Guest: Leonard David; Topics: Leonard's new book, "Mars: Our Future On The Red Planet," Mars TV series, human challenges for Mars and a heck of a lot more! Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed Leonard David back to the show for this 1 hour 52 minute discussion about his new book, "Mars: Our Future On The Red Planet," the Mars television series on the National Geographic TV channel, and human voyages to Mars. During the first segment of our program, Leonard talked about writing the book and coordinating it with the Mars TV series now playing on the National Geographic TV channel.
Some of the topics we covered in the first segment not only included his new book and the TV Mars mini-series, but also ethics as humans explore Mars, planetary protection, financing missions through public-private partnerships, SpaceX and their Mars plans including their new rocket and Red Dragon, plus the upcoming Mars 2020 rover program which will let us hear the sounds of Mars and will have lots of GoPro cameras for even better video than we now have. Listeners were asking Leonard several questions by email, including one about visiting other spots in the solar system than just the Moon or Mars. Not only did Leonard address the ongoing Moon-Mars dialog but we talked about Titan and even Venus. Before the segment ended, we talked about the Breakthrough Initiatives Program.
In the second segment, I asked Leonard about the possibility of reconvening the National Space Council since that topic seems to be part of the rumor mill regarding the Trump presidency. Leonard also talked about his space book tours, both the current one and the one with his previous book with Buzz Aldrin. In fact he told us a very funny story about being with Buzz in Arkansas when someone asked Buzz about his hitting the guy who told him he was lying about going to the Moon. Don't miss this one, you will probably appreciate it.
Leonard said he wanted more information about the Musk and SpaceX plans for going to Mars. He also said he thought part of the appeal was that Musk and others talking about Mars were tapping into our future. One of the things he mentioned many times over during this segment was not understanding why space did not interest so many in the general public. Another topic was the multi-planet species argument used to rationalize humans going to Mars. Harry in St. Louis asked Leonard if he thought there was broad interest by the public in humans to Mars based on his book tour. Leonard said his audience was skewed but don't miss all his comments on this subject.
Leonard brought up his recent discussions about an Overview Effect for Mars and the effect of Earth being out of our view. He talked about his Mars book being a metaphor for many different things and topics so don't miss what he had to say about this. Near the end of the program, Leonard was asked about the stories he covered for 2016 and what he expected to be a hot story for 2017. Again, don't miss what he said in response to this question. Just before the show ended, Bryan called us to talk about the need for advanced propulsion, specifically nuclear propulsion though he also mentioned EmDrive. Leonard ended the discussion by asking how we can make space more a part of awareness by all in the population. If you have an answer to this, please post it on the blog.
Post your comments/questions for Leonard David in the comments section for this archived program on TSS website. Visit Leonard's website and blog, www.leonarddavid.com.
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