radiation

Guest: Dr. Ethan Siegel was the guest for this Space Show program. Dr. Siegel is an astrophysicist at the University of Arizona and thus was highly qualified for the cosmological discussion which made up most of this program. We began our discussion with good working definitions for both cosmology and astrophysics. As you will hear, Dr. Siegel is a superb teacher and the use of humor weighs in strongly in how he presents his information, including from his website http://startswithabang.com.

Guest: David Dunlop, the Director of Project Development for The Moon Society (www.moonsociety.org), was the guest for this special two hour program. We started our discussion talking with David about why we should be returning to the Moon rather than going to Mars or a NEO. Listen to what he says and see if you agree. Also, would you go to the Moon to have a McDonalds' hamburger for lunch? He invites one of our listeners to do this and you will want to hear this somewhat playful discussion as well.

Guest: Dr. James A. Dewar. Dr. James Dewar returned to The Space Show to explain and discuss nuclear rockets and what they would mean for space and economic development were they to be used to obtain low cost space access. Dr. Dewar began our discussion with a good explanation of how a nuclear rocket engine works and the advantages such an engine provides in terms of specific impulse. An engine with a higher specific impulse means a significantly larger payload can be brought to space faster than if the engine had a lower specific impulse.

Guest: Dr. John Jurist. Dr. John Jurist, long time friend and supporter of the Space Show, was the guest on this slightly over 2 hour Sunday program. In this discussion, we covered many topics including science education, human factors, the balkanization of various components of the space industry , radiation, microgravity experiments, commercial space, suborbital and orbital space tourism, spaceport talk, and more. Dr.

Dr. Kristin Shrader-Frechette was the guest for this special and important Space Show program. Dr. Shrader-Frechette spoke with us about radiation, career radiation dosages, what this means for spaceflight, even short suborbital spaceflight. She stressed over and over again during this interview that there is no safe limit for ionizing radiation and that even absorbing a small amount of this radiation in a suborbital flight can cause us health issues depending on our own body chemistry, our lifetime radiation dosages and more.

Marshall Martin provided this month's Deep Space Message. Here is the text of his message: To Whom It May Concern: By the time you receive this message, my planet Earth maybe gone and all my descendants too. Many think it will be by war or global warming. I know there are bigger problems looming like: A major asteroid impact, loss of our radiation blocking magnetic field, and or a stellar dust cloud blocking our sun's warming rays. If this happens, know that our species constantly fought with each other over power and prestige.

Laura Woodmansee, author of "Sex In Space" was the guest for the first hour of this show, followed by Open Lines for the balance of today's program. Ms. Woodmansee explained why she wrote this book, provided us with research stories and experiences, and talked about how difficult it was to get information about sex in space with astronauts, NASA and the Russians. She explained how important it was to get specific biological information in advance establishing space settlements.

Robert Bigelow was the special guest for this program to discuss Bigelow Aerospace (BA) and its program for inflatable structures and hotels in space. Mr. Bigelow responded to listener questions during the entire two hour plus program, covering topics ranging from technical to business, to visionary questions. This program is an in-depth discussion with Mr. Bigelow and you will absolutely not want to miss the show.

Dr. Pascal Lee returned to The Space Show for this program. We began our discussion with Dr. Lee about Mars and its importance with the VSE. Dr. Lee also explained why the Moon is an important part of realizing the vision to go to Mars. We also spoke about radiation issues for long term space flight to Mars and nuclear electric propulsion for faster transit times to and from Mars. Pascal then spoke to us about the importance of visiting Phobos and the Martian moons, maybe even before going to Mars. You will not want to miss this important part of this interview.

Dr. Harvey Wichman was the guest for this special Space Show program. As Dr. Wichman is an expert in human factors for space travel, suborbital as well as orbital, plus since he is the director of the Aerospace Psychology Lab at Claremont McKenna College having done various human experiments simulating space flight and cabin condition, we spent a significant amount of time discussing the wide range of factors that can and do impact people in space. Dr. Wichman was superb at breaking down what factors concern suborbital, orbital, and long term space flight.