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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 130 —Dogs on Mars, Snakes on the Moon

Dogs on Mars, Snakes on the Moon – Mars Sample Return and VIPER – YouTube


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On Episode 130 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Dr. Jim Bell about the Mars Sample Return program and VIPER mission to the moon.

NASA’s planetary exploration program is in trouble. The Mars Sample Return program is verging on cancellation, and the VIPER mission to the moon already has been. Both are critical precursors to human exploration of these places, as Dr. Jim Bell of Arizona State University will tell us. 

We need to know more about the surface of Mars — with direct, in-the-lab studies of Mars rocks – -and we certainly need to understand where the volatiles — another name for water and other resources of value — are on the moon. And, if you’re the US government, you’d like to do both before China does — which is likely not far off. 

Does it matter who achieves these things first? And specific to the US, what role might private companies and individuals play in the drama?

Space news of the week

Model Falcon 9!

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About This Week In Space

This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What’s happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars? 

Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Host of This Week In Space on TWiT

Host of This Week In Space on TWiT

Rod Pyle is an author, journalist, television producer and Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra magazine. He has written 18 books on space history, exploration, and development, including Space 2.0Innovation the NASA WayInterplanetary RobotsBlueprint for a BattlestarAmazing Stories of the Space AgeFirst On the Moon, and Destination Mars

In a previous life, Rod produced numerous documentaries and short films for The History Channel, Discovery Communications, and Disney. He also worked in visual effects on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Battlestar Galactica reboot, as well as various sci-fi TV pilots. His most recent TV credit was with the NatGeo documentary on Tom Wolfe’s iconic book The Right Stuff.

This Week In Space co-host

This Week In Space co-host

Responsible for Space.com’s editorial vision, Tariq Malik has been the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com since 2019 and has covered space news and science for 18 years. He joined the Space.com team in 2001, first as an intern and soon after as a full-time spaceflight reporter covering human spaceflight, exploration, astronomy and the night sky. He became Space.com’s managing editor in 2009. As on-air talent has presented space stories on CNN, Fox News, NPR and others.

Tariq is an Eagle Scout (yes, he earned the Space Exploration merit badge), a Space Camp veteran (4 times as a kid, once as an adult), and has taken the ultimate “vomit comet” ride while reporting on zero-gravity fires. Before joining Space.com, he served as a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering city and education beats. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity’s ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor. 

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