2024-09-25
59 分钟We return to the 2024 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium for part two of our coverage as we explore an Artemis-enabled stellar imager and an add-on to large-scale water mining operations on Mars to screen for introduced and alien life.
We're returning to the NASA Innovative Advanced Concept Symposium for a dive into stellar imaging and the search for potential life in the waters of Mars.
This week on planetary radio, I'm Sara El Ahmed of the Planetary Society, with more of the human adventure across our solar system and beyond.
Last week we visited the 2024 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts, or NIAC, symposium in Pasadena, California.
We learned more about the program and heard from two NIAC fellows and their teams about technologies that could help us send swarms of laser sails to the nearest star system or put humans in hibernation states for interplanetary travel.
Today, we're returning to the symposium to meet two more teams.
Kenneth Carpenter from NASA's Goddard Space Flight center and his colleagues will pitch their plan for an Artemis enabled stellar imager.
Then Steven Behnner from the foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and his team will tell us about their plan for a system that we could add on to large scale water mining operations on Mars that could help us screen for introduced or alien life.
But first, astronaut and NIAC external council member May Jemison honors Lou Friedman.
He's one of the co founders of the Planetary Society, and his contributions to the space community and the NIAC program absolutely deserve an award.
We'll close out with Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, to celebrate a new achievement for our light sail two mission in what's up?
Our crowdfunded solar sailing spacecraft Rip Light sale is one of the winners of this year's Gizmodo Science Fair.
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Before we get into today's show, I want to give everyone a heads up that in a week on October 2, 2024, there will be an annular eclipse in South America.
During an annular eclipse, the moon is centered in front of the sun but doesn't completely cover it, so it leaves a ring of sunlight that's visible around the moon's edges.
This upcoming annular eclipse is going to be visible from the southern tips of Argentina and Chile and some of the surrounding islands.
I'll also leave some resources for observing that on this episode page.
I particularly encourage people that are in the path of that annular eclipse to try to look at the shadows under trees.
It's one of the coolest things ever.
Happy observing to all of our south american friends this is my second year hosting the webcast for the NIAC symposium, and it was a blast.