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The Supermassive Podcast
Returning to the Moon - with ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer
Climb aboard The Supermassive Rocket, Izzie and Becky are (talking about) sending humans back to the moon. Joining them on their trip is European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer and Jacki Mahaffey, the Chief Training Officer for NASA’s Artemis II mission. Plus, Dr Robert Massey, the Deputy Director of the Royal Astronomical Society, is there as well to answer your questions and share his top stargazing tips.
For more supermassive astronaut episodes, here's our episode with Samantha Cristoforetti and another with Gene Cernan.
Keep sending your questions to The Supermassive Podcast at podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram, @Supermassive Pod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm
And keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
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BONUS - What Shape is Space?
19:27|Izzie Clarke is joined by Dr Robert Massey to tackle your questions on the shape of space, measuring gravitational waves and planet spotting. We also have another - another! - astronaut: Producer Richard chats to British ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan about her background as an astrophysicist. Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share your questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.Astronauts. Do we need them?
50:04|It’s a brave question to put to three astronauts live on stage but it’s a risk we are prepared to take. Recorded in front of a live audience at the UK Space Conference in Manchester, European Space Agency astronauts Tim Peake, Meganne Christian and John McFall discuss the future of human space exploration. Could robots or AI take their place? Will a trip to the Moon be as common as flying across the Atlantic? And can humans be trusted to not mess with Mars? Host Izzie Clarke asks the big questions, producer Richard Hollingham threatens the audience, and (soft sceptic) Dr Robert Massey is prepared to be unpopular as they contemplate the role of astronauts in the 21st century. Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share your questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod. The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.BONUS - Where are Earth's rings?
12:50|What would happen if asteroid Bennu impacted Earth? Can we timelapse Saturn's rings developing? Where are Earth's rings? Plus the solar wind on Mars... The Supermassive team answer YOUR questions. Keep sending questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk, on Instagram @SupermassivePod or join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and to support the show.66. Why isn't Pluto a planet?
50:42||Ep. 66Izzie and Dr Becky decided that little ol’ Pluto doesn’t get much attention anymore. So we’re giving the dwarf planet some time in the spotlight. Why isn't Pluto a planet? How small is it? And what makes it so unique?Thank you to Prof Alan Fitzsimmons from Queens University of Belfast joining us episode.Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share you questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.BONUS - Why aren’t stars closer together?
17:40|What would happen if planets collided at a snail's pace? How much of Avengers Endgame regarding time is scientifically acceptable? Why aren't stars closer together? And the team discuss a listener's theory to terra-form Mars.Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fmAnd keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.65. Is Time Real?
57:02||Ep. 65Start your stopwatches, set your timers, turn back your clocks because Izzie and Dr Becky are talking time. What is it? How, and why, do we measure it? And is time real or a human construct?!Izzie speaks with Anne Curtis at the National Physical Laboratory who works on one of the world’s most accurate clocks, and editor Richard has been to the very heart of time itself in Greenwich with Finn Burridge at the Royal Observatory.The Supermassive Club is finally here. Join to support the show and for ad-free listening: https://supermassive.supportingcast.fm/The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.BONUS - Mole People on Mars
16:06|Should astronauts live underground on the Moon or Mars? Black hole jets, rogue planets, the big crunch (or freeze) and the Ontario question. Dr Becky, Izzie and Dr Robert Massey tackle your correspondence from the Supermassive mailbox and producer Richard makes a pronunciation intervention.The book Becky mentions is Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via Instagram @SupermassivepodThe Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.64. What is Gravity?
53:54||Ep. 64This episode is a weighty one. Some might say massive. It’s all about gravity. What is it? Why does it matter? Izzie and Dr Becky explore Einstein and Newton’s different ideas on the subject, plus Izzie visits the Royal Society to see Isaac Newton's original manuscript for his works on gravity and the laws of motion.Special thank you to listener Hanna_m_e for suggesting this episode topic and to Professor Tessa Baker, at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, and to Keith Moore, head of collections at the Royal Society for appearing on the show.See THAT coffee table here: https://youtu.be/5XlTkGEO564?si=9Z8KwTqOPk-Sf0xMIf you have a question for the team, or an episode suggestion, send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production in partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.63. BONUS - Can we gravitationally "hitch hike" out of the Solar System?
15:01||Ep. 63What the bloomin’ hell is a Gravastar? Are fast radio bursts like solar flares on steroids? Plus an interesting question on multiverses that can't be summed up in a short sentence. Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey dive into The Supermassive Mailbox and take on your questions. Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via Instagram @SupermassivepodThe Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.