheel!

94 - Guiding Perseverance to the Ground (feat. Swati Mohan) Mar 02, 2021

NASA landed its 9th successful surface mission and 5th rover on Mars, Perseverance. To place is safely in the treacherous Jezero Crater, Perseverance used two new technologies: Range Trigger and Terrain Relative Navigation. Mars 2020 Guidance, Navigation and Controls Operations Lead Swati Mohan joins Jake to talk about these technologies and how they did their job so well.

We talk Perseverance Entry, Descent, and Landing

Incredible Perseverance EDL Footage

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WeMartians Season 5 Mission Patches Now Available

Celebrate the arrival of Hope, Tianwen-1 and Perseverance with our Season 5 Mission Patch, featuring art by Beth Kerner. Available on the WeMartians Shop.

Dare Mighty Things Parachute Design

Head over to the WeMartians shop and pick up the Dare Mighty Things t-shirt design, fashioned after the Perseverance parachute.

93 - WeMartians Live - Mars 2020 Perseverance Lands on Mars Feb 23, 2021

We talk the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing

Follow Tanya and our Guests

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WeMartians Season 5 Mission Patches Now Available

Celebrate the arrival of Hope, Tianwen-1 and Perseverance with our Season 5 Mission Patch, featuring art by Beth Kerner. Available on the WeMartians Shop.

92 - Hope Arrives at Mars (feat. Sarah Al Amiri) Feb 16, 2021

The United Arab Emirates Space Agency became the first Arab nation to send an interplanetary probe to Mars this week. Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, UAE Space Agency Chair and Hope Science Lead Sarah Al Amiri joins Jake to talk about the spacecraft's arrival, what's next, and what it means for the UAE and the world.

We talk Mars Hope

Follow Sarah and the UAE Space Agency

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Perseverance Landing Livestream

Join us for WeMartians Live on YouTube as NASA's Perseverance Rover lands on Mars! Co-host Tanya Harrison joins Jake with special guests Debarati Das, Dave Buecher and Mike Seibert. Learn more at www.wemartians.com/2020live

WeMartians Season 5 Mission Patches Now Available

Celebrate the arrival of Hope, Tianwen-1 and Perseverance with our Season 5 Mission Patch, featuring art by Beth Kerner. Available on the WeMartians Shop.

91 - Canadarm3 (feat. Ken Podwalski) Feb 02, 2021

NASA's Lunar Gateway is an international partnership that plans to put a small station in orbit around the Moon in 2024. Canada, the first country to join the program, will contribute a next-generation robotic arm to facilitate the station's work - Canadarm3. Ken Podwalski, Gateway Program Manager at the Canadian Space Agency, joins Jake to talk about the arm, it's role at Gateway, and Canada's plans for the future in space.

We talk Canadarm3 and Gateway

Follow the Canadian Space Agency

Canada's Canadarm3 Website at CSA

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90 – Volcanos on Mars (feat. Davitia James) Jan 19, 2021

Much like Earth, Mars is a volcanic world and is home to the largest volcanos in the solar system. But it's activity has quieted since its early eras and volcanism on Mars today is quite different than what we have here on Earth. Planetary Vulcanologist Davitia James joins Jake to talk about the similarities and differences of these volcanos, and what else we need to learn about them.

We talk volcanos on Mars

Follow Davitia

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89 – Five Years of WeMartians (feat. Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck) Jan 05, 2021

Five years ago, WeMartians debuted its first episode. We've learned a lot since then, both in how the space world works, and how podcasts work, too! Space reporters and friends of the show Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck join Jake to have a bit of a humorous look back at the first podcast and how far everything has come.

We talk Five Years of the WeMartians Podcast

The First WeMartians Podcast, January 20th, 2016

Follow Brendan and Emilee

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Going Pro Phase Two

It’s the end of the year, and traditionally around this time we ask for support from you, the listener, as we continue to produce space content on this podcast every month! WeMartians is entirely listener-funded, and as I noted about year ago this month, I’ve begun #GoingPro by making changes in my life in pursuit of creating space content full time. None of that is possible without you!

See some of the special limited time offers for new Patrons!

Support WeMartians on Patreon

**88 – Lunar Science’s Next Giant Leap (feat. Renee Weber)** Dec 15, 2020
NASA is getting serious about sending people back to the Moon. And when the Artemis program lands on the surface, there’s a whole world of science to uncover. Renee Weber from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center joins Jake to talk about her new report on what NASA should prioritize when it finally sends astronauts back.

We talk Artemis and Lunar Science

Moon Trek

Artemis Science Definition Team releases report

The Report

Follow Renee and Artemis

Renee’s Twitter (@moonshakes)

Profile on Renee at NASA

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Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

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Mailing List (https://wemartians.com/signup)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode: 36 – December Hurricanes (feat. Eric Berger)

Going Pro Phase Two

It’s the end of the year, and traditionally around this time we ask for support from you, the listener, as we continue to produce space content on this podcast every month! WeMartians is entirely listener-funded, and as I noted about year ago this month, I’ve begun #GoingPro by making changes in my life in pursuit of creating space content full time. None of that is possible without you!

See some of the special limited time offers for new Patrons!

Support WeMartians on Patreon

**GoingPro Updates & Red Planet Review – Dec 5th, 2020** Dec 05, 2020
It’s the end of the year, and traditionally around this time we ask for support from you, the listener, as we continue to produce space content on this podcast every month! WeMartians is entirely listener-funded, and as I noted about year ago this month, I’ve begun #GoingPro by making changes in my life in pursuit of creating space content full time. None of that is possible without you!

And so as we kick off our December drive to gather support, it’s a great time to showcase one of the perks of being a Patron!

Red Planet Review is an exclusive extra podcast that is enjoyed weekly by our Patreon supporters of $3 or more. We cover all kinds of news from planetary science, rockets and spacecraft, space policy, all with a Moon and Mars focus. Enjoy this week’s episode for free, and consider signing up to support independent space media.

See some of the special limited time offers for new Patrons, too!

Support WeMartians on Patreon

**Headlines for this week**

Chang’e 5 successfully lands on Moon, retrieves samples

Chang’e 5 rendezvous and docking

China to proceed with Long March 9

Orion PDU failure could add 12 month delay

SLS begins Green Run Wet Dress Rehearsal

Blue Origin fires BE-7 engine

New process for making hydrogen and oxygen from martian brine

InSight measures Martian Background Noise

Curiosity Sol 2958

Curiosity Sol 2959

Curiosity Sols 2960-2961

Curiosity Traverse Map (revamped!)

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Twitter (@we_martians)

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Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode: 36 – December Hurricanes (feat. Eric Berger)

**87 – HALO (feat. Michael Staab)** Dec 01, 2020
NASA is building a new outpost at the Moon called the Lunar Gateway. It’s a place for science but also a place to stage lunar activities like landings on the surface. Michael Staab from Northrop Grumman joins us to talk about the core module of Gateway, HALO, and what we can expect from it when it gets there.

We talk HALO and Lunar Gateway

NASA Awards Northrop Grumman contract for HALO

Recent plans for HALO

Follow Michael and HALO

NASA’s Lunar Gateway site

Michael’s Twitter (@AstroStaab)

Michael’s LinkedIn

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Twitter (@we_martians)

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Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode: 36 – December Hurricanes (feat. Eric Berger)

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Now Available – Season 4 Mission Patches

Our season 4 mission patches are finally here! Celebrate our 4th season of podcasts with this awesome patch by artist Beth Kerner. We talk all about the design and its elements in our announcement blog post.

You can get the new patch for $17USD with free shipping. Plus, if you missed last year’s patch, you can get both together for just $25USD while supplies last. Both patches are limited print runs so pick it up today and support not only WeMartians but a great independent space artist, too!

Get your Mission Patch now!

**86 – Equitable Design (feat. Kavya Manyapu)** Nov 10, 2020
As more and more human spaceflight vehicles enter service, and more and more people have access to spaceflight, the need to design vehicles to accommodate different kinds of passengers becomes more and more important. Kavya Manyapu, a spacesuit engineer on Boeing’s Starliner program, joins Jake to talk about equitable design, and the challenges and payoffs of pursuing it.

We talk spacesuits and equitable design

Boeing Suit unveiling

Follow Kavya and Boeing’s Starliner

Kavya’s Wikipedia

Profile on Kavya in Rocket Women

Kavya’s appearance on Space4U Podcast

Boeing Starliner Site

Boeing Future U

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Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode: 35 – The Two Mile of the Space Industry featuring Caleb Henry

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Now Available – Season 4 Mission Patches

Our season 4 mission patches are finally here! Celebrate our 4th season of podcasts with this awesome patch by artist Beth Kerner. We talk all about the design and its elements in our announcement blog post.

You can get the new patch for $17USD with free shipping. Plus, if you missed last year’s patch, you can get both together for just $25USD while supplies last. Both patches are limited print runs so pick it up today and support not only WeMartians but a great independent space artist, too!

Get your Mission Patch now!

**85 – Vera Rubin Ridge (feat. Abigail Fraeman)** Oct 20, 2020
In early 2019, NASA’s Curiosity Rover wrapped up a year-long chapter in its mission exploring Vera Rubin Ridge, an elevated rocky plateau with high iron content. Many months later, we’re starting to see the science results roll in. JPL’s Abigail Fraeman, the Deputy Project Scientist for the mission and campaign leader for the ridge chapter, joins Jake to talk about what we learned about the ridge, and how it surprised us.

We talk Vera Rubin Ridge on Mars

A view of Vera Rubin Ridge from Curiosity as it climbed up

Vera Rubin Ridge from orbit with CRISM data overlay

JGR Planets Special Issue on Vera Rubin Ridge

Follow Abby & the Curiosity Rover

Abby’s Twitter (@abbyfrae)

Curiosity Mission Updates

Where is Curiosity

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Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode: 34 – Repeatedly Googling Area 51 (feat. Emilee Speck, plus Anna and Henna from But It Is Rocket Science)

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Now Available – Season 4 Mission Patches

Our season 4 mission patches are finally here! Celebrate our 4th season of podcasts with this awesome patch by artist Beth Kerner. We talk all about the design and its elements in our announcement blog post.

You can get the new patch for $17USD with free shipping. Plus, if you missed last year’s patch, you can get both together for just $25USD while supplies last. Both patches are limited print runs so pick it up today and support not only WeMartians but a great independent space artist, too!

Get your Mission Patch now!

**84 – The Mars Underground (feat. Charity Phillips-Lander)** Oct 06, 2020
The surface of Mars has been a subject of repeated exploration, from both in orbit and in situ. But this exploration is only skin-deep, and a growing community of scientists are calling on NASA to explore the Mars underground. Charity Phillips-Lander joins Jake to talk about this exciting world underground and how she thinks we might have a chance to learn about it with a mission concept called MACIE.

We talk Subterranean Exploration of Mars

Visions and Voyages – Planetary Decadal Survey, 2013-2023

New Decadal Survey Page

The MACIE Concept Page

MACIE White Paper

Follow Charity Phillips-Lander

Charity’s Website

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Website (www.wemartians.com)

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WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Mailing List (https://wemartians.com/signup)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode: 34 – Repeatedly Googling Area 51 (feat. Emilee Speck, plus Anna and Henna from But It Is Rocket Science)

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Now Available – Season 4 Mission Patches

Our season 4 mission patches are finally here! Celebrate our 4th season of podcasts with this awesome patch by artist Beth Kerner. We talk all about the design and its elements in our announcement blog post.

You can get the new patch for $17USD with free shipping. Plus, if you missed last year’s patch, you can get both together for just $25USD while supplies last. Both patches are limited print runs so pick it up today and support not only WeMartians but a great independent space artist, too!

Get your Mission Patch now!

**83 – Humans to Mars 2020** Sep 08, 2020
The annual Humans to Mars summit went virtual this year, and WeMartians stopped by to listen in on the discussions about getting humans to Mars. From life support to surface power, politics, and medicine, the summit covers a wide variety of topics. Guests Shawna Pandya, Robyn Gatens, Michelle Munk, Lee Mason, Marcia Smith and Chris Carberry join Jake to see where we’re at in this long-term plan.

Humans to Mars Summit

Explore Mars website

This year’s Humans to Mars Summit Agenda

Follow Explore Mars and our Guests

Explore Mars on Twitter

Shawna Pandya on Twitter

Shawna Pandya’s Website

Robyn Gatens names Acting Director of the ISS

Michelle Munk’s NASA Bio

Lee Mason’s NASA Bio

Space Policy Online

Marcia Smith’s Twitter

Chris Carberry’s Twitter

Chris Carberry on Off-Nominal

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Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Mailing List (https://wemartians.com/signup)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode 33 – Regular-ass Fishing Boar (feat. Loren Grush)

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Now Available – Season 4 Mission Patches

Our season 4 mission patches are finally here! Celebrate our 4th season of podcasts with this awesome patch by artist Beth Kerner. We talk all about the design and its elements in our announcement blog post.

You can get the new patch for $17USD with free shipping. Plus, if you missed last year’s patch, you can get both together for just $25USD while supplies last. Both patches are limited print runs so pick it up today and support not only WeMartians but a great independent space artist, too!

Get your Mission Patch now!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

82 – WeMartians Live – Mars 2020 Perseverance Launch Aug 04, 2020

In the first ever WeMartians live video webcast, Jake is joined by co-host Tanya Harrison and special guests Alexandra Pontefract, Nathan Williams, and Phillip Hargrove to experience the launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.

Mars 2020 Perseverance

Follow our Guests

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Support WeMartians on Patreon

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**81 – A Probe Called Hope (feat. the Mars Hope team)** Jul 29, 2020
It’s the Summer of Mars, and in between the larger space agencies of the United States and China vying to put the next rover on the surface, a small, upstart space agency in the United Arab Emirates is also looking to make their mark. Team members Mohsen Al Awadhi, Hessa Rashid Al Matroushi and Ayesha Al Sharafi from the UAE’s Mars Hope mission join Jake to talk about their successful launch and what they hope this mission will say to the people of the UAE and the world.

Mars Hope

Mars Hope launches Successfully

Follow Mars Hope

Mars Hope Twitter (@HopeMarsMission)

Ayesha Twitter (@ayesha_sharafi)

Hessa Twitter (@HR_Almatroushi)

Mohsen Twitter (@MohsenAlAwadhi)

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Website (www.wemartians.com)

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Twitter (@we_martians)

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Off-Nominal Podcast

Origins: Jim Bridenstine

Most Recent Episode: 32 – Well Within the Kill Zone (feat. Richard Garriott)

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Announcing the first WeMartians Livestream Event for Perseverance

Be sure to join us on July 30th at 7:10AM EDT (T-40 minutes before launch). Co-host Tanya Harrison and I will be welcoming three amazing guests to talk about the NASA Perseverance launch, from science to engineering and more.

You can watch it on the Off-Nominal YouTube channel (subscribe to get the notification we’re live!).

We’ve Made Space Better

Here at Off-Nominal, we’ve been following the demonstrations against racial inequality and police violence in the United States, Canada, and around the world with concern. These events have highlighted deep problems with how we treat each other in many domains, and space exploration is not exempt.

While we have been processing this in real-time, it has become obvious that we must do our part and use our platform to speak up against these inequalities and take action to stop them. We have engaged with our Discord community to come up with a plan. The first part of this plan is to raise money for two great organizations listed above.

Thanks to two anonymous listeners and our friend Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, we’ve been able to match $11,000 of listener donations with twice that again. All in, we’ve raised nearly $35,000 for the Banneker Institute and Black Girls Code.

Read more about the results here.

Thank you for helping us work together to make space better.

80 – The Summer of Mars Jul 02, 2020

The Summer of Mars is here! Three missions are launching to Mars in the next few weeks from three different space agencies. We’ve got the definitive preview of these missions, from UAE’s Mars Hope, to China’s Tianwen-1, and of course, NASA’s Perseverance Rover. Get caught up on all the facts before you watch the launch!

Mars Hope

Follow Mars Hope

Mars Hope Twitter (@HopeMarsMission)

Tianwen-1

Perseverance

Follow Perseverance

NASA Perseverance Twitter

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Help Make Space Better

Here at Off-Nominal, we’ve been following the demonstrations against racial inequality and police violence in the United States, Canada, and around the world with concern. These events have highlighted deep problems with how we treat each other in many domains, and space exploration is not exempt.

While we have been processing this in real-time, it has become obvious that we must do our part and use our platform to speak up against these inequalities and take action to stop them. We have been engaging with our Discord community this past week to come up with a plan.

Many of these initiatives were developed not just by Jake and Anthony, but in partnership with the Patrons and listeners of our three podcasts. We’re proud that this is a community-led effort. We’re also really proud that some of our listeners and colleagues have joined in to make this an even stronger initiative.

Together, we’re putting on a fundraiser to support Black organizations whose missions we believe in.

All of the sponsors, including Jake and Anthony, will be matching contributions the community makes to both of these organizations through July 10. Jake and Anthony will match up to the total of this month’s revenue from Patreon (WeMartians, MECO), and other sponsors may have different max amounts.

Thank you for helping us work together to make space better.

**79 – Preparing for a Martian Launch (feat. Tory Bruno)** Jun 02, 2020
NASA’s Mars2020 Rover is set to launch this summer on an Atlas V rocket from the United Launch Alliance. But it is no trivial payload, and a lot of work goes into preparing a rocket for this kind of journey. ULA’s CEO Tory Bruno joins Jake to talk about those preparations as they get close to this historic mission.

We talk Atlas V and Perseverance

Atlas V assembly begins

The Mars2020 Website

NASA Perseverance Rover Twitter

Follow Tory

Tory on Twitter (@ToryBruno)

ULA’s Website

ULA Twitter (@ULALaunch)

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Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: 30 – There’s Always Money in the VAB

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Now Available – Season 4 Mission Patches

Our season 4 mission patches are finally here! Celebrate our 4th season of podcasts with this awesome patch by artist Beth Kerner. We talk all about the design and its elements in our announcement blog post.

You can get the new patch for $17USD with free shipping. Plus, if you missed last year’s patch, you can get both together for just $25USD while supplies last. Both patches are limited print runs so pick it up today and support not only WeMartians but a great independent space artist, too!

Get your Mission Patch now!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**78 – The Quest for a Piece of Mars (feat. Chris Herd)** May 19, 2020
NASA’s Mars2020 Rover is set to launch this summer to kick off an intense series of missions set to bring back a sample from Mars. But retrieving these samples is no small task. The University of Alberta’s Chris Herd, member of the Project Science Group for the mission, joins Jake to discuss Mars samples and all the challenges that go into getting them home.

We talk Sample Science for Mars2020 Perseverance

Chris named to Project Science Group

The Mars2020 Website

NASA Perseverance Rover Twitter

Mars helicopter named Ingenuity

Follow Chris

Chris on Twitter (@SpaceRockDoc)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: 30 – There’s Always Money in the VAB

Support WeMartians on Patreon

Now Available – Dragon Worm T-Shirt

Celebrate NASA’s upcoming SpaceX DM-2 flight, which will launch astronauts to the International Space Station from US soil for the first time since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011.

Our new design features the iconic NASA Logotype, the “Worm”, which will make a triumphant return on the Falcon 9 rocket for the launch. Pick one up today in the WeMartians Shop.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

77 – Persevering through ATLO (feat. Christina Hernandez) May 05, 2020

The ATLO phase of a planetary mission (Assembly, Test and Launch Operations) is the most intense of any part of its development. Amid a global pandemic, Perseverance’s time at it is even more remarkable. NASA JPL’s Christina Hernandez, a systems engineer on the rover team, joins us to talk about what it’s like getting a flagship mission out the door and to the launch pad.

We talk ATLO for Mars2020 Perseverance

Follow Christina

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro Phase 1 – Complete!

On January 10th we concluded the first part of the #GoingPro fundraising campaign, and what a tremendous finish it was! With just hours to spare, we crossed the 200 patron milestone in an exciting finish. Missed the whole campaign? Catch up in our blog post explainer!

There’s lots more to do, but for now I want to say THANK YOU. Keep an eye the main feed for the upcoming Ask Me Anything style podcast. It’s coming up next!Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

Support WeMartians on Patreon

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

76 – A New Science Paradigm (feat. Elizabeth Frank) Apr 21, 2020

For a long time, planetary science missions have been the exclusive domain of space agencies like NASA. But in the 21st century, things are changing, and commercial actors are increasingly involving themselves not just as suppliers to governments, but as mission leaders themselves. Elizabeth Frank from First Mode joins Jake to talk about a new paradigm for planetary science.

We talk Government, Industry, and Planetary Science

Elizabeth’s rejected LPSC abstract

Follow Elizabeth

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro Phase 1 – Complete!

On January 10th we concluded the first part of the #GoingPro fundraising campaign, and what a tremendous finish it was! With just hours to spare, we crossed the 200 patron milestone in an exciting finish. Missed the whole campaign? Catch up in our blog post explainer!

There’s lots more to do, but for now I want to say THANK YOU. Keep an eye the main feed for the upcoming Ask Me Anything style podcast. It’s coming up next!

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

75 – Virtual LPSC (Part 2) Apr 02, 2020

The annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference is the premier gathering for planetary scientists worldwide. But, like many events, it was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve covered it every year, and despite viral concerns, this year is no different. We speak with six planetary scientists about the work they were going to present by creating a virtual, simulated audio poster session. Stop step in, grab a drink, and learn about some cool space science.

We Mars Planetary Science and LPSC

Corbin Kling (@planetarydrone)
- Abstract on Noctis Labyrinthus
Justin Cowart (@jccwrt)
- Abstract on THEMIS data
Paul Niles (@PBNiles)
- Abstract on Jarosite formation
Shoshanna Cole
Szilard Gyalay (@szizygy)
- Abstract on porosity at InSight’s landing site
Peter Fawdon (@DrPFawdon)
- Abstract on Oxia Planum Crater Dating
- Abstract on Oxia Planum Landing Site

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro Phase 1 – Complete!

On January 10th we concluded the first part of the #GoingPro fundraising campaign, and what a tremendous finish it was! With just hours to spare, we crossed the 200 patron milestone in an exciting finish. Missed the whole campaign? Catch up in our blog post explainer!

There’s lots more to do, but for now I want to say THANK YOU. Keep an eye the main feed for the upcoming Ask Me Anything style podcast. It’s coming up next!

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

74 – Virtual LPSC (Part 1) Mar 31, 2020

The annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference is the premier gathering for planetary scientists worldwide. But, like many events, it was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve covered it every year, and despite viral concerns, this year is no different. We speak with six planetary scientists about the work they were going to present by creating a virtual, simulated audio poster session. Stop step in, grab a drink, and learn about some cool space science.

We Mars Planetary Science and LPSC

Joe Levy (@colddirt)
- Abstract on Glaciers and Boulders
Frances Butcher (@fegbutcher)
- Abstract on Glaciers and the Gully
- Previous WeMartians Appearance: Episode 23
Stefano Nerozzi (@Micascisto)
- Abstract on the North Polar Layer Deposit Basal Unit
Chimira Andres (@RocksNRockets)
- Abstract on Ground Penetrating Radar in the Canadian Arctic
Catheryn Ryan (@geochemystery)
- Abstract on UV-LIF Instrument
- Previous WeMartians Appearance: Episode 39
- More on the BASALT program with Astronaut Stan Love
Andrew Annex (@AndrewAnnex)
- Abstract on Arabia Terra

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro Phase 1 – Complete!

On January 10th we concluded the first part of the #GoingPro fundraising campaign, and what a tremendous finish it was! With just hours to spare, we crossed the 200 patron milestone in an exciting finish. Missed the whole campaign? Catch up in our blog post explainer!

There’s lots more to do, but for now I want to say THANK YOU. Keep an eye the main feed for the upcoming Ask Me Anything style podcast. It’s coming up next!

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

73 – Moving ExoMars (feat. Natalie Panek) Mar 17, 2020

The ExoMars mission will be Europe’s first Mars rover, and when it drives off the platform on Mars to begin operating, it will do so on chassis and wheels made in Canada. Natalie Panek from MDA joins Jake to talk about the Rosalind Franklin’s mobility system, and how the rover will move around on the Red Planet.

We talk Rover Mobility Systems

Wheel walking Tests
More Wheel Walking!
Video shows deployment sequence of wheels and rover (you can also hear the clinking sounds of the metal treads)

Follow Natalie

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro Phase 1 – Complete!

On January 10th we concluded the first part of the #GoingPro fundraising campaign, and what a tremendous finish it was! With just hours to spare, we crossed the 200 patron milestone in an exciting finish. Missed the whole campaign? Catch up in our blog post explainer!

There’s lots more to do, but for now I want to say THANK YOU. Keep an eye the main feed for the upcoming Ask Me Anything style podcast. It’s coming up next!

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

72 – Taking Stock of Planetary Protection (feat. Wendy Calvin) Feb 25, 2020

Planetary Protection is the framework by which we protect the worlds we explore from our own environment, and Earth from the worlds we explore. And while it’s purpose is important, its specifics can get out of sync as we learn more about science, technology, and when our priorities for exploration and development of space change. Dr. Wendy Calvin, a member of the Planetary Protection Independent Review Board, joins Jake to talk about her assessment of the current policies and the recommendations they made to NASA.

We talk Planetary Protection

The PPIRB Report

Follow Wendy

Wendycalvin.com

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro Phase 1 – Complete!

On January 10th we concluded the first part of the #GoingPro fundraising campaign, and what a tremendous finish it was! With just hours to spare, we crossed the 200 patron milestone in an exciting finish. Missed the whole campaign? Catch up in our blog post explainer!

There’s lots more to do, but for now I want to say THANK YOU. Keep an eye the main feed for the upcoming Ask Me Anything style podcast. It’s coming up next!

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ask me Anything! – Patreon Milestone Episode Feb 04, 2020

In December we launched our #GoingPro campaign and you, the listeners, really stepped up! We hit our 200 patron milestone with hours to spare. And that means Jake’s on the hook for an Ask Me Anything podcast! So here it is.

Patrons from around the world submitted questions and we’ve asked Anthony Colangelo from Main Engine Cut Off and Off-Nominal to come by and read them. It is a fun filled episode with questions spanning space and non-space areas.

Thanks so much for your support in this endeavour. We hope you have fun listening.

Tidbits from the Show

Follow Anthony & Main Engine Cut Off

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro – What’s Next?

There’s lots more to do! We’re going to keep working towards the next goal of 250 patrons. Once we reach it, I’ll make a bonus audio documentary about the Atlas Rocket, a storied launch vehicle that has sent a lot of really important payloads to Mars.

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

71 – Martian Dust Towers (feat. Nick Heavens) Jan 29, 2020

Dust is ubiquitous on Mars, and the way it moves around can be quite unique. While the global dust storm might be Mars most recognizable dusty weather pattern, the Dust Tower can be equally interesting. Planetary scientist Nick Heavens joins Jake to talk about these massive structures lifting dust into the upper atmosphere and leaking water in to space.

We Mars missions, Artemis, and Commercial Crew

Follow Nick

Nick on Twitter (@WeatherOnMars)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

#GoingPro Phase 1 – Complete!

On January 10th we concluded the first part of the #GoingPro fundraising campaign, and what a tremendous finish it was! With just hours to spare, we crossed the 200 patron milestone in an exciting finish. Missed the whole campaign? Catch up in our blog post explainer!

There’s lots more to do, but for now I want to say THANK YOU. Keep an eye the main feed for the upcoming Ask Me Anything style podcast. It’s coming up next!

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

https://twitter.com/We_Martians/status/1215815771315552257?s=20

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**70 – The State of Mars 2020 (feat. Brendan Byrne & Emilee Speck)** Jan 07, 2020
We’re in a new decade, and Mars is kicking it off strong with four missions to the Red Planet in July. As we do every year, we’re joined by Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck to preview the missions as well as everything else ahead of us in 2020.

We Mars missions, Artemis, and Commercial Crew

Mars 2020 Name the Rover Contest

ExoMars 2020 Parachute Progress

UAE’s Mars Hope nearly assembled

Long March 5 returns to flight

Starliner in good shape after shortened flight

NASA received $22.6B budget

Previous Conversations with Brendan and Emilee

Episode 18 – State of Mars 2017

Episode 35 – State of Mars 2018

Off-Nominal Episode 6 (feat. Brendan Byrne)

Episode 53 – State of Mars 2019

Follow Emilee and Brendan

Emilee on Twitter (@EMSpeck)

Emilee’s Space Coverage (ClickOrlando.com)

News 6 WKMG Facebook (Facebook.com)

Brendan on Twitter (@SpaceBrendan)

Are We There Yet Podcast on Twitter (@AWTYMars)

WMFE Space (wmfe.org)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

Featuring a *limited time special offer*! Ends Jan 10th!

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Free shipping if you buy 2+ items until Jan 10th

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: 25 – SpaceX Cinematic Universe

An Exciting Space Future

WeMartians is celebrating its fourth anniversary, and I couldn’t be more happy with the way this project has turned out. What began as a hobby has transformed in to a thriving community of thousands interested in Mars exploration.

I’ve got what feels like hundreds of ideas to make this show better, but I’ve always struggled balancing this hobby with my day job and the rest of my life. There’s not much else I can do without somehow getting more time! And so I’ve made some decisions to do just that.

I’ve left my day job. WeMartians is officially on the path of #GoingPro.

Learn more about the decision, what it means for the show, and how you can help at our blog post explainer!

https://twitter.com/We_Martians/status/1212865759665246208?s=20

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

How you can help

You can help support me as I transition to a new career.

We’ve got some new Patreon goals for the next four patron milestones – all bonus content for YOU, including video tours of the new studio to audio documentaries.

**UPDATE** – Goal 1 has been reached! You can see the new studio tour here or below!

A limited offer *extended* until January 10th for new Patrons at the $5 level or higher – get a handwritten postcard and a pack of stickers!

A special sale in the WeMartians shop – free shipping on orders of two or more items!

**UPDATE** – New Shirt Design Available! SpaceX Super Heavy THIRTYSEVEN

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

New Shirt Design! THIRTYSEVEN

We’ve got a new shirt design out to mark our #GoingPro campaign. The much anticipated successor to our bestseller TWENTYSEVEN, THIRTYSEVEN features the business end of a Starship Super Heavy rocket. Pick it up now with the Rosalind Franklin shirt to take advantage of our free shipping promo using code GOINGPRO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfWK32tXFd8

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**Red Planet Review – #GoingPro Edition** Dec 20, 2019
Happy Holidays Martians!

We’re #GoingPro, and we thought it would be a good opportunity to showcase what you get for becoming a Patron by sharing an episode of Red Planet Review, our weekly news show normally reserved for our $3+ Patreon supporters.

To celebrate #GoingPro, we thought we’d end 2019 with a fresh new show that’s available to ALL listeners.

If you like what you hear today, consider joining the hundreds of other listeners over at Patreon. With a pledge of $3 or more, you can get a show like this every Friday, a great way to keep up on the news!

And remember, if you join at the $5 level or higher before January 3rd, you’ll get a limited time offer of a postcard from me and a set of podcast stickers!

Headlines this Week

NASA Budget for 2020

2020 Launch Window Updates

Mars2020 takes its first drive

Mars2020 drive video

ExoMars Parachute Extraction Tests successful

ExoMars Parachute Extraction Video

Insight Update

The mole is moving again!

Curiosity Update

Sols 2615-2617

Sols 2618-2619

Sols 2620-2630 (The Holiday Plan)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

Featuring a *limited time special offer*! Click through or see below!

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Free shipping if you buy 2+ items until the end of the year!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: 25 – SpaceX Cinematic Universe

Get your own Red Planet Review Shirt!

Support the show by wearing the RPR logo loud and proud! Get one today at the WeMartians Shop! And take advantage of our #GoingPro deal by pairing it with the new THIRTYSEVEN design!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**69 – Looking for Life on Mars on Earth (feat. Teresa Fornaro)** Dec 17, 2019
In July, ESA plans to launch the 2nd ExoMars mission, a rover called the Rosalind Franklin that will search for signs of life on Mars. It’ll do so with the MOMA instrument. Recently, scientists from ESA and NASA embarked on an expedition to the Pilbara region in Australia to practice identifying biosignatures in rocks to prep them for their eventual interpretation of the data coming back. Teresa Fornaro, co-investigator on the MOMA instrument, joins Jake to talk about the instrument, the mission, and the expedition.

We talk MOMA, ExoMars, and Life on Mars

The ExoMars website

MOMA Wikipedia

Images of MOMA

Pilbara Expedition Press Release

Video of Expedition featuring Teresa

Follow Teresa Fornaro

Teresa’s Website

Teresa’s laboratory website

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

Featuring a *limited time special offer*! Click through or see below!

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Free shipping if you buy 2+ items until the end of the year!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: 25 – SpaceX Cinematic Universe

An Exciting Space Future

WeMartians is celebrating its fourth anniversary this month, and I couldn’t be more happy with the way this project has turned out. What began as a hobby has transformed in to a thriving community of thousands interested in Mars exploration.

I’ve got what feels like hundreds of ideas to make this show better, but I’ve always struggled balancing this hobby with my day job and the rest of my life. There’s not much else I can do without somehow getting more time! And so I’ve made some decisions to do just that.

I’ve left my day job. WeMartians is officially on the path of #GoingPro.

Learn more about the decision, what it means for the show, and how you can help at our blog post explainer!

https://twitter.com/We_Martians/status/1206647580370722816?s=20

Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!

How you can help

You can help support me as I transition to a new career.

We’ve got some new Patreon goals for the next four patron milestones – all bonus content for YOU, including video tours of the new studio to audio documentaries.

**UPDATE** – Goal 1 has been reached! You can see the new studio tour here or below!

A limited offer until January 3rd for new Patrons at the $5 level or higher – get a handwritten postcard and a pack of stickers!

A special sale in the WeMartians shop – free shipping on orders of two or more items!

**UPDATE** – New Shirt Design Available! SpaceX Super Heavy THIRTYSEVEN

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

New Shirt Design! THIRTYSEVEN

We’ve got a new shirt design out to mark our #GoingPro campaign. The much anticipated successor to our bestseller TWENTYSEVEN, THIRTYSEVEN features the business end of a Starship Super Heavy rocket. Pick it up now with the Rosalind Franklin shirt to take advantage of our free shipping promo using code GOINGPRO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfWK32tXFd8

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**68 – The Case of the Inexplicable Oxygen (feat. Melissa Trainer)** Dec 03, 2019
For years, the NASA Curiosity Rover has been quietly sniffing the atmosphere in Gale Crater with its SAM instrument. Today, scientists are finally getting a handle on that vast dataset, and they’re turning up some crazy results, especially an unexplained oxygen spike! Dr. Melissa Trainer from NASA Goddard, lead author on a paper covering the results, joins Jake to talk about this peculiar behaviour.

We talk Oxygen, Curiosity, and Atmospheres

Melissa’s Paper on Atmospheric Composition (Open Access)

NASA press release on the paper

Follow Melissa Trainer

The Curiosity Rover Home Page

Melissa’s Wikipedia Entry

Melissa’s Profile on NASA Goddard’s site

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

**Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)**

Featuring a *limited time special offer*! Click through or see below!

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Free shipping if you buy 2+ items until the end of the year!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: “Jim-Adjacent”

An Exciting Space Future

WeMartians is celebrating its fourth anniversary this month, and I couldn’t be more happy with the way this project has turned out. What began as a hobby has transformed in to a thriving community of thousands interested in Mars exploration.

I’ve got what feels like hundreds of ideas to make this show better, but I’ve always struggled balancing this hobby with my day job and the rest of my life. There’s not much else I can do without somehow getting more time! And so I’ve made some decisions to do just that.

I’ve left my day job. WeMartians is officially on the path of #GoingPro.

Learn more about the decision, what it means for the show, and how you can help at our blog post explainer!
Show your support with a monthly pledge on Patreon!
How you can help

You can help support me as I transition to a new career.

We’ve got some new Patreon goals for the next four patron milestones – all bonus content for YOU, including video tours of the new studio to audio documentaries.

A limited offer until January 3rd for new Patrons at the $5 level or higher – get a handwritten postcard and a pack of stickers!

A special sale in the WeMartians shop – free shipping on orders of two or more items!

Thanks to all the patrons who have come along so far, and to all the new ones ready to join the movement. Ad Ares!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**67 – From Hainan to Mars (feat. Andrew Jones)** Nov 12, 2019
Next year brings a quartet of missions heading from Earth to Mars, including one from the Chinese National Space Administration. Freelance journalist Andrew Jones, a specialist in Chinese space, joins Jake to talk about the mission, Huoxing-1, and what to expect leading up to China’s first Mars mission.

We talk China, Space, and Huoxing-1

Huoxing-1 mission objectives and science payloads

YF-77 Test Firing

How not to land an orbital rocket booster (SpaceX)

China’s Mars Technology is Ready for 2020 Launch (IEEE Spectrum)

Follow Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones Twitter (@AJ_FI)

Andrew’s Space News Author Page

Andrew’s Space.com Author Page

Andrew’s Planetary Society Author Page

Andrew’s Sky and Telescope Author Page

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: “Jim-Adjacent”

The WeMartians Season 3 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust storm that ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**66 – IAC 2019** Oct 30, 2019
The 70th International Astronautical Congress descended on Washington, DC this week, with 6300 delegates from around the world coming together to talk about space technology, policy and more. Jake is on site to report on the happenings, and connected with a range of people on robotic missions and human architectures.

Guests include Walter Cugno from Thales Alenia Space, Khaled Ali Al Hashmi from the United Arab Emirates Space Agency, and Gary Napier from Lockheed Martin.

We talk ExoMars, Mars Hope, and Human Landing Systems

ExoMars Parachute Woes

Mars Hope nears completion

Blue Origin announces National Team

Follow our Guests

Thales Alenia Space Twitter

UAE Space Agency Twitter

Gary Napier Twitter

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: “What is the protocol for this?”

The WeMartians Season 3 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust storm that ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**65 – Starship on Course (feat. Anthony Colangelo)** Oct 08, 2019
On September 28th, 2019, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk presented an update to the Starship architecture. To talk about what has changed and what hasn’t, Jake is joined by podcast partner Anthony Colangelo from Main Engine Cut Off in a two part conversation between the two shows.

You can listen to part 2 of the conversation on the MECO feed or by clicking here.

We talk SpaceX & Starship

Starship’s Website

SpaceNews coverage of Starship Update

Part 2: T-135 Jake Robins on Starship

Follow Anthony Colangelo

Main Engine Cut Off Podcast & Blog

Main Engine Cut Off Twitter

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: “What is the protocol for this?”

WeMartians Meetup in Washington DC!

On October 20th, we’ll be meeting up with Anthony Colangelo from The Main Engine Cut Off Podcast as we head to Washington DC to cover IAC 2019.

You can join us as we visit the Udvar Hazy museum and see Space Shuttle Discovery, then come have beers with us at Dacha Beer Garden in the city. We’d love to meet you – this is going to be a big event and we can’t wait to talk with all our listeners.

Check out the details at our events page.

The WeMartians Season 3 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust storm that ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**64 – The Dusty Plains of Arcadia Planitia (feat. Ali Bramson)** Sep 24, 2019
SpaceX has been requesting HiRISE images from an area called Arcadia Planitia as potential landing sites for their Starship vehicle. Dr Ali Bramson, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Lab and expert on the region, joins Jake to talk about what’s going on there and why SpaceX might be interested.

We talk SpaceX, Starship, and Arcadia Planitia

SpaceX requests landing site candidate images

Some textures of Arcadia Planitia

An example of “Brain Terrain”

Polygonal terrain in Canada

Planetary Society piece on Terraced Craters

The SpaceX Landing Site Candidate HIRISE requests

Interactive DTMs for Terraced Craters – explore them in your browser!

PAPER: Widespread excess ice in Arcadia Planitia, Mars

PAPER: Exposed subsurface ice sheets in the Martian mid-latitudes

Follow Ali Bramson

Ali Bramson’s Twitter (@alibramson)

Ali’s profile at LPL

Ali’s profile at Purdue (starting Fall 2020)

SWIM Project

SWIM Project Twitter (@RedPlanetSWIM)

Be a student at Purdue!

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: “What is the protocol for this?”

WeMartians Meetup in Washington DC!

On October 20th, we’ll be meeting up with Anthony Colangelo from The Main Engine Cut Off Podcast as we head to Washington DC to cover IAC 2019.

You can join us as we visit the Udvar Hazy museum and see Space Shuttle Discovery, then come have beers with us at Dacha Beer Garden in the city. We’d love to meet you – this is going to be a big event and we can’t wait to talk with all our listeners.

Check out the details at our events page.

The WeMartians Season 3 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust storm that ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**63 – The 9th International Mars Conference (feat. Nina Lanza)** Aug 27, 2019
We talk the 9th International Mars Conference

Tweet thread on Methane from Justin Cowart

Content from the MEPAG meeting

Content from 9th Mars Presentations

Follow Nina Lanza

Nina Lanza’s Twitter (@marsninja)

Nina back on Episode 11

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: The Dark Lord

The WeMartians Season 3 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust storm that ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**62 – Through Stargate to Mars (feat. Jordan Noone)** Aug 13, 2019
We talk Relativity Space 3D-printed rockets

Telesat signs with Relativity Space

Relativity signs contract to build launch pad

Relativity to build rocket factory at Stennis

Follow Jordan Noone and Relativity

Relativity Space Website

Work for Relativity!

Relativity Space Twitter

Jordan Noone Twitter

Relativity Space Instagram

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: Carpet-Bombing Venus

Upcoming Seattle Meetup!

Join us in south Seattle on August 31st for another meetup at the charming Airways Brewing Taproom. They’ve got Blue Origin themed beers and a great atmosphere. Check out the details at our events page, and note this one is a little earlier ’cause the taproom closes at 7PM!

The WeMartians Season 3 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust storm that ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**61 – Five Years in the Martian Atmosphere (feat. Gina DiBraccio)** Jul 30, 2019
We talk the MAVEN mission

MAVEN Reveals Speed of Solar Wind Stripping Martian Atmosphere

MAVEN atmospheric escape simulation video

Follow Gina DiBraccio and MAVEN

The MAVEN Mission Page

Dr Gina DiBraccio on Instagram

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Off-Nominal Podcast

Most Recent Episode: Carpet-Bombing Venus

The WeMartians Season 3 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust storm that ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**60 – Why Go To Mars? (feat. Michael Robinson)** Jul 16, 2019
It’s been 50 years since Apollo 11, and while there’s still a lot to celebrate about the whole Apollo era, it also begs the question, “why haven’t we gone back?” Michael Robinson, historian and host of the podcast *Time to Eat the Dogs* joins Jake to dig in to what motivates people to go to deep space and Mars in an attempt to understand how to make it happen again.

We Talk Motivations for People to Explore Mars and Deep Space

Planetary Radio Space Policy Edition feat. Roger Launius

Time to Eat the Dogs interview with Catherine Newell, author of *Destined for the Stars*

Michael’s essay on Motivations for Mars

“The Tweet” about Why Sending Humans to Mars

Follow Michael Robinson

Time to Eat the Dogs

Some select episodes to try:

Apollo in the Age of Aquarius

Should We Colonize Mars?

Living on the International Space Station

An American in Soviet Antarctica Part 1 & Part 2

The Mars Curiosity Rover

The Falcon Heavy

Time To Eat the Dogs Twitter

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

The WeMartians 2018 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust stormthat ended the Opportunity mission.

Apollo 11 Celebration Discount Code!

Use the code APOLLO11 to get 11% off any order with two or more items! It wouldn’t be a 50th anniversary celebration without some sweet merch, including the patch above! Pick them up in our shop today until July 23rd.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**59 – Artemis (feat. Casey Dreier)** Jun 06, 2019
NASA is sending people back to the Moon, or so they say. A human deep space program is easier said than done. The Planetary Society’s Casey Dreier returns to the show to talk about politics, policy, and balancing skepticism with excitement.

We Talk NASA’s Moon Plan, Artemis

Mars Wars by Thor Hogan (free pdf)

What can we learn from a Failed Return to the Moon?

A Crash Program or a Modest Proposal?

NASA awards PPE Contract for Gateway

A Look at NASA’s Budgets

Follow Casey

Casey’s Twitter

Casey’s Profile on The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society’s Space Advocacy Page

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Seattle Meetup on June 29th!

The WeMartians 2018 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust stormthat ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins with Public Domain NASA audio and WeMartians interview samples. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**58 – Calling Home from Mars (feat. Michael Staab)** May 07, 2019
Getting data back from our Mars spacecraft requires some pretty robust communications technology. But the infrastructure that rovers like Curiosity relay their images through is aging, and scientists are starting to worry about what would happen if they fail. NASA JPL’s Michael Staab joins Jake to talk about a new idea to reinforce that infrastructure and keep those data flowing back each and every sol.

We Talk Mars Communications

MAVEN lowers orbit to facilitate communications

Follow Michael

Michael’s Twitter (@AstroStaab)

NASA JPL

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

The WeMartians 2018 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust stormthat ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**57 – How to do EVAs on Mars (feat. Stan Love)** Apr 16, 2019
NASA’s BASALT program (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains) has been working on understand how to do real science on an EVA since 2016. Jake is joined by NASA Astronaut, planetary scientist and program participant Stan Love to learn the challenges imposed by a Red Planet Spacewalk and what kinds of things the agency is trying to overcome them.

We Talk Mars, EVAs, and Science

Astrobiology Special Issue on BASALT

Intro by Stan Love

Paper overview by PI Darlene Lim

Off-Nominal Podcast Episode 17 (Jake’s Pick was BASALT)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

The WeMartians 2018 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust stormthat ended the Opportunity mission.

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**56 – LPSC 2019 (The Legacy of Apollo)** Mar 27, 2019
Jake is on-site at the 50th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference to report on Mars science results and the shift to the Moon. Fifty years from Apollo’s first landing, lunar samples are still having an incredible impact on all planetary science, and as we look to the future, we have so much more to be excited about. Three special guests join Jake to talk about this exciting topic.

We Talk Mars and Apollo Lunar Science

InSight pauses Mole deployment

HP3 Heat Flow Probe results Abstract

DLR Blog on Heat Flow Probe with Team Updates

APSS (pressure sensor) results Abstract

Weird weather results from InSight (Ars Technica)

Mars Weather Report from InSight

Jack Schmitt’s keynote lecture (video)

50 Years of Lunar Science Talk Track (video)

50 Years of Planetary Science Talk Track (video)

Follow our Guests

Louise Prockter

The Lunar and Planetary Institute Twitter

Gordon Osinski Twitter

Gordon Osinski’s Website

Our Travel Grant Winner

Áine O’Brien wins the 2019 WeMartians Travel Grant

Áine’s Talk: Carbon in Martian Meteorites

Áine’s Poster: Diversity in Student Space Activities in the UK

Áine O’Brien Twitter

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Introducing the WeMartians 2018 Mission Patch

This is the Season 3 (2018) commemorative WeMartians Mission Patch. We’ve partnered with space fan and talented graphic artist Beth Kerner to put together a custom, 4-inch, sew-on embroidered patch. It’s limited edition, with a print-run of just 100. And you can get one for yourself starting today! They’re just $17 USD, and shipping is free anywhere on Earth (Mars is extra, though). If you’re a Station-level or higher patron, your permanent store discount applies, too!

The patch captures the broad narratives of our third season of podcasts. It includes the Falcon Heavy inaugural flight, the InSight launch and landing, and the global dust stormthat ended the Opportunity mission.

**55 – Glen Torridon (feat. Kristen Bennett)** Mar 05, 2019
Curiosity recently drove down from the Vera Rubin Ridge, its home for the last year and a half, into a new clay-rich area called Glen Torridon. Planetary Scientist Kristen Bennett joins Jake to talk about what this new area is like and what questions we hope to answer in the next chapter of this rover’s mission.

We Talk Curiosity and Glen Torridon

Curiosity says Farewell to Vera Rubin Ridge

360 view of Vera Rubin Ridge as Curiosity Departs

Curiosity Computer troubles

Follow Kristen

Kristen’s Twitter (@planetkilobravo)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Rosalind Franklin

ESA recently announced that the upcoming ExoMars 2020 rover will be named for the pioneering British DNA scientist, Rosalind Franklin. Just as Franklin sought to understand the smallest signs of life, so too will her titular rover as it explores Mars. We’re celebrating this announcement with a new t-shirt design, which you can get in our shop now!

WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**54 – Women In Space 2019 (feat. Mallika Sarma and J.A. Grier)** Feb 11, 2019
WeMartians visits Arizona to attend the 2019 Women in Space Conference, an interdisciplinary event covering science, engineering, and policy with a reimagined, humanized perspective. Jake and guests discuss some of the science as well as the social challenges women and other marginalized groups face as they try to explore space.

We talk the Human side of Exploration

WISC 2019 Conference Schedule

Sex Differences in Body Composition, Physical Activity, and Total Energy Expenditure When in a Challenging and Novel Environment (Sarma, M. S.)

Space Ethics and Our Expanding Vision for Exploration: Core Conversations (Grier, J. A.)

All other WISC Abstracts

WISC Keynote Speaker Profiles

Follow Mallika, J.A., Tanya and Sara

Mallika Sarma on Twitter (@skyy_mal)

Mallika’s Research Site

J.A. Grier on Twitter (@grierja)

Tanya Harrison on Twitter (@tanyaofmars)

Tanya’s website

Sara Mazrouei on Twitter (@SciCommSara)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Rosalind Franklin

ESA recently announced that the upcoming ExoMars 2020 rover will be named for the pioneering British DNA scientist, Rosalind Franklin. Just as Franklin sought to understand the smallest signs of life, so too will her titular rover as it explores Mars. We’re celebrating this announcement with a new t-shirt design, which you can get in our shop now!
The Rosalind Franklin design
WeMartians theme music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and arranged by Jake Robins. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

53 – The State of Mars 2019 (feat. Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck) Jan 22, 2019

The fourth season of WeMartians has begun, and we bring in our friends and regular guests Brendan Byrne and Emilee Speck to talk about rockets, rovers, and Mars in pop culture.

We talk Mars in 2018 and in to the future

Sounds of Mars from NASA’s InSight

Previous Conversations with Brendan and Emilee

Follow Emilee and Brendan

Emilee on Twitter (@EMSpeck)
Emilee’s Space Coverage (ClickOrlando.com)
News 6 WKMG Facebook (Facebook.com)
Brendan on Twitter (@SpaceBrendan)
Are We There Yet Podcast on Twitter (@AWTYMars)
WMFE Space (wmfe.org)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Come have a beer with me

I will be at McFate Brewing Company (South location) in Scottsdale, Arizona at 6PM on Friday, Feb 8th. It’s an open invitation to any listeners in the area who want to hang out! More details here!

**Red Planet Review – Anniversary Episode** Jan 11, 2019
Happy New Year Martians!

It’s been 1 year since we launched the Red Planet Review weekly news roundup for our $3+ Patreon supporters. To celebrate, we thought we’d kick off 2019 with a fresh new show that’s available to ALL listeners.

If you like what you hear today, consider joining the hundreds of other listeners over at Patreon. With a pledge of $3 or more, you can get a show like this every Friday, a great way to keep up on the news! Plus, you’ll help support things like the WeMartians Travel Grant, for which applications are now open!

Headlines this Week

Valles Marineris – Not a Glaciated Place!

SpaceX’s Starhopper Test Article comes together

Mars Express celebrates 15 years at Mars

INSIGHT Update

SEIS levels itself

SEIS Tether slack released

MSL Update

Sols 2279-2280

Sols 2281-2283

Sols 2284-2285

MER Update

MER-B December Update at Planetary.org

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

The WeMartians Travel Grant

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Check out the new PLANETARY design in support of the grant!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Get your own Red Planet Review Shirt!

Support the show by wearing the RPR logo loud and proud! Get one today at the WeMartians Shop!

**WeMartians 2019 Update** Dec 26, 2018
In a quick holiday update, Jake shares an update on the podcast announcing the WeMartians Travel Grant, looking ahead to our next Patreon Goal and content for 2019, as well as two upcoming conferences and Podcast Meetups!

We talk 2019 Podcast News

Introducing the WeMartians Travel Grant

Our Next Patreon Goal

Meetup Schedule (stay tuned!)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Check out the new PLANETARY design in support of the grant!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Listener Survey 2018

New Shirt Design!

In support of the WeMartians Travel Grant, you can pick up our new PLANETARY T-Shirt design. 100% of the proceeds of this shirt support an early career scientist travelling to LPSC to share their work about Mars. We also accept direct donations to the grant through the store link.

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**52 – Comin’ up Jezero (feat. Tim Goudge)** Dec 11, 2018
NASA has selected the next landing site for its future Mars rover, Mars 2020. Jezero Crater is an incredible ancient river delta spilling in to the side of a crater. But what really makes it special, plus how and why did NASA pick it? Jake is joined by planetary scientist Tim Goudge, who led the advocacy of Jezero through the process, to explain its charm.

We talk NASA’s Mars 2020 rover and Jezero Crater

NASA Announces Jezero Crater as Landing Site Mars 2020 Rover

Previous Coverage of the Mars 2020 Rover

Episode 10 – Science meets Engineering on the 2020 Rover (feat. Sarah Milkovich)

Episode 20 – Mars 2020 Landing Site Candidates

Episode 48 – Zooming in on Mars (feat. Melissa Rice and Elsa Jensen)

Follow Tim Goudge

Tim’s Website

Tim’s Twitter (@timgoudge)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

The WeMartians Travel Grant

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Check out all the new merchandise out in time for the holidays!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

Listener Survey 2018

New Merchandise!

We’ve got a whole bunch of new merchandise in our shop! Check out the new designs, including Off-Nominal gear!

Our Sponsor

WeMartians is sponsored by MOVA Globes. Visit the site and use the code WEMARTIANS for 10% off your order of one of these really great looking pieces shipping to the Americas. They rotate without cords or batteries! Patrons, check your Patreon account for a special Patron-only discount code. Thanks to MOVA Globes for helping us explore Mars together.

We wanted to feature a cool globe this episode. Given that Voyager 2 made the news this week when it entered the Interstellar Medium, we thought it appropriate to feature the Neptune design. Neptune has only ever been visited by Voyager 2! Check out that Small Dark Spot!

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**51 – Entry, Descent, and Landing** Dec 04, 2018
On November 26th, 2018, NASA successfully landed the InSight spacecraft on the surface of Mars. It was their 8th successful landing, went picture-perfect, and seemed to defy the common thought that Mars landings rarely work. Jake recounts the landing, provides historical context to the events, and asks the question of whether NASA’s entries, descents, and landings are as failure-prone as some make it out to be.

We Talk InSight and Entry, Descent, and Landing

Viking Press Kit

Mars Pathfinder Press Kit

Mars Polar Lander Press Kit

Mars Exploration Rovers Press Kit

Mars Phoenix Press Kit

Mars Science Laboratory Press Kit

InSight Press Kit

InSight L-1 Briefing

Paper on Drag-assisted entry at Mars

Summary of Mars EDLs

Previous Coverage of InSight

Episode 36: Systems Engineering InSight (feat. Farah Alibay)

Episode 41: Thirty Years to the Centre of Mars (feat. Bruce Banerdt, Philippe Lognonné, and Tim Linn)

Episode 50: The Journey to Mars is Hyperbolic (feat. Mark Wallace)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

The WeMartians Travel Grant

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Check out all the new merchandise out in time for the holidays!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

New Merchandise!

We’ve got a whole bunch of new merchandise in our shop! Check out the new designs, including Off-Nominal gear!

Our Sponsor

WeMartians is sponsored by MOVA Globes. Visit the site and use the code WEMARTIANS for 10% off your order of one of these really great looking pieces shipping to the Americas. They rotate without cords or batteries! Patrons, check your Patreon account for a special Patron-only discount code. Thanks to MOVA Globes for helping us explore Mars together.

Check out this antique celestial globe! It’s a reprint of *Globo Celeste*, by Giovanni Cassini in 1792 (no, not that Giovanni Cassini).

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**50 – The Journey to Mars is Hyperbolic (feat. Mark Wallace)** Nov 13, 2018
NASA’s InSight lander arrives on Mars on November 26th. It is an exciting event that ends the 7 month cruise phase since its launch on May 5th. But how did it get there? NASA JPL’s Mark Wallace, the Lead Trajectory Analyst for InSight’s, joins Jake and explains how to plan a journey across the solar system.

We Talk InSight’s Trajectory

Porkchop Plots

InSight Press Kit

Previous Coverage of InSight

Episode 36: Systems Engineering InSight (feat. Farah Alibay)

Episode 41: Thirty Years to the Centre of Mars (feat. Bruce Banerdt, Philippe Lognonné, and Tim Linn)

Follow Mark Wallace

Mark Wallace Twitter

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

The WeMartians Travel Grant

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Check out all the new merchandise out in time for the holidays!

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

The Off-Nominal Podcast

Episode 14 with Gary Napier from Lockheed Martin

New Merchandise!

We’ve got a whole bunch of new merchandise in our shop! Check out the new designs, including Off-Nominal gear!

Our Sponsor

WeMartians is sponsored by MOVA Globes. Visit the site and use the code WEMARTIANS for 10% off your order of one of these really great looking pieces shipping to the Americas. They rotate without cords or batteries! Patrons, check your Patreon account for a special Patron-only discount code. Thanks to MOVA Globes for helping us explore Mars together.

Check out their Moon globe! They did a great blog post featuring five of its prominent features, and also a sweet eclipse-primer last year that has the best GIF ever.

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**49 – Moon to Mars (feat. Laura Forczyk)** Oct 23, 2018
NASA continues to advance it’s Moon-first strategy, and commercial companies are starting to hop on board. Along with international interest, it all forms the backbone of NASA’s Moon to Mars strategy. Space consultant and founder of Astralytical Laura Forczyk returns to the show to talk with Jake about what this all means for Mars.

We talk Moon and Mars

Blue Origin signs agreement with OHB and MT

dearMoon

Airbus/Blue Origin backed Moon Race

NASA’s Moon to Mars strategy

Previous Coverage of Mars Strategy

Episode 34 – Moon vs Mars (feat. Laura Forczyk)

Episode 46 – Keeping Mars Alive (feat. Rick Davis)

Follow Laura

Laura’s Twitter Account

Astralytical’s website

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

The WeMartians Travel Grant

WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Jake’s Twitter (@JakeOnOrbit)

The Off-Nominal Podcast

Episode 13 with Elizabeth Howell

Our Sponsor

WeMartians is sponsored by MOVA Globes. Visit the site and use the code WEMARTIANS for 10% off your order of one of these really great looking pieces shipping to the Americas. They rotate without cords or batteries! Patrons, check your Patreon account for a special Patron-only discount code. Thanks to MOVA Globes for helping us explore Mars together.

Learn how MOVA worked with Cassini scientist Alexander Hayes to put together the incredible Titan globe!

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**48 – Zooming in on Mars (feat. Melissa Rice and Elsa Jensen)** Oct 02, 2018
NASA’s upcoming flagship mission Mars2020 will send a state of the art rover to the surface of Mars. Along for the ride will be an impressive camera called Mastcam-Z which will unveil Mars in a way never seen before. Planetary scientist Melissa Rice from Western Washington University and instrument operations manager Elsa Jensen from Malin Space Science Systems join Jake to talk all about the new camera, how it’s put together and what questions it might help us answer.

We talk Mastcam-Z and NASA’s Mars2020 Rover

Planetary Society’s Mastcam-Z Outreach content

NASA’s page on Mastcam-Z

Malin Space Science Systems

Previous Coverage of Mars2020

Episode 10 – Science Meets Engineering on the 2020 Rover (feat. Sarah Milkovich)

Episode 20 – Landing Site Candidate Overview

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The Off-Nominal Podcast

Our Sponsor

WeMartians is sponsored by MOVA Globes. Visit the site and use the code WEMARTIANS for 10% off your order of one of these really great looking pieces shipping to the Americas. They rotate without cords or batteries! Patrons, check your Patreon account for a special Patron-only discount code. Thanks to MOVA Globes for helping us explore Mars together.

Learn how MOVA worked with Marc Rayman from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to put together the Vesta globe using data from the Dawn Mission!

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**47 – Recovering Opportunity (feat. Mike Seibert)** Sep 18, 2018
The Opportunity Rover hasn’t been heard from since June 10th, and things are starting to look dire. NASA recently released a new plan to recover the intrepid Mars explorer but the plan hasn’t convinced everyone of its merit just yet. Engineer and former rover driver Mike Seibert returns to the show to talk about the plan, how it compares with Spirit’s recovery, and why some may not be as excited about it as others.

We talk NASA’s Opportunity Recovery Plan

NASA’s Press Release on the new Opportunity Rover Plan

*Is NASA’s Opportunity Mars Rover Doomed?*

Planetary Society’s August Deep Dive

Deep Space Network’s DSN Now

Previous Coverage of Opportunity

Episode 29: A Teenage Rover (feat. Mike Seibert)

Episode 44: Ashes to Ashes, Clay to Dust (feat. Mark Lemmon)

Follow Mike Seibert

Twitter (@mikeseibert)

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Twitter (@we_martians)

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The Off-Nominal Podcast

New Episode feat Loren Grush!

Our Sponsor

WeMartians is sponsored by MOVA Globes. Visit the site and use the code WEMARTIANS for 10% off your order of one of these really great looking pieces shipping to the Americas. They rotate without cords or batteries! Patrons, check your Patreon account for a special Patron-only discount code. Thanks to MOVA Globes for helping us explore Mars together.

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**46 – Keeping Mars Alive (feat. Rick Davis)** Aug 21, 2018
NASA may have pivoted to the Moon, but Mars remains a horizon goal. Keeping the different departments at the Agency focused and working together towards this goal is no small task. Jake is joined Rick Davis, Assistant Director for Science and Exploration, to talk about how NASA is working to send Humans to Mars.

We Talk Humans to Mars

NASA’s Mars Human Landing Sites Study

Previous Coverage of NASA & Humans to Mars

Episode 1: The Waxing Interest in Mars (January 2016)

Episode 24: Risks & Rewards (feat. Leonard David, May 2017)

Episode 34: Moon vs. Mars (feat. Laura Forczyk, December 2017)

Episode 42: A Culture of Safety (feat. Holly Griffith, May 2018)

Follow Rick Davis

Red Planet Rick Twitter

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Back to School Sale details!

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The Off-Nominal Podcast

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**45 – Coming Together for Mars (feat. Jeff Johnson)** Jul 31, 2018
Missions to Mars don’t happen by accident. A ton of planning goes in long before the spacecraft is even selected. Understanding the consensus wishes of the scientific community is critical to putting resources into the right missions, and one group that helps gather that consensus is the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group. Jake is joined by Jeff Johnson, planetary scientist from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab and the current MEPAGC hair to talk about how MEPAG works and everything that it does.

(note: in the interview, you may hear Jeff mistaken identify himself as the Goals Chair. He is in fact, the MEPAG Chair)

We Talk Mars Program Analysis and the Decadal Survey

The MEPAG Goals Document (2015)

The 2013 Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey

Previous Coverage of Mars Policy

Episode 27: The Policy of Mars (feat. Casey Dreier)

Follow Jeff and MEPAG

Jeff’s Profile at JHUAPL’s Website

MEPAG Website (JPL)

MEPAG Committee Members

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The Off-Nominal Podcast

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Get a Shirt!

The storm may be huge and terrible, but it’s time is limited. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know it’ll be over…soon! Get the shirt on our shop! Or, support Opportunity as she hunkers down through the worst of it in her typical, extra-nominal way.

**44 – Ashes to Ashes, Clay to Dust (feat. Mark Lemmon)** Jun 26, 2018
There’s a serious Global Dust Storm happening right now on Mars. Several regional storms have kicked up a tremendous amount of dust into the skies, blocking out the sun and jeopardizing the Opportunity rover’s safety. But despite the threat, this is a great chance to do some science on Mars weather. Jake is joined by Space Science Institute’s Mark Lemmon to discuss these storms formation and what we’re learning from them.

We Discuss Mars Dust Storms and the NASA rover Curiosity and Opportunity

Most recent JPL news release on the Global Dust Storm

Curiosity, starting at the Sun through the dust

A look out across Gale Crater through the Storm

The last photo taken by Opportunity on June 10th

Follow Mark

The Space Science Institute

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The Off-Nominal Podcast

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Get a Shirt!

The storm may be huge and terrible, but it’s time is limited. If you’ve listened to the episode, you’ll know it’ll be over…soon! Get the shirt on our shop! Or, support Opportunity as she hunkers down through the worst of it in her typical, extra-nominal way.

**43 – The Great Climate Debate (feat. Ashley Palumbo)** Jun 12, 2018
We’ve got plenty of evidence of liquid on the surface of Mars today. Lakes and channels indicate a past life abundant with water. But despite the evidence, scientists have had trouble modelling an ancient Mars climate warm enough to support the theory. Was the past warm and wet like the geology shows, or was it cold and icy like the climate models suggest? Brown University’s Ashley Palumbo, a Martian climatologist, joins Jake to talk weather, rain and mathematical models of the Red Planet’s mysterious history.

We Discuss Mars Past Climate

Ashley’s LPSC Abstract

Follow Ashley Palumbo

Ashley’s Website

Brown University’s Planetary Science Website

Follow Jake & WeMartians

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Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)

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The Off-Nominal Podcast

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Get a Shirt!

Evidence of Mars’ past is plainly visible thanks to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter creepin’ over every inch of its surface. Now you can be that creepy, too! Get the shirt on our shop!

42 – A Culture of Safety (feat. Holly Griffith) May 22, 2018

Before sending people in to space, space agencies like NASA or commercial companies like Boeing & SpaceX must take stock of risks to crew and vehicle and do their best to mitigate them. But how does this process actually work? How do you quantify risks to people? And most importantly, how do you determine that the risk is acceptable before you fly? Jake is joined by Holly Griffith, an engineer on the Safety team for NASA’s Orion Spacecraft, to talk about risks and to have a candid conversation about what’s at stake when making these kinds of decisions.

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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

41 – Thirty Years to the Centre of Mars (feat. Bruce Banerdt, Philippe Lognonné & Tim Linn) May 09, 2018

NASA’s InSight mission, a lander to study the interior of Mars, lifted off from California on May 5th, 2018. For the scientists working on this geophysics mission, it’s been a long time coming. Jake travels down to Vandenberg to “see” the launch, and gets behind the scenes to hear the true story of this mission, thirty years in the making. Jake is joined by InSight Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt, SEIS instrument Principal Investigator Philippe Lognonné, and Lockheed Martin Deputy Project Manager for InSight, Tim Linn.

We Discuss NASA’s InSight Mission

The InSight website
The Verge Science Launch Video
1991’s Mars Global Network Mission Paper (incl author Banerdt)
1992’s Intermarsnet (incl authors Banerdt and Lognonné)
1999’s Netlander (incl author Lognonné)
2003 Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey
2010 Mission Concept Study, Mars Geophysical Network
2010 MGN Options Study (InSight was originally option “G”)
2013 Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey
2011 Discovery Finalists Announced (incl. GEMS, which became InSight)
2011 JPL Changes name of GEMS to InSight
2012 InSight selected as Discovery 12
2015 SEIS leak delays launch of InSight

Previous Coverage of InSight

Episode 2: Every Twenty Six Months (covers InSight’s delay from 2016)
Episode 36: Systems Engineering InSight (feat. Farah Alibay, Payload Systems Engineer)

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Website (www.wemartians.com)
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- Learn about the Orbiter Level ($1/month)
- Learn about the Lander Level ($3/month)
- Learn about the Rover Level ($5/month)
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- New InSight design GOOD VIBES
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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

40 – Mars One Waning (feat. Ryan MacDonald) Apr 17, 2018

Mars One captured the world’s attention when it announced its intentions to colonize Mars by 2023. But since that milestone announcement back in 2012, the organization has faced funding difficulties, delays, and accusations of fraud and misdirection. Meanwhile, the Mars 100, the hundred candidates currently hoping for a seat on the first mission, are left waiting and wondering. Cambridge University PhD student and Mars 100 candidate Ryan MacDonald joins Jake to discuss his experience, the money situation, and Mars One’s future.

We Discuss Mars One

Follow Ryan

Twitter (@MartianColonist)
YouTube (MartianColonist)

Past coverage of Mars One

Episode 1: The Waxing Interest in Mars (January 2016)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)
Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians)
- Learn about the Orbiter Level ($1/month)
- Learn about the Lander Level ($3/month)
- Learn about the Rover Level ($5/month)
WeMartians Shop (shop.wemartians.com)
- New InSight design GOOD VIBES
Twitter (@we_martians)
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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

39 – LPSC 2018 Mar 28, 2018

Every year, upwards of 2,000 planetary scientists descend upon a suburb of Houston to discuss the latest findings, share the work, and learn something new at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC). A lot of Mars happens at these conferences, so WeMartians decided to attend it in person! Jake catches up with old friends, makes some new ones, and explores Mars like never before. This year, we explore the fascinating use of Earth Analogs to help us better understand the science happening on Mars.

We discuss #LPSC2018, Earth Analogs and their value at Mars

Past coverage of LPSC

Episode 21: LPSC2017 (March 2017)

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Website (www.wemartians.com)
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- Learn about the Orbiter Level ($1/month)
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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**38 – Martian Mission Control (feat. Sophie Gruber and Reinhard Tlustos)** Mar 06, 2018
Behind every successful space mission is a talented team of support staff back on Earth, guiding the astronauts along the way. When we go to Mars, it will be much the same. But how can we practice these valuable skills? Mars analogues are a great way, and recently, the Austrian Space Forum completed a three week simulation called AMADEE 18. Project Manager Sophie Gruber and Flight Director Reinhard Tlustos join Jake to talk about the mission to the Oman Desert, and what it takes to get the astronauts to succeed.

We Discuss Habitats, Science, and International Collaboration

The Austrian Space Forum

Twitter

Instagram

AMADEE 18 Website

AMADEE 18 Press Kit

Other Analogue Coverage

Episode 7 – Sitting in a Tin Can (feat. Casey Stedman), covering the NASA HERA Analog mission

Episode 12 – Mission to sMars (feat. HISEAS IV), covering the NASA HISEAS IV year-long mission in Hawai’i

New Products in the WeMartians Shop

Opportunity’s 5000 sols celebration design, EXTRA NOMINAL

The Falcon Heavy TWENTYSEVEN design, now in a pullover hoodie!

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Learn about the Orbiter Level ($1/month)

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*WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/*

37 – Red Car for the Red Planet Feb 13, 2018

After years of delays, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket has finally flown, sending a test payload of a Tesla Roadster with a mannequin called Starman to interplanetary space. With the launch, it becomes the most powerful rocket in the world. Jake, along with Anthony from the Main Engine Cut Off podcast, travelled to Florida to watch the launch from the Kennedy Space Center Press Site and returns to talk about the history, development and future of this fantastic launch vehicle.

We Discuss SpaceX, Falcon Heavy and BFR

Other Coverage of Falcon Heavy

Get the Falcon Heavy T-Shirt from our Shop

TWENTYSEVEN T-Shirt for Men and Women

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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Additional clips from the Walt Disney Corporation, RCA Records, CBS & SpaceX used under Fair Use.

Clips from NASA used under public domain.

36 – Systems Engineering InSight (feat. Farah Alibay) Jan 30, 2018

This year is a Mars launch window, and NASA is taking full advantage of it with their Discovery-class InSight mission. This little lander will launch in May and land on Mars in November. Farah Alibay is a Payload Systems Engineer on this mission, and she joins Jake to talk about InSight’s objectives, integrating the instruments with the spacecraft, and the MarCO technology demonstrator.

We Discuss NASA InSight and MarCO

Past Coverage of InSight

Episode 2: Every Twenty Six Months (February 2016)
Episode 18: The State of Mars 2017 (January 2017)
Episode 35: The State of Mars 2018 (January 2018)

Follow Farah and JPL

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Twitter and Instagram
Farah’s Instagram

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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

35 – The State of Mars 2018 (feat. Brendan Byrne & Emilee Speck) Jan 16, 2018

It’s a new year, and another trip around the sun exploring Mars. Emilee Speck & Brendan Byrne return to the show to continue a new tradition of covering the year that passed and the year that will be. From robotic exploration of Mars rovers and spacecraft to the endless saga of NASA’s human spaceflight program, we take a step back and examine everything going on.

Miss last year’s Sate of Mars 2017? Check it out here!

We discuss Mars, Robotic, Human and Otherwise

Methane Bursts on Mars (The Verge)
Opportunity survives 8th winter (Space.com)
- Recommended Episode to learn more: Episode 29: A Teenage Rover (feat. Mike Seibert)
Curiosity’s Wheels Breaking Down (Space.com)
Curiosity celebrates 5 years, rock drill still out (Space.com)
- Recommended Episode to learn more: Episode 28: Five Years of Being Curious (feat. Emily Lakdawalla)
InSight launching in 2018 (nasa.gov)
SLS Delayed (The Verge)
Mars is very expensive (Ars Technica)
- Recommended Episode to learn more: Off the Cuff “Should SLS Be Cancelled?” (for $1+ Patrons)
Deep Space Gateway Plans Announced (Ars Technica)
- Recommended Episode to learn more: Off the Cuff “NASA’s Roadmap to Mars” (for $1+ Patrons)
NASA Pivots to the Moon (Inverse.com)
- Recommended Episode to learn more: Episode 34: From the Moon to Mars (feat. Laura Forczyk)
National Geographic’s MARS series renewed (Deadline.com)

Follow Emilee and Brendan

Emilee on Twitter (@EMSpeck)
Emilee’s Space Coverage (ClickOrlando.com)
News 6 WKMG Facebook (Facebook.com)
Brendan on Twitter (@SpaceBrendan)
Are We There Yet Podcast on Twitter (@AWTYMars)
WMFE Space (wmfe.org)

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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, and “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**Introducing the Red Planet Review** Jan 05, 2018
Hello Martians!

Last month we announced some changes to our Patreon goals and rewards. One of the exciting new things we announced was the Red Planet Review, a short new weekly series that will cover the Mars headlines of the week. It’s a fun way for Jake to explore more topical things happening at Mars without filling up the intros of the main episodes with updates.

Going forward, RPR will be available exclusively to our Patrons who contribute $3 or more per month on Patreon. But for the first episode, we’d like to share it with everyone and give them the chance to see what being a Patron is like. So for this one time, you’ll hear it here in the main podcast feed.

So go ahead, check it out and let us know what you think! If you like it, consider joining the dozens of others who help keep this show going by contributing financially.

Headlines for January 5th 2018

NASA to train astronauts in Mexican Desert (Riviera Maya News)

Methane on Mars continues to spur questions (Science Magazine)

ExoMars CaSSIS to get upgrade image compression software (@ExoMars_CaSSIS on Twitter)

Curiosity exits its holiday plan to continue exploring Vera Rubin Ridge (AGU Blog)

Opportunity waits for Orbital data at a fork in the road (NASA)

American Girl releases “Girl of the Year”, 11-year old Chilean Luciana Vega who wants to go to Mars (azcentral)

Follow Jake & WeMartians

Website (www.wemartians.com)

Patreon (www.patreon.com/wemartians) (Remember, $3+/month gets you weekly access to more Red Planet Review)

Shop (shop.wemartians.com)

Twitter (@we_martians)

Facebook (@wemartians)

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BONUS – New Year, New Patreon, New Shop Dec 22, 2017

Hopefully everyone is having a great holiday break. I wanted to take the opportunity during this downtime to share some of the cool stuff we just launched!

This podcast is the audio version of the blog posts we put out early this week for the listeners who don’t follow along on the website or our social media. We think the message is too important to wait, and this way we don’t have to clutter up our first episode with 10 minutes of housekeeping!

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Happy Holidays!

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

34 – From the Moon to Mars (feat. Laura Forczyk) Dec 05, 2017

The US Vice President Mike Pence announced that the United States would be returning to the Moon. But for NASA, this is a change from the “Journey to Mars”. So what does this mean for human spaceflight, especially for the goal of getting people on the Red Planet? Space Consultant Laura Forczyk, founder of Astralytical, joins Jake to discuss the moving goal posts of the space community and what it means for Mars. Hopefully, we’ll get to the bottom of this ever-present debate.

We discuss the Moon and Mars

NASA’s switch from Mars to Moon, after Vice President Mike Pence’s announcement at the first National Space Council meeting
The response from space companies, like SpaceX and Blue Origin
The role of international partners like ESA, CNSA, Roscosmos and more
What’s next for Mars and what to look for in the future

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WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

33 – Camping at Mars (feat. Danielle Richey & Steve Jolly) Nov 15, 2017

Mission designs for human trips to Mars are common, but Lockheed Martin’s “Mars Base Camp” is something fresh. That’s because it’s a collaborative, orbit-first, science-focused approach, so it means the plan is a realistic path forward from NASA’s Deep Space Gateway. Complete with a habitat, a laboratory, propulsion, power and two Orion capsules, it’s a complete beachhead for a human trip to the red planet. It’s even got a lander! Listen to engineers Danielle Richey & Steve Jolly join Jake to talk about the idea and how it might become real.

Links

Key Twitter Follows

Danielle Richey (@dmrichey)
Rob Chambers (@marsbasecamper)
Tim Chichan (@timcichan)
Lockheed Martin (@lockheedmartin)
Mars Base Camp Hashtag (#marsbasecamp)
You can reach Steve via Email if you have questions

Official Lockheed Martin Content

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

**32 – The Four Winds of Mars (feat. Lori Fenton)** Oct 24, 2017
The plains of Meridiani Planum, where the Opportunity Rover is currently exploring, is home to many surface features, but none are as stunning and the wind-formed dunes and ripples. How do these features form, and what significance do they have on the overall climate and history of Mars? The SETI Institute’s Lori Fention, an aeolian geomorphologist, joins Jake to talk all about these sandy structures and share the beauty of their past and present.

**Links**

Lori’s Twitter Acount (@LoriKFenton)

Lori’s Blog @ Cosmic Diary

The SETI Institute (website)

SETI Institute Twitter (@SETIInstitute)

SETI Institute Facebook (@SETIInstitute)

Big Picture Science Podcast

Lori’s SETI Talk on Dunes

Below: Dunes, TARs then Ripples.

*WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/*

31 – The Interplanetary Business Case (feat. Chantelle Dubois) Oct 03, 2017

On Friday, September 29th in Adelaide, Australia, Elon Musk presented SpaceX’s new update to the Interplanetary Transport System. The update to last year’s presentation focused on how to make this concept more real and specifically how to fund it. To get some fresh perspective on the business case, the University of Manitoba’s Chantelle Dubois joins Jake to discuss rocket stockpiles, fleet consolidation, and how this plan plays out across government and commercial space.

Links

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

30 – Keeping Track of Curiosity (feat. Fred Calef) Sep 19, 2017

Without GPS, keeping track of our Martian explorers is no easy task. Data management for the thousands of photos, especially their locations, is in fact a full time job. Fred Calef, JPL’s “Keeper of the Maps” joins Jake to talk all about how we build a base map for Curiosity to help scientists get the right context for their geologic studies.

Links

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

29 – A Teenage Rover (feat. Mike Seibert) Sep 05, 2017

For over 13 years, NASA’s Opportunity Rover has been exploring Meridiani Planum on Mars. The determined spacecraft has faced a lot of challenges through its mission, not least of which is continuing to operate in the harsh Martian environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mike Seibert joins Jake to talk about all the intricacies of operating a spacecraft another world away.

Links

Mike’s Twitter Account (@mikeseibert)
Opportunity’s 13th Birthday Video
Planetary Society’s latest update on Opportunity
Breakdown of Curiosity’s Sampling Subsystem, which Mike works on now

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

28 – Five Years of Being Curious (feat. Emily Lakdawalla) Aug 15, 2017

It’s been five years since NASA’s Curiosity Rover touched down on the surface of Mars, and it’s been doing all kinds of science as it climbs the slopes of Mt. Sharp ever since. Taking a step back, what have we learned from this flagship mission so far? The Planetary Society’s Emily Lakdawalla joins Jake to discuss how Curiosity has pushed the limits of spacecraft engineering, operations, and science.

Links

Emily’s Twitter Account (@elakdawalla)
Emily’s Profile on the Planetary Society
7 Minutes of Terror Video
JPL’s 5 year review of Curiosity

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

27 – The Policy of Mars (feat. Casey Dreier) Jul 25, 2017

Despite a growing influence of private organizations in the space industry, government still holds a lot of power in the direction of exploration. Space policy is a messy, complicated and mysterious affair. The Planetary Society’s Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy, joins Jake to talk about the current affairs of Mars exploration, from the robotic side to the human side.

Links

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

26 – Remembering Pathfinder Jul 04, 2017

On July 4th, 1997, NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission touched down on Mars, ending a 15 years period where no spacecraft operated in the Red Planet. Twenty years later, the mission’s impact on our understand of Mars is still felt. Jake is joined by Matt Golombek (Project Scientist), Brian Muirhead (Flight Systems Manager & Deputy Project Manager), Donna Shirley (Mars Exploration Program Manager), and Tanya Harrison (Planetary Scientist) who recount the story and explain why the mission plays such an important role in the last two decades of Mars exploration.

Links

The original Pathfinder Press Kit for Landing Day at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch Footage
Paper by Matt Golombek on the Mission
CNN Coverage of the Landing
- Part 1
- Part 2

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture”, “Electrodoodle”, “We Got Trouble”, “Aretes” and “Heartwarming” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Additional sound effects by Sentuniman licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

25 – Building a Rover (feat. Abbie Hutty) Jun 13, 2017

Europe’s ExoMars program has already kicked off with the Trace Gas Orbiter, currently manoeuvring downward to its final science orbit. But ExoMars is not limited to a single mission. By 2020, ESA hopes to launch the first European rover to the Red Planet. Abbie Hutty, a Lead Spacecraft Structures Engineer, comes on to talk about what it takes to design, test and build a rover chassis, from wheels to mast, and what this rover means in the broader view of Mars exploration and international cooperation.

Links

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

24 – Risks and Rewards (feat. Leonard David) May 23, 2017

All the obstacles in spaceflight can theoretically be broken down in to subsets of risk. Whether personal risk, programmatic risk, financial risk or professional risk, these are the things holding back individuals and organizations from accomplishing goals. What does this mean for Mars and how can we overcome it? Jake sits down with award-winning journalist Leonard David to explore this topic and try to understand what steps must be taken next to continue towards the objective of putting people on the Red Planet.

Links

Leonard’s panel on Risk at Humans to Mars 2017 (skip to 4:02:43)
- Bill Maher’s Earth Day Video Editorial (this is what is supposed to be playing in the gap in the above live stream, but couldn’t be re-posted due to copyright rules)
Buzz Aldrin/Leonard David book Mission to Mars – My Vision for Space Exploration
Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet (companion book to the National Geographic series MARS)
Leonard David’s Website

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

23 – Esker Questions (feat. Frances Butcher) May 02, 2017

On Earth, geologists are pretty familiar with the concept of an esker, a snake-like ridge formation left behind by a receding glacier. Across our planet they can be found in areas where glaciers once dominated the landscape. The same is true on Mars, but eskers also require a time when glaciers could melt. Frances Butcher, a PhD student from the Open University, talks with Jake about these special kinds of Martian eskers that indicate a warmer, wetter environment than we once thought.

Links

Mars Timekeeping from the Planetary Society
The Martian Calendar from the Planetary Society
Frances’ abstract from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
HiRISE image of the esker system Frances is studying
- Analgyph version if you’ve got 3D glasses

Further Listening

Don’t Panic Geocast has some great episodes on eskers if you want to delve in to more of the science behind them. Episode 51 goes over them in detail.

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

22 – The Orbital Martians (feat. Ben Etherington & David Fourman) Apr 11, 2017

In a mashup episode that combines the formats of The Orbital Mechanics, a great weekly spaceflight podcast, and WeMartians, Jake, Ben and David explore a variety of Mars topics. Delve in to history as we mark the 37th anniversary since Viking 2’s batteries gave out and learn about the spacecraft and its mission. Ben walks us through NASA’s new Road Map to Mars, a flight plan for SLS and Orion leading all the way to the 2030s. Then, we explore SpaceX’s Red Dragon mission and learn about the four candidate landing sites being considered when the Hawthorne-based company makes its first landing on the Red Planet in 2021.

You’ll also hear some of the great segments from The Orbital Mechanics, like #ThisWeekSF, upcoming spaceflight events, and space news. Note: If you are already a subscriber of The Orbital Mechanics, their episode 104 will be mostly the same content with some different introductions, ie. the same episode appears in both feeds.

Links

The Orbital Mechanics (subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher)

#ThisWeekSF (This Week in SpaceFlight History) – Viking 2

Apollo Applications Program
Voyager Mars (Photo 1 and Photo 2)
Camera System (Weird Photo of imaging team)
Astrobiology Instrument Schematic
Jake’s KSP History Post on Viking 2 (from his past life)

Spaceflight News

Questions, Comments and Corrections

Reddit – Insight into Falcon 9 Octoweb Construction

Red Dragon & its Landing Sites

Space News Article
Jake’s Landing Site Map
- Red X = Crashed/Failed Landing
- Green Circle = Successful Landing
- Yellow Question Mark = Candidate sites for Mars2020/ExoMars
- Space “X” – Red Dragon Landing Site Candidates
Deuteronilus Mensae (Photo 1 & Photo 2)
Phlegra Montes (Photo 1 & Photo 2)
Utopia Planitia (Photo 1 & Photo 2)
Arcadia Planitia (Photo 1 & Photo 2)

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

21 – LPSC 2017 Mar 28, 2017

Every year, upwards of 2,000 planetary scientists descend upon a suburb of Houston to discuss the latest findings, share the work, and learn something new. A lot of Mars happens at these conferences, so WeMartians decided to attend it in person! Jake catches up with old friends, makes some new ones, and explores Mars like never before.

Links

History

The original Lunar Science Conference poster from 1970

Pre-Conference

Microsymposium 58 Website

Oral Session Highlights

NASA Night

Poster Sessions

Human Exploration

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

20 – Mars2020 Landing Site Candidates Mar 07, 2017

Ahead of the science, the surface operations, the tricky landing, interplanetary cruise, & launch of a NASA flagship class rover like Mars2020, the difficult decision of where to send the mission must be made. For the successor of Curiosity, this process is nearing completion as the 3rd workshop has narrowed the remaining candidates to three. Jake takes a long look at the mission requirements, landing site criteria, and Mars mapping techniques before exploring Jezero Crater, North East Syrtis and Gusev Crater to see what secrets might lie beneath the regolith.

Links

The Mars2020 Mission

Mapping Mars

The Landing Sites

Google Mars KMZ file to explore the landing ellipses on Google Earth

Jezero Crater

Jezero HIRISE image
SETI Talk with Tim Goudge (53:37), who led the Jezero team’s presentation

North East Syrtis

NE Syrtis HIRISE Image

Gusev Crater/Columbia Hills

Columbia Hills HIRISE Image
Spirit’s Traverse
Why Return to the Columbia Hills? by Alex Longo

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

19 – Dome Sweet Dome (feat. Kelsey Lents and Jeffrey Montes) Feb 14, 2017

A surface mission to Mars will involve a lengthy stay in a harsh environment. Many have argued that this could be a psychologically draining experience as astronauts are forced into confined spaces with no light, perhaps underground away from harsh radiation. But architects Kelsey Lents and Jeffrey Montes don’t believe that’s necessary. They and their teams helped design the Mars Ice House, a 3D-printed ice dome that caught the eye of NASA and became a feasibility study to build a surface habitat.

LINKS (Mars Ice House)

Mars Ice House – The initial concept and first place winner of NASA’s Centennial Challenge
Video on Mars Ice House
Mars Ice House – NASA Awards Announcement (1st place winner)

LINKS (Mars Ice Home)

Clouds AO Project Page
NASA Article on Feasibility Study

LINKS (Clouds AO)

LINKS (SEArch+)

WeMartians music is “RetroFuture” and “Electrodoodle” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

18 – The State of Mars 2017 (feat. Brendan Byrne & Emilee Speck) Jan 24, 2017

The year 2016 was a big one for Mars, and 2017 might be even bigger yet. We’re joined by two space reporters from Orlando to talk about the highlights of last year in Mars exploration, and look ahead to 2017, which promises to take us closer to the Red Planet. Brendan Byrne is a reporter from WMFE Orlando and the host of “Are We There Yet?”, a podcast about space exploration. Emilee Speck is a reporter from WKMG with a passion for planetary missions.

LINKS

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

17 – Canada CanMars, too! (feat. Eric Pilles) Dec 13, 2016

NASA currently operates two rovers on the surface of Mars, but in the next five years that population could more than double as JPL prepares its third rover, and space agencies in Europe and China look to create their own footholds. That’s why creating a pipeline of talent that can plan, target, drive and otherwise operate these rovers is so important. Enter CanMars – an anlogue mission run by the Canadian Space Agency using real rovers here on Earth. I caught up with Eric Pilles, the planning lead for CanMars 2016, to find out how he and his team of scientists from universities across Canada are learning the ins and outs of rover ops, and how the science drives their goals.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

16 – Closed Ecological Systems (feat. Morgan Irons) Nov 29, 2016

Living and working in a remote place requires more than just food, water, shelter and air. If we’re serious about maintaining the health of our future Martian astronauts, we’ll need to pay close attention to the mental health, and we’ll need to figure out a way to make food sustainable. The idea of farming on Mars isn’t new, but the ideas of Morgan Irons, founder and Chief Science Officer of Deep Space Ecology, certainly push them forward. Her “three-zone model” promises to create a closed ecological system that won’t collapse under pressure. Morgan joins us to tell us all about her startup and the way she sees future habitats working.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

15 – The Frosty Plains of Utopia Planitia (feat. Cassie Stuurman) Nov 15, 2016

Some call water the “oil of the solar system” because of its importance in our eventual exploration of other planets. Finding new sources and learning about how to access it plays a key role in our future. Using the SHARAD instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Cassie Stuurman and a team at University of Texas at Austin discovered a massive deposit of ice in the northern plains of Utopia Planitia. Cassie joins us to tell the tale of its discovery, characterization and importance.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

14 – Methane in Stereo (feat. Nicolas Thomas) Nov 01, 2016

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter’s primary mission is to hunt down sources of trace gasses in the orbiter and characterize them. Chief among these chemicals is Methane, and when it is isolated on the surface, we’re going to want to know what that place looks like. Enter the Colour and Stereo Surface Imagine System, a state of the art instrument that can take stereo images of the surface, allowing us to see Mars in 3D. Nicolas Thomas, Principal Investigator of the instrument, joins us to tell us all about this fascinating device, including its operations, how it targets science and why finding methane is so important.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

13 – Making Humans Multiplanetary (feat. Anthony Colangelo) Oct 04, 2016

Elon Musk has now bore his heart (of gold) to the world. His plans for making humans multiplanetary have been shared with us, including his incredible 42-engine reusable booster, his 100-person interplanetary spaceship, and his vision for colonizing Mars. Together they form the SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System, and they are nothing if not bold. I’m joined by Anthony Colangelo from the Main Engine Cut Off Podcast to talk more about this vision, including some of the realities of making it possible, the challenges they’ll face, and how to bring partners like NASA on board for the ride.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

12 – Mission to sMars (feat. the crew of HI-SEAS IV) Sep 20, 2016

Understanding human social behaviour under conditions of remote isolation, close quarters, and constrained resources will one day be critical to successfully executing a crewed mission to Mars. Analogues and simulations provide a useful tool to learn these tactics. HI-SEAS IV (Hawaii Space Exploration Analogue and Simulation) is one such experiment, and six crewmembers recently exited after an entire year in a dome on the slopes of a Hawaiian volcano. We spoke with all six members of the crew and learned a lot of valuable lessons, not least of which is the power of the human spirit and ability to make anything possible.

This special episode features interviews with all six members of the HI-SEAS IV crew, who recently completed a 1 year simulated Mars mission on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Crew members include Sheyna Gifford, Carmel Johnston, Cyprien Verseux, Christiane Heinicke, Andrzej Stewart and Tristan Bassingthwaighte.

Links

Crew Twitter Accounts

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Additional sound effects by Sentuniman, caquet, jandrasounds, breyenkatz, lolamadeus, klankbeeld, and bewagne, all licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

11 – Mad About Manganese (feat. Nina Lanza) Aug 23, 2016

The Mars Curiosity Rover has an impressive suite of instruments, but none incite as much excitement as ChemCam, a laser/camera combo that vaporizes rocks and analyzes their components. ChemCam is firing more than it ever has before, and Nina Lanza, a staff scientist on its team, is helping make some pretty remarkable discoveries with it. On this episode, Nina tells us about a high concentration of manganese recently uncovered that tells us a lot about Mars’ past, and suggests that it might have been complete with a lot more oxygen than we initially thought.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

10 – Science meets Engineering on the 2020 Rover (feat. Sarah Milkovich) Aug 02, 2016

NASA’s next flagship Mars mission will put the generation of their rovers on the surface of Mars. With the working title of Mars2020, the rover will improve upon the Curiosity design that so far has been wildly successful. But putting together a rover, even one with a borrowed design, is not easy. Sarah Milkovich, a Science Systems Engineer with JPL, tells us about the challenges of bridging the gap between science and engineering on a $2 billion rover.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

9 – Riding Ions (feat. Joe Cassady) Jul 21, 2016

Electric vehicles aren’t just taking over our roads – they’re taking over our orbits, too! Solar electric propulsion is a cutting edge technology that allows spacecraft to change velocity up to an order of magnitude more efficiently than traditional chemical rockets. Joe Cassady from Aerojet Rocketdyne and Explore Mars talks with us about how this propulsion works, it’s power requirements, the development status, and how we’ll use it to eventually send cargo to Mars in support of human exploration.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

8 – Gullies on Mars (feat. Tanya Harrison) Jul 01, 2016

Increasingly, Mars is appearing to us as a living, breathing world with dynamic features. One such feature that has captivated planetary scientists around the world is the occurrence of Martian Gullies, channels carved into the surface as if by water, in a world where flowing water is not exactly common. We talk with Tanya Harrison, a planetary scientist and geologist from the University of Western Ontario. She tells us all about gullies on Mars, how they might be formed, and what scientists are doing about it to learn more in the search for life on Mars.

Links

WeMartians Theme Song is “RetroFuture” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

7 – Sitting in a Tin Can (feat. Casey Stedman) Jun 10, 2016

NASA and other space organizations have used mission analogues to simulate various aspects of space travel since the dawn of the space age. As humanity steps closer to deep space and eventually Mars, new analogues are being developed to represent the new challenges we’ll face. HERA (Human Exploration Research Analogue) is one such mission, and crew member Casey Stedman gives us an inside look at the exciting challenges he faced while stuck inside a habitat for 30 days.

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