Guest: Dr. Louis Friedman; Topics: Asteroid Redirect Mission and Dr. Friedman's new book, "Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars." 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. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience.
We welcomed Dr. Louis Friedman back to the show, this time to discuss the NASA Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) and his new book, "Human Spaceflight: From Mars to the Stars." Our program used the one hour format so today's program summary used just one segment. We started our discussion with Dr. Friedman providing us with updates on the ARM & we learned that the ARM was alive and well. Dr. Friedman also said the ARM will actually enable getting back to the moon sooner. Don’t miss his explanation of this. Dr. Friedman talked about the role of SLS and Orion with ARM, planned robotic missions to the asteroid and an eventual human mission.
Our ARM discussion was followed with our talking about his book for the rest of the show. Regarding his book, Dr. Friedman proposed the idea that humans will go to Mars but then stop. Beyond Mars, human exploration will be carried out via further advances in technology with robotics, nanotechnology, biotech plus other disciplines. He pointed out that after 50 years of human spaceflight, there have been far more technology advances than advances in the life support areas supporting human spaceflight.
Listeners asked Dr. Friedman about other solar system destinations like Venus, Ceres, the Moon, and even moons of other planets. See if you agree with what Dr. Friedman said about these and other possible solar system destinations.
We talked about timelines for humans to Mars, why Mars was and is so special for most people, and the need, if any, for space settlement, especially on the Moon and on Mars. BJohn wanted to know about going to Phobos, one of the two Martian moons. Jackie wanted to know about the ideas expressed by author Kim Stanley Robinson in his book "Aurora."
Near the end of the program, I then asked Lou about the audience response to his ideas based on his speaking appearances about his book. Note what he said about the space enthusiast community as compared to a general audience. Before the show ended, another listener asked Lou what our TRL (technology readiness level) was for going to Mars today or in the near future. BJohn asked if space settlement would be undertaken by microbes! Do not miss Dr. Friedman's concluding comments.
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