Universe Today Podcast

BONUS PART STARTS AT 31:55
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OVcy19IcuIg
🟣 Guest: Dr. Dave Deboer
📜 The Lunar Farside Transients and Technology Telescope (LFT3) Mission https://arxiv.org/pdf/2607.25762
https://lft3.space/
A radio telescope on the far side of the Moon should become a reality very soon. How will it operate? What science will it do? Who and how will deliver it? Finding out in this interview.
00:00 Intro

01:59 Why the far side of the Moon?

08:01 Possible science

20:47 The potential survey

23:20 Getting to the Moon

31:55 Epoch of reionization

43:27 Current obsessions

46:03 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 17:28
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6utGiIvm2LE
Is combining multiple space telescopes the way to go? Can we detect ice-shell exoplanets? How feasible would a Starship space base be? And in Q&A+, why didn't CMB go past us?
00:00 Intro

00:39 [@estraume] Space telescopes flying in formation

08:53 [@goatlord51] Do we have anything that can detect ice shell exo-planets?

14:26 [@kipnielsen8752] How feasible would a starship space station be?

17:28 [@zephyr9673] Why didn't CMB go past us?

19:59 Final thoughts

BONUS PART START AT 15:19
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hCgllDUvjMk
Interview with Martin Elvis about the Moon: https://youtu.be/CvFMw-kXIzs
Astronomy Cast video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZdAB_hwPeA
Maybe we won’t be living on cities on the Moon. A fresh new crater on the Moon, and it’s a biggie. Roman perfect launch adds years to its mission. Did the Sun eat a planet? And in Space Bites+, Mercury is shrinking faster than we thought.
00:00 Intro

00:42 Problems for Moon Cities https://www.universetoday.com/articles/dont-get-your-hopes-up-for-a-city-on-the-moon

03:32 New Crater https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/nasas-moon-orbiter-spots-new-once-in-century-moon-crater/

04:44 Roman Mission Already Extended https://www.universetoday.com/articles/from-10-to-22-years-the-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescopes-mission-has-just-been-extended
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/2026/09/15/nasa-activates-romans-primary-instrument-checks-out-coronagraph/

08:34 Black Hole Hair https://www.universetoday.com/articles/if-black-holes-have-hair-we-will-see-it-in-the-ringdown-of-their-mergers

10:23 Vote results 10:45 The Sun May Have Swallowed a Planet https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-sun-may-have-swallowed-a-planet

13:17 Beauty by Webb https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-searches-for-brown-dwarfs-in-a-stunning-star-forming-region

15:19 BONUS STORY

17:40 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 09:07
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/koZUXaCXpYA
When Kepler failed, why didn't we just build another one? Do we know about all the potentially dangerous asteroids? Could one just come out of nowhere? And in Q&A+, which planets are more difficult to visit (the answer will surprise you)?
00:00 Intro

00:22 [@paulcockerill4260] Why didn't NASA build another Kepler?

05:16 [@SeanMann-o6v] Are the near earth asteroids all known?

09:07 [@davew1959] Which planets are easier to visit?

13:49 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 32:27
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6h5It3GnTGI
Titan Dragonfly is one of the most exciting missions in development. But it'll have its limits. For example, it won't go into caves on Titan. Which are super interesting. But this NIAC project will study a robot that should be able to go there.
🟣 Guest: Dr. Daniel Drew https://danieldrew.me/
📜 Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst (SPARK) https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/solid-state-propulsion-for-autonomous-reconnaissance-of-karst-spark/
👉 All 2026 NIAC Selections https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections/
00:00 Intro

01:31 What is karst

05:59 The NIAC project

23:28 Alternative use cases

27:48 Earth-based version

32:27 Using robots in Hawaii

39:15 Current obsessions

46:36 Final thoughts