The Space Show

The summary is pending

John, David and Dr. Haym Benaroya discussed the progress and ongoing challenges of human exploration and habitation on the Moon and Mars. Since 2002, significant advancements have been made in data collection and our understanding of Martian and lunar environments. These improvements were contrasted with earlier speculative or fictional portrayals of space colonization. Professor Benaroya, a mechanical and aerospace engineering expert from Rutgers University, emphasized that while technological progress has been substantial, fundamental obstacles—such as low gravity and abrasive regolith—continue to pose major challenges for sustained human presence. Please read the full summary at www.thespaceshow.com for this day and date, Wednesday, 7-9-25. In addition, it is on our Substack page for this day and date, doctorspace.substack.com.

We welcomed guest Bryant Cruz, founder of New Sapience, a company developing artificial intelligence technology that processes language in a fundamentally different way from traditional models such as ChatGPT and GROK. New Sapience’s approach involves building internal models of the world that mirror human knowledge, allowing their AI to reason and understand more like a person rather than relying on statistical language patterns.As we started the interview, I offered Bryant a quick summary of the key difference in New Sapience’s technology compared to a traditional AI company in that New Sapience does not rely on statistical word associations like current mainstream AI models. Instead, as then explained by Bryant, their system creates an internal, structured representation of knowledge—more akin to how humans comprehend and retrieve information. He emphasized that while models like ChatGPT often produce plausible responses, their accuracy can be misleading, and users should be cautious when relying on them for critical tasks. Read the full summary of this program at www.thespaceshow.com for this program on this date, July 11, 2025. You can also read the summary on our Substack page, doctorspace.substack.com.

summary pending

John and I welcomed Dr. Marchi from the SWRI in Boulder, CO to discuss his work pertaining to "The shaping of terrestrial planets by late accretions." You can review his Nature Review paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08970-8. Briefly, he and his co-author examine the "disproportionate role of the last approximately 1% of planetary growth, or late accretion, in controlling the long-term evolution of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Late accretion may have been responsible for shaping Earth’s distinctive geophysical and chemical properties and generating pathways conducive to prebiotic chemistry." During our discussion with Dr. Marchi he explained why the last 1% was so vital in the formation of Venus, Mars and Earth. Also Mercury but his comments on Mercury were a bit different. We talked about impacts being similar in nature but since each rocky planet was different, the consequences of the impacts were different. He said they were random, atmospheres made a difference and even shaped some of the consequences. Don't miss his comments about the dinosaurs and their extinction event, the role of luck, and the fact that we need to be looking for exoplanets not just for an Earth twin but also a similar impact history to Earth. When asked about our TRL for being able to do that, well, we have much to learn. In the second half John asked his usual question about having an unlimited budget. don't miss what he had to say about Venus as a priority in this four minute segment. Read the full version of this summary at www.thespaceshow.com and doctorspace.substack.com.

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John and I talked with Doug Messier for a single Hotel Mars program on SpaceX launches, the latest with Starship, including troubleshooting recent launch failures. Doug also talked costs, testing, technical problems, and timelines going forward for essential SpaceX and Starship related programs. Doug reviewed Block 1,2, and 3 for Super Heavy though he said things were not yet clear fro Block 3. Doug was asked about an ongoing risk for debris falling on populated areas. Don't miss his comment on this potential risk factor given he said they had a very thin and narrow needed to fly through over the Gulf. See the review on TSS site for this show and on our Substack page, doctorspace.substack.com.

Pending

We welcomed Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society to discuss what is termed the Skinny Budget cutting NASA programs and science. Casey went through the issues and concerns in detail. You can hear the audio archives on our website and our Substack page, doctorspace.substack.com. The video will also be archived on our Substack page.

Pending

The Space Show hosted a discussion with Dr. Saralyn Mark, focusing on space medicine, human spaceflight, and the challenges of long-duration space travel. The conversation covered topics such as the impact of space on human health, advancements in space technology, and the potential for space research to benefit medical treatments on Earth. Dr. Mark emphasized the importance of international collaboration, ethical considerations, and continued funding for space exploration to address challenges and unlock new possibilities for human health and space colonization. See the full summary at both www.thespaceshow.com for this program and the same on our Substack page, doctorspace.substack.com.

Summary is upcoming

Dr. Robert Bishop of Texas A&M was welcomed to the program to discuss and cover a range of topics related to space exploration, technology, and education, with a focus on Texas A&M University's involvement in these areas. Discussions included technical issues, SpaceX developments, radio show logistics, and the structure of Texas A&M's engineering programs, particularly their new space engineering initiative and research partnerships. The conversation also touched on broader themes such as national security, commercial space activities, and ethical considerations in space exploration, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of current and future space endeavors.

Summary forthcoming

John and I welcomed back to Hotel Mars Eric Berger of Ars Technica for a one segment update and discussion regarding SpaceX, Musk & Starship. Eric was asked what the SpaceX testing success of Starship would look like. Our guest said he did not know. We talked about the upcoming Demo Test #10, possible hardware issues and even the possibility of assembly issues. Our guest expanded on this part of our conversation. Starship and the planned Moon launch were mentioned, we talked about testing ins LEO and the need to develop and test fueling in LEO. Eric also mentioned the fuels that Starship would use and need testing concerning possible boil off and more. Before ending the segment, he was asked about the feud between Musk and President Trump. Eric said it was hard to predict but probably Musk would walk back some of what he said regarding President Trump. He pointed out how important SpaceX was to the government on both space and national security. While the FAA could slow walk permits in retaliation for some of what Musk said, he did not see that happening at this time.

We welcomed Dave Barnhart, CEO and Co-founder of Arkisys, Inc., back to the program to share updates since his last appearance on May 2, 2023. The conversation focused on developments in the growing field of space servicing and the evolving commercial space industry. Dave provided a comprehensive update on Arkisys’s Port project, highlighting increased interest from the U.S. Space Force, the Space Development Agency, and other key government and private stakeholders. He discussed concepts such as deorbit augmentation and post-launch integration, offering specific examples of potential business opportunities emerging from these efforts. R&D and funding were key parts of the discussion. Dave explained how Arkisys is reducing risk through terrestrial experimentation, with a strong emphasis on rendezvous and transport capabilities via their Cutter vehicle. Listener questions focused on space logistics, satellite servicing markets, and the economic implications of declining launch costs. Dave noted that as launch prices continue to fall, the economics of on-orbit servicing become significantly more challenging and competitive. Later in the program, Dave introduced two major industry consortiums: COSMIC, a U.S.-only initiative, and CONFERS, which has a global scope despite being based in the U.S. He emphasized the importance of establishing industry norms and standards—an area of growing importance as the space economy matures. As the discussion wrapped up, Dave outlined Arkisys’s five-year plan, which includes deploying up to three Port modules, potentially connected, along with using the Cutter vehicle to ferry payloads to and from the Port. While human spaceflight is not currently part of their roadmap, he expressed interest in supporting human spaceflight companies with the Port platform in the future. Dave also addressed the use of AI in Arkisys operations—be sure to catch his insights on that topic. Before concluding, he shared updates on internships and future hiring plans. Earlier in the conversation, he enthusiastically described Arkisys's mentorship of student teams focused on in-space construction, noting a significant year-over-year increase in participation, underscoring growing interest in this sector.

I introduced Marcus Chown, an award-winning writer and former radio astronomer at Caltech, to discuss his latest book "A Crack in Everything: How Black Holes Came in from the Cold and Took Cosmic Center Stage." Marcus shared his personal journey into astronomy, inspired by his father's gift of an astronomy book and witnessing the moon landing as a child. He discussed the evolution of black hole science, explaining how they were initially considered fictional but became central to understanding the universe. Marcus detailed the discovery of the first black hole in 1971 and its connection to Cygnus X-1, a binary star system where a giant star is being pulled into a black hole, emitting X-rays. He also explained how supermassive black holes were discovered before stellar mass black holes, with the Hubble Space Telescope revealing their prevalence in galaxies. Marcus clarified that light from black holes does not escape from within but is emitted by matter swirling around them before falling in. Much more was discussed during this 77 minute listener and guest discussion.

John and I welcomed Casey Dreier from The Planetary Society to the program to go over the proposed NASA space and science budget cuts and project eliminations. Casey suspected the direction for the cuts originated out of OMB without much space guidance or thought. He identified several of the projects and programs identified for either a budget cut such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to the New Horizons and Venus missions being totally eliminated. Casey also talked about the bleak future for SLS and the Gateway for their demise post Artemis 3. Casey talked about their being a shift to commercial Moon missions but with little detail and clarity. Cislunar development, cargo and resupply to the ISS, the future for the private space stations, Mars and EDL for Mars plus demos all were part of our discussion. In Part 2, John talked about the robotic missions including existing missions plus the future missions, all of course depending on robots. Casey worked in commentary about cuts and changes for both JPL and Goddard, two very important and key Nasa centers. Before concluding the program, our guest was asked about the impact of the layoffs for NASA scientists and engineers. Casey suggested they would have an uncertain future ahead of them as their might not be abundant job opportunities for these important skills. Read the full summary at The Space Show website, www.thespaceshow.com and also at doctorspace.substack.com.

We welcomed Jim Meigs from the Manhattan Institute to the program to discuss his paper, "U.S. Space Policy: The Next Frontier", space news including a changed in the proposed NASA Administrator plus the argument with President Trump and Elon Musk. The meeting considered the potential impact of the dispute and administrator change on space policy and projects, including NASA's future leadership and priorities. Jim, along with program participants on both Zoom and the live stream explored various challenges and uncertainties surrounding NASA's human space program, including budget concerns, mission timelines, and the need for private sector involvement. The group also discussed potential alternatives for U.S. space exploration, including more collaboration between different commercial space companies, while addressing the ongoing feud between Trump and Musk. Programs such as Artemis, Starship, timelines, even the need to restructure the FAA for both aviation and space plus NASA as a more entrepreneurial organization were both part of our discussion and Jim's paper. Please read the full summary of this program on The Space Show archives and our Substack page, doctorspace.substack.com.