The End of British Astronomy?

Summary

Awesome Astronomy – “The End of British Astronomy?”

Hosts: Paul & Dr Jeni
Date: February 1, 2026
Episode: #167

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Overview

This episode, entitled “The End of British Astronomy?”, explores the implications of drastic budget cuts announced for UK astronomy, placing it in the context of global science funding, particularly with NASA’s contrasting fortunes. Paul and Jeni also share recent observations, notable celestial events (including a spectacular aurora), and dig deep into the upcoming Artemis II mission’s details and crew. The conversation weaves honest mental health check-ins with informed, passionate advocacy for the value of scientific exploration, blending humor and urgency in classic Awesome Astronomy style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Host Updates and Recent Observing Experiences (00:00–13:39)

• Mental health check-in:

  • Jeni openly shares a mental health “wobble,” noting the impact of late January blues, gloomy weather, and social isolation.

    “I just think it’s important just to… be open and be like, sometimes we have little mental health wobbles and we do. It’s okay.” – Jeni [02:08]

  • Paul picks up the episode’s intro to support her and normalize these feelings.

• Recent Astronomy Outreach & Public Engagements:

  • Jeni’s talk at Regenerand Astronomical Society included an interactive session on the Drake Equation.

    “The Drake Equation...is a thought experiment thinking about the number of stars in the galaxy...what are the chances that life evolves and then what are the chances that the life become advanced?” – Jeni [03:04]

  • Radio segment trivia: both hosts discuss the thought experiment, “If I was in space and turned on a torch, how far would the light travel?”

    “The answer is forever. And then there's all sorts of fun things to think about…We always think space is a vacuum…there are gas particles and dust particles.” – Jeni [05:46]

  • Paul’s science fiction show and performing as Captain Kirk:

    “Me dressed as Captain Kirk doing me...with your shiny pants on.” [07:22]

• A Spectacular Aurora in the UK:

  • Paul describes the most vivid auroral display in three decades.

    “Literally I open the back door and without even adjusting my eyes I just went, bloody hell…utterly incredible.” – Paul [08:53]

  • Jeni, on missing the event due to rain, good-naturedly brags she’ll see the aurora in Norway soon.
  • Discussion about what causes such strong auroras (highly negative Bz, coronal holes, fast solar winds).

    “It was just amazing. And then…the clouds went, shows over, it was like da da da da da, and then the curtain came down.” – Paul [11:17]

2. The Crisis in UK Astronomy Funding (14:09–24:16)

• Reading and Reacting to the RAS Statement:

  • Jeni reads the press statement from the Royal Astronomical Society regarding 30% cuts in the budget for particle physics, astronomy, and nuclear physics by the STFC.

    “I urge the government to step in to stop what will be a catastrophe for science, deter young people from pursuing careers in discovery and innovation, and remove any notion of the UK becoming a science superpower.” – RAS President, quoted by Jeni [14:52]

• Analysis and Concerns:

  • Paul and Jeni lament a trend of British “managed decline” and retreat from science and global influence.

    “This government does not do science. It doesn't get science...when it comes to science, it's actually a bit of a vandal frankly.” – Paul [16:28 & 18:29]

  • Cuts described as “devastating,” with direct impact on foundational science and early-stage research—vital for breakthroughs elsewhere (such as AI and data science advances driven by astronomy projects).

    “Physics isn’t a luxury we can afford to throw away through confusion and cuts. Our nation’s growth and security depend upon technologies invented by physics and these in turn depend upon the physics skills, research, and infrastructure which are today under threat.” – IOP, quoted by Jeni [22:14]

• Concrete action suggested:

  • “Write to your local MP, because they need to be made aware of this. All of this is not set in stone.” – Jeni [24:16]

3. Contrast: NASA’s Funding Success (24:16–28:09)

• U.S. Funding Increases:

  • Good news from the U.S.: Congress rejects proposed NASA cuts, increasing the budget to $24.4 billion, saving missions like DAVINCI, VERITAS, New Horizons, Juno, OSIRIS-REX, and APEX.

    “Congress have completely rejected Trump’s cuts. Instead of $18.8 billion...they’ve...assigned $24.4 billion instead.” – Jeni [25:27]

• Impact:

  • This is the highest NASA budget (adjusted for inflation) since 1998, signaling strong institutional support and advocacy in the U.S.

    “Well done to all those Americans who wrote to their representatives...Congratulations on saving science in America for another year.” – Paul [27:40], Jeni [27:52]

4. Artemis II: Deep Dive into the Upcoming Lunar Mission (28:09–58:19)

• Excitement and Media Silence:

  • Both hosts comment on surprisingly low media coverage of the upcoming Artemis II mission, which will send humans around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.

    “We’re about to launch some humans to go around the other side of the moon...but I’m a bit sort of...yeah, yeah.” – Paul [29:08]

• Mission Preparation and Timeline:

  • SLS Rocket with Orion capsule moved to the launch pad on January 17th, 2026.

  • Details on the “wet dress rehearsal”—a 49-hour final systems test involving a full load of 2.6 million liters of fuel.

    “Wet dress rehearsal, that is started two days before their kind of simulated launch time… run through all the processes that will have to be executed on launch day.” – Jeni [33:11]

  • Discussion on likelihood of delays (weather, technical issues, cold snap analogies to Challenger disaster, strong safety protocols).

    “If anything’s gonna delay Artemis 2, I think it’s going to be the weather.” – Jeni [39:17]

• Mission Objectives:

  • Primary goal: Human-validate SLS rocket and Orion capsule, especially the life support system not previously tested in space.

    “The point of Artemis 2 is to completely validate the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule for human use.” – Jeni [42:14]

  • Mission structure mirrors Apollo 13’s “free return trajectory”—Orion will swing far behind the Moon (7,500km), breaking the previous human distance records.

    “The analogy has been the moon will look like a basketball held at arm’s length to them.” – Jeni [47:28]

• The Crew:

  • Reid Wiseman (Commander): NASA veteran, 165 days in space.
  • Victor Glover (Pilot): Navy test pilot, Crew Dragon pilot, first person of color to leave low Earth orbit.
  • Christina Koch (Mission Specialist): Record-setting female astronaut—longest spaceflight by a woman (328 days), first all-female spacewalk, first woman to leave low Earth orbit.
  • Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialist): Canadian rookie, first Canadian and first non-American astronaut past low Earth orbit.

    “He is a big lad, but he also has no space experience…what a first mission.” – Paul [52:13]

• International Collaboration & Cool Facts:

  • ESA (European Space Agency) service module powers the mission.

    “In the service module provided by ESA, there's 20 miles of wires and cables.” – Jeni [53:04]

  • Discussion about toilets in space:

    “The first toilet to go to the moon.” – Jeni [54:50]

5. Looking Beyond Artemis II: Apollo Comparisons, Artemis III, and Exploration Challenges (57:13–59:17)

• Heat shield issues led to gaps between Artemis I and II; Artemis III struggles without a reliable lunar lander—NASA seeking alternatives.

  “It was supposed to be Starship. It’s a bonkers plan…NASA’s finally admitted it.” – Jeni [57:29]

• Crew experience levels are vastly greater than Apollo era astronauts.

  “Christina Koch…literally has more space time than like, probably all the Apollo astronauts and like the entire Apollo program…” – Paul [54:08]

• Speculation and humor on future landings, timeline skepticism about SpaceX’s boldest claims.

  “SpaceX are still saying they're going to land a starship on the moon and on Mars this year.” – Paul [58:41]
  “I will eat a model of a starship if that thing goes to Mars.” – Jeni [59:00]

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Notable Quotes

• On cuts to UK astronomy:
  “This is a country in decline, managed decline, because all people care about is, you know, a sort of balance sheet…It’s like people have given up.” – Paul [20:02]

• On the importance of basic research:
  “From that is what comes amazing technological advancements that can be applied elsewhere... advancements in data analysis have come because people wanted to look at the stars.” – Jeni [17:19]

• On the aurora spectacle:
  “It was just indescribable how amazing this aurora was. Just…utterly incredible.” – Paul [09:17]

• On Artemis II mission realities:
  “This is the first crewed flight of the Orion capsule and the SLS...They are not going to take any risks, especially post Starliner.” – Paul [41:20]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Mental health/vulnerability and outreach: 00:00–03:58
• Drake Equation and educational outreach: 02:56–05:35
• Spectacular UK Aurora event: 08:02–13:39
• Reading the RAS press release and discussing UK funding crisis: 14:09–19:05
• Physics community response and systemic critique: 20:31–24:16
• NASA funding boost and mission-saving impacts: 24:16–28:09
• Artemis II deep dive and mission structure: 28:09–57:13
• Crew bios and selection logic: 48:13–55:13
• Mission comparisons, science trivia, and future speculation: 57:13–59:17
• ISS evacuation and media coverage gaps: 59:17–60:19
• Sky Guide and celestial events for February: 61:21–71:27

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Memorable Moments

• Paul’s exuberant aurora sighting and Jeni’s dry envy.
• Sincerely sharing and normalizing mental health struggles.
• The tongue-in-cheek discussion on space toilets and astronaut bathroom routines.
• The game “Can you get Paul excited about Artemis?” and his inching toward enthusiasm.

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Celestial & Observing Highlights

• Mercury visible in the evening sky from Feb 10–early March, with Venus, Mercury, and Saturn forming a triple pairing. [61:21]
• Double shadow transit on Jupiter (Feb 12th) [62:48]
• Multiple lunar occultations, crescent moon joining planetary groupings, and a rare annular solar eclipse (visible in Antarctica). [63:24–65:05]
• Featured deep-sky: Beehive Cluster (M44), King Cobra Cluster (M67), the UFO Galaxy (NGC 2683), globular NGC 2419 “the Intergalactic Wanderer.” [65:09–68:11]
• Moon Guide: What to look for on lunar days 7-9 (features like the “lunar X,” Apennine Mountains, Bay of Rainbows, and the famous Copernicus crater). [68:14–71:04]

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Conclusion

This episode is a sweeping tour through personal, local, national, and global “frontiers”—from auroras over the UK to rockets on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral and the precarious future of British astronomy. Paul and Jeni balance accessible explanations, deeply felt advocacy, and plenty of humor to both inform and inspire, urging listeners to participate in saving science, savoring the skies, and engaging with awe.

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To act: UK listeners are encouraged to write to MPs about funding cuts.
To watch: Keep an eye on Artemis II launch developments and February’s sky wonders!

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Contact & Feedback:
Email: the [e-mail]
Twitter: @AwesomeAstroPod
Facebook: Awesome Astronomy

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Transcript

[A]

It's exciting, isn't it? Honestly, I'm excited. Yep, just call me Mr. Excitement. So excited. Like a nostalgia filled tour of an old childhood holiday. But this time in one of those new mega oversized electric camper trucks rather than a barely road legal V dub van you just about squeezed into. But loved this time. There's even a toilet. Once around the old stomping ground to prove you've still got it, try and repeat a bit of the old teenage cool you used to have. And miss so much, reassuring yourself more than anyone else that the trip is definitely worth it, that now you have a newer camera, the memories you make will be even better. And that maybe this time you won't leave it quite so long before you go back again. But damn, this new truck is expensive and actually a bit more temperamental than the old Volkswagen, even with all the new gadgets and fancy gizmos. And it does seem a bit more difficult than you remember. But yeah, I'm excited that we're going. Whoop. I'm Paul.

[B]

And I'm Jenny.

[A]

And welcome to episode 167 of awesome Astronomy for February 2020. Jo, I put tea in my mouth just so I was about to say that.

[B]

I know. Yeah. Because you were expecting me to say. Because I should be introducing this episode, but I think it's important to talk about this. I did. I've had a little bit of a mental health wobble. You did a little mental health wobble? Just because, like, I was feeling a bit lonely. It's just that time of the month. Right. With. Not that kind of time of the month, but I just thought I should

[A]

clarify that tmi there.

[B]

Tmi. But it's just because it's like the end of January. No one's got any money to do anything. The weather's been really crap. So it's been really hard to like go out and do three things like going for a walk and. Yeah, so that's why Paul's introduced this episode. He sent me a solid because I was like, I do not have the ability to be witty with this intro. So he. You've come in and. And saved me and. Yeah, I just think it's important just to, you know, be open and be like, sometimes we have little mental health wobbles and we do. It's okay. It's all right to be sad sometimes. But that is the end of sad for this episode.

[A]

Well, you say that. Do you know why I was just glancing down at the news? I was like, yeah, okay.

[B]

Literally those words came out of my mouth. I was like, no, we are actually discussing something a little bit sad. But there's only one sad thing in the news. There's only one sad thing, but we have to talk about it. But the rest of it is all positive.

[A]

Yes, yes, absolutely. It is. It is, it is. It's all fine. It's all fine. It's all good. It's all good.

[B]

I did have fun at Regenerand Astronomical Society.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Which I. It was a lot of fun, actually. So they invited me to talk. I've spoken there a few times now and I did a new talk, so it was a little bit long, so I need to trim it down a bit for next time. But we did an interactive Drake Equation. Yeah. And the Drake Equation, for anyone who's not sure, is it was this talking point, this concept that Frank Drake came up with in the 1960s, just to generate conversation at a meeting of the American Astronomical Association. And it, you know, it's. It's a thought experiment thinking about the number of stars in the galaxy, the number of exoplanets that they could be around these stars, and what are the chances that life evolves and then what are the chances that the. The life become advanced? And, you know, it is very, very much a thought experiment and it generated lots of conversation, we had lots of fun. There was loads of engagement. So, yeah, that actually was a very, very fun time.

[A]

Good, good. I love the Drake Equation. It's, it's, it's. It's good fun. It's. It is, as you say, it's actually, in some respects, not to be taken too seriously, but it's a good, It's a good talking point. It is actually, as a thought experiment, it's a good one. I've always liked the trachea question.

[B]

Yeah. Because I think the only real hard and fast number is the star formation rate of our galaxy.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That which, you know, is revised reasonably often. But it's a hard and fast number. That's the only one. The rest of it then is, you know, thinking about, what do we know, what don't we know?

[A]

Exactly. It's stuff you can debate about, kind of based on our own experience, like how long these things have happened, how many, like look at our own solar system, things like that, like what to happen. And it was interesting when I, when I did it at university, I remember the lecturer said, like, the only aren't there is only. There's actually only like kind of one wrong answer to this, Essentially, that if you come up with a number less Than one. You've definitely balls it up like. Because that's, that's nonsense. Because we're here.

[B]

Or are we not even intelligent?

[A]

Yeah, exactly. It's like. But it's the idea like, well, we're here. So you actually, like, your minimum answer is one.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You've got to come up with a calculation that says one and then anything else is a bonus.

[B]

Yeah. And the numbers vary wildly because like Craig came up with 10 other people. I think Carl Sagan did anything from like a thousand to ten million or something.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[B]

The numbers are complete fun and they vary widely.

[A]

It's good fun. Yeah, yeah. And there's many, many conclusions you can draw from the numbers you get and things like that. So it's very interesting. Yeah, there's good, good thing. And you've been on the radio again.

[B]

Yeah, so this was really interesting. I had the same question from two different radio stations. So it's a local radio doing kind of like a little trivia section where they, you know, someone writes in with a question and then they answer it and they get an expert, you know, to come and answer the question. And the question was, if I was in space and I turned on a torch, how far would the light travel? And I thought, it's ever. Yeah, exactly. And the answer is forever. And then there's all sorts of fun things to think about. Like, you know, we always think that space is a vacuum. It's got nothing in it. You know, in terms of the space between the planets and the stars, that's not true. There are gas particles and dust particles. And so if the light particles hit those, that's gonna like change their direction or they're going to get absorbed and then re emitted at a different wavelength. And then you've got the expansion of the universe that'll change the wavelength of the light. And you know, the beam is not parallel so it's going to go out in a cone shape and you know, all of these sorts of things. So it was. Yeah, it was really, really fun to think about and talk about. So. Yeah, I liked that.

[A]

Cool, cool. Yeah, like that.

[B]

What have you been up to about me?

[A]

Oh, what have I done? Is I've performed recently. I performed when I went to speak

[B]

to Swindon, which was also fantastic as well.

[A]

Exactly. I was performing. So you did your swim tour. I was doing my science fiction show, which I know was very well. That a good evening, good audience. Did go down well. Did go down well. Me dressed as Captain Kirk doing me

[B]

with your shiny pants on.

[A]

My shiny Pants. And yeah, that was all, that was all good. I'm just trying to think what else. It's been one of those. You see I can understand your mental health day because it's been just that kind of dull, rainy, bit crappy last couple. Like it's the end of January. Yeah, it's the end of January and the end of January is always a bit. Can get in the bin really can. It really can. And the weather's been terrible. Oh no. Do you know what I just realized?

[B]

You had one bit of good weather. We're one day a good bible.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. We, we had. Of course and lots of, lots of listeners will know this because they probably saw it as well. We had the most spectacular Aurora probably for about last three decades.

[B]

Hang on, it's the royal we because I was, it was literally raining where I was.

[A]

Oh. Do you know what it was? It was actually we gotta thank Dustin for this. We gotta thank Dustin for this because he was well on it over them there in that there usa.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And he, he sent a message out early, like kind of afternoon there, early evening here where he said, oh look, look, there's been that, that CME you saw the other day. Well actually it looks like, you know it's going to cause a, a storm this evening. It's, it's like it's spiking. It looks like it could be Aurora territory tonight.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, I was like, do you know what? Look at that. It's 8:30 now. I'm just gonna stick my head out the back door because actually yeah, the aurora charts are suggesting the magnetic field charts are sort of basically starting to spine stick my head out and literally I open the back door and without even adjusting my eyes I just went bloody hell.

[B]

Oh my God, still make me sick.

[A]

And it was just, and it hadn't even really started. It was just literally the whole northern sky was kind of deep red patches and big glowy green bit across the. Bloody hell. Sort of calling to the rest of the people in the house. The families are like, come out here quick, quick, quick, bloody Aurora out here. And then over the next sort of hour and a half on a night that wasn't actually supposed to be clear because that was the thing I stuck my head out thinking, oh, I might see it. Probably a bit cloudy. No, it's completely clear for where we were. And then the most spectacular, just indescribable how amazing this aurora was. Just. I'm sorry.

[B]

No, it's fine. Because in a couple of months I am off to Norway. So I'm going to be doing this right back at you now tell me.

[A]

It was just. It was. I tell you, the bit that was, was most impressive was you actually saw the sort of pulses essentially traveling kind of around the magnetic field. That's what, that's what struck me by watching it is you watch on the horizon, you saw sort of on the horizon sort of like a flare and it sort of bulged and pulsed and then it sort of shrank away kind of, you know, like a sort of worm.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then it reappeared a little bit higher up and then it kind of moved and it kept like pulsing across the sky. It was following a light and it was, it was literally said the whole family standing in the car going like, Jesus bloody. What the. Like, yeah. And then it, and then the next pulse and it would follow the same line or a parallel line as you were seeing these things kind of following the kind of, if you like the field lines. It was just. Yeah. Speechless. Other than shouting obscenities at the sky, it was just utterly incredible.

[B]

Your photos on your phone, they were so bright. It's just your phone.

[A]

It was just my phone. Exactly. It was just amazing. And then, and then what was amazing was just as it started to calm down, you're like, oh yeah, it's starting to fade now. Starting to fade now. The clouds went shows over. It was like da da da da da da da da da da da. And then the like the curtain came down and that was it and it was done. We literally had a kind of two hour clear window where this happened and then the clouds came over and it was all done.

[B]

Yes. It was just again everything came together. It was a huge cme. There was a massive coronal hole which meant fast solar winds and the magnetic field was really strong. Wood southward pointing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so it just like that needed to happen, happened.

[A]

What struck me was the, the one we had was it two years ago, May, couple of years ago.

[B]

Yeah, May 2024.

[A]

And it was that really spectacular display. And when we were watching this one the other night, I was like, this is bigger and brighter, this is more spectacular. And I thought, well maybe it's because it's winter and so actually we're just in a darker sky because of course in May you have that aurora competing with actually a slightly sort of summery light sky. It was getting into that light sky. I thought well maybe it's that. And then I actually looked at the data and that one back in May. I've kept, kept a little record of It, I think was 920 Nano Teslas. It was like they kind of peaked at. Yeah, this one was over 1200.

[B]

And that's why it was so. It was just stronger.

[A]

So much stronger. It was. And yeah, it was just amazing. Absolutely amazing.

[B]

No, I am glad you saw it. Like, I am jealous. But also, like, you can just see, you know, we're on our video call recording the podcast and just, you can just see how much you enjoyed it.

[A]

So there are things, things in astronomy every so often, you know, in any kind of thing you do where you just get energized by it. Every so often you get. Because you get a bit kind of. We saw bad is before. We get a bit jaded by things and especially the weather. And you never get to do anything. And, you know, my telescope actually hasn't been out of the bloody shed for weeks now because the weather's just been so poor.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But then every so often you get an event that just. Just like blue. You know, I get like a good night's observation or a good meteor show. You just get fired up.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And just. Yeah, it was magical. Absolutely magical.

[B]

Totally agree. Yeah, it's. It's anything like you said, like a really bright meteor, good comet, seeing a deep sky object for the first time.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

You know, anything like that.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Right, well, from magical things to really not so magical with the nude.

[B]

Yes. So we're gonna do the sad news to begin with, to get out the way with. And I think, to be honest, the best way to do this bit of news is to just read out the. The press statement from the Royal Astronomical Society.

[A]

Yes, I think so. I think so.

[B]

So I'm gonna read this out as it's written on the website, at least the start of it. And so it's quite a shocking press release from the Royal Astronomical Society. And it says the Royal Astronomical Society is gravely concerned at the drastic cuts to support for UK astronomy outlined by the Science and Technology Facilities Council stfc. In a letter from its executive chair, Professor Michelle Doherty, the research council indicates that the budget for particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics together will drop by around 30%. The letter also asks project teams to plan for scenarios where their funding is reduced by 20, 40 and 60%. RAS President Professor Mike Lockwood said, this is the most drastic cut in support in a generation. I urge the government to step in to stop what will be a catastrophe for science, deter young people from pursuing careers in discovery and innovation, and remove any notion of the UK becoming a science superpower.

[A]

So astronomy has until now been a UK success story with the nation ranking third in the world for how often its research is accredited globally. The UK is also a major player in organisations such as the European Sub Observatory, the Square Kilometer Array Observatory and the European Space Agency. If the UK is to maintain its position at the forefront of the field, which includes playing a vital role in the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon, advancements in our understanding of the universe and the development of groundbreaking science instruments and spacecraft, essential the proposed budget cuts

[B]

are reversed 30% is shocking.

[A]

Yeah, this is, this is, I said that, I said this back in. It was Astro Camp. I can't remember which Astro Camp. It was one of the ones last year we talked about the UK Space Agency basically essentially getting absorbed. Getting absorbed no longer really being. It's not, not as a separate entity anymore. Which is, this is what this is part of. That's, that's part of, it's part of the same thing. And I said there, this government does not do science. It doesn't get science, doesn't understand science doesn't do it. And when it comes to science, it's actually a bit of a vandal frankly. And I think increasingly so.

[B]

Yeah,

[A]

you've got a group of ministers who are. Not stem. Yeah, not stem. The Prime Minister is a lawyer.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they, the, all they care about is a balance sheet.

[B]

Yeah. And the thing is with STEM is okay, some STEM science is what you would call blue sky in the sense of it's just researching for the sake of curiosity. Hey, let's figure out this weird thing that we've noticed.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But from that is what comes amazing technological advancements that can be applied elsewhere. You know, it's like astronomy is a huge player in the development of AI because the data sets involved in astronomy are mind bogglingly huge. Now, you know, we only have to think about the Vera Rubin Observatory is producing 20 terabytes of data every night and astronomers have to learn how to handle that. And they have developed pipelines to handle that kind of massive data. And data is only going to continue to grow as the years go on. And those kind of pipelines and advancements in data analysis have come because people wanted to look at the stars and look at deep space.

[A]

Exactly, exactly. It is, it's, it's, it's just really bloody depressing.

[B]

It is.

[A]

And, and what I see, what I, I feel and it's something I, and it's not just the current government, I think it was the previous government as well. Is that what it feels like is it's. When it comes to things like this, it's a country in managed decline.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It is a country that is basically retiring and putting its bloody feet up.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's retreating from the world. That's what Brexit was. You know, this is retreating from. From sort of any kind of global position or any kind of interest in being involved in the world. And you look at all sorts of aspects of the uk. I mean, Christ. The report at the moment is the Royal Navy literally has seven frigates. That's it. That's all.

[B]

Our name is an island nation for

[A]

an island nation dependent on maritime trade. The Royal Navy currently has other ships, but it has, you know, like, it's made the major warship, like the big thing that, you know, you send around the world and do all sorts of things, has seven of them. When we fought the Falklands War in 1982, and I remember the 1982 Falklands War, we had 60 frigates.

[B]

60 down to 10%.

[A]

We have seven.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And now, you know, we've got. You got this. You got the UK Space agency being kind of like, you know, kicked into touch and, you know, sort of forgotten about. You know, you've got a 30% cut to, like, your major research in sort of major areas of physics. This is a country in decline, managed decline, because all people care about is. Is, you know, a sort of balance sheet and just. Yeah, it's like. It's like. It's like people have given up.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then are not interested in doing anything. It's just a country wants to put its feet up and go. Go to bed.

[B]

And this is a thing because. So there's an interesting sort of comment on this statement from the Institute of Physics. And they. I'm just going to kind of read out some of what they said. And. And they've said, ministers announced In December, the UK research and innovation. So UKRI funding would be refocused from 2026 onwards in line with its new mission to advance knowledge, improve lives and improve growth. So this is the new goal.

[A]

You've got to have your rule of three, haven't you?

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

I flipping hate that. I just. I just wanted to step in there and say I absolutely hate, kind of deep passion, not hate the rule of three, because it is a rhetorical thing. It is something that. But this whole just government thing of. You got to have your. Your three. Your three things as your statement, because it was like, Covid, wasn't it?

[B]

Oh, face. Space wasn't there.

[A]

And there was. What was the other One, you know, do this, say, and protect the nhs. You know, sort of lock your aunt in a cupboard and smother your hamster or something.

[B]

So the statement from IOP says boosts to areas like quantum AI, green tech and semiconductors are promised. And these have been welcomed by the IOP and the physics community as vital to the nation's future. However, the IOP has cautioned against cutting back on foundations of science as a result, such as infrastructure and early stage research, warning of destabilization in an already overstrained physics sector. And this is what we mean about early stage research. This blue sky. Let's look at this thing because it's a bit weird. Responding to today's letter from SCFC regarding funding changes, IOP present elect Professor Paul Haworth CBE says cuts of this scale are a devastating blow for the foundations of UK physics, which is already battling a critical funding gap in universities, a decades long shortage in teachers and a widespread skill shortage. Physics isn't a luxury we can afford to throw away through confusion and cuts. Our nation's growth and security depend upon technologies invented by physics and these in turn depend upon the physics skills, research and infrastructure which are today under threat. And I think that that sums it up really nicely.

[A]

Oh, yeah, you, you cut all this by a third. Pack up shop. There's no point.

[B]

It's. I mean, a third is, you can't, you can't manage a cut of a third. It's devastating to a project. You know, you either have to cancel whole projects to save other projects, you can't just like say to all the existing projects, oh, you're losing a third of your funding because they just will not function at that kind of funding.

[A]

And the thing is, this is on the back of the entire decade and a half of austerity of the last government that cut everything back as well. So it's not even like we started from a luxurious position of overfunding. No, there was 15 years of massive cutbacks and austerity right across the education sector and the research sector and all this. So it's coming from a point where actually what it needs is more flipping money.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Not less, because it's already cut to the bone. It's already absolutely cut to the bone. So you're now, you're now trimming bone off.

[B]

Yeah. And if anyone is listening, they're thinking, well, how can I help? What can I do? Write to your local mp, because they need to be made aware of this. You know, write about the, how science is important to you and to be honest, just important in everyday life. You know, give them some spin off technology, examples, anything like that. All of this is not set in stone. It can change just like it has in the US So we are on to our good news now. All good news from here on out. The sad news is done. Is good news from the US in terms of funding from NASA because Congress have completely rejected Trump's cuts. Right. Instead of 18.8 billion going out to NASA and Sciences, which is what Trump wanted to do, they've stuck two fingers up to him and assigned $24.4 billion instead. So almost $6 billion more. Woohoo. Yeah. Yes, it is exciting.

[A]

So it's, it's not everything, but it's better.

[B]

Oh, it's, it's most things. I mean, so getting into the Numbers, just briefly, 7.25 billion of that 24.4 billion is specifically going to NASA. It's only a 1% drop from 2025. But there is extra funding from another source as well. So this 7.25 billion is going to save missions like Da Vinci and Veritas. Off to Venus. New Horizons will be able to continue its secondary mission, Juno, Osiris, Rex, Apex, also on a secondary mission.

[A]

All these things we talked about that we're going to be like, gone, gone, gone, gone.

[B]

They are saved.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Still no Mars sample return. That is still Cannes City. But Mars sample return has been massively over budget for many, many years. So it's kind of not surprising that Mars sample return in its current form is not happening. They are still looking into ways to make it affordable. But the loss of that is, although extremely disappointing, not surprising.

[A]

No, no.

[B]

And then according to the Planetary Society, NASA is also getting like they've got this long term funding from this carrying over a decade. And so what it collectively means is that NASA is getting 27 and a half billion dollars in the fiscal year of 2026, which is the highest budget since 1998. Once you adjust for inflation.

[A]

That's great.

[B]

Which is absolutely fantastic.

[A]

It's great news.

[B]

Great news. So I think our government needs to have a little look at what the American government's doing and maybe decide that science is actually important after all.

[A]

Yeah. And well done to all those, all those Americans who wrote to their, their representatives and you know, all the kicks. Put it out there. Exactly. Of course it did. Exactly. Which is an example.

[B]

Jobs that would have been lost and all of this. Yeah, it all helped. So, any Americans listening? Well done. Congratulations on saving science in America for another year.

[A]

Saving NASA, it's your jewel in your crown. People look after it.

[B]

Yeah. Right then. And on the subject of science in America. Science in America. We have to do a big deep dive this time into Artemis.

[A]

Ever so exciting.

[B]

I'm excited. The rest of the world is. There's no coverage on this. It's just like. I think it's just because there's so much political carnage at the minute.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

It's just coming from everywhere. Like, everyone's forgetting that we are, you know, leaving low Earth orbit for the first time in five decades, which is huge, I think.

[A]

I mean, think about this all day because we've been doing this deep dive. Whenever they talk about thinking like, where. And I was saying to, to, to all you guys on our back channel things like, I'm having trouble getting excited about it. I'm just not feeling it, which is what I was saying in the intro. I'm just not feeling it. I'm trying to articulate, like, kind of a bit tongue in cheek in my intro. But, like, why am I so. Like, literally, we're about, you know, we're about to launch some humans to go around the other side of the moon. I mean, but I'm a bit sort of. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Do you know what? I think part of it is there's been a significant lack of, like, coverage from NASA themselves.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, we had Artemis one way back in 2022.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

Radio silence for like two and a half years.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, completely. And. And there's barely been a thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Even in the last couple of weeks when we're like, here we are. What we're with. We're recording on the 29th of January.

[B]

We are now the.

[A]

The first. The window for this to open.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And. And to be launched is a week away.

[B]

Yep. And as we're recording, the wet dress rehearsal is scheduled for the 31st of January at the minute.

[A]

Exactly. And like, barely. Barely. It's barely registering on the radar.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

On lots of. There's this. So much. So much. This is all going to be supposed to be a good news thing, but in some respects, there's so much. It kind of highlights what's so much wrong with the world at the moment.

[B]

Yeah. That this amazing story is getting lost in all that haze.

[A]

It's just getting lost in the noise.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think there's. I would say I was thinking about this earlier. I think, why am I not excited about this? And the problem is. And I love the. I've said this. I love America, I love Americans. Amazing. But I find it difficult to get excited about America in a positive way at the moment.

[B]

Right.

[A]

For lots of reasons, as you can imagine. And so it's difficult, I think, to look at something like this and get really, like, ged up about it, as, you know, as a Brit looking at this, because every time you look at. They think, oh, God, there's all these other things going on. There's all this other stuff going on. As you say, it's like just sort of static and noise that's getting in the way.

[B]

But then that's the thing is, I think we should focus in on this positive.

[A]

Yeah, maybe. Let's focus.

[B]

I tell you what, let's do it.

[A]

Let's do it.

[B]

Focus in on this positive.

[A]

Your job is to get me excited about Artemis 2.

[B]

By the end of the episode, by

[A]

the end of this, I'll be sitting here, like, wearing an Artemis 2T shirt, waving a little flag.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like hopping up and down on the surface. Yeah.

[B]

So let's start at the beginning. Way back in 1990. No, I'm joking. No.

[A]

First there was the Big Bang.

[B]

So the rocket, the SLS rocket, Space Launch System rocket, with the Orion capsule all tied up neatly with bows and ribbons, rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launch Complex 39B on the 17th of January journey that took 12 hours to cover 4.2 miles. That's because the thing is heavy and it crawls.

[A]

You don't want to go too quickly with that.

[B]

You don't want that thing to be rocking and rolling, do you? And they take little breaks along the way to make sure everything's okay. But it is. At the launch pad, it has been successfully integrated into the ground system. So that means it's connected to the power. It's connected to all the pumps that will put the fuel in. They've checked the capsule, like, everything is looking tickety. Boo. They did have a slight worry about the brakes on, like, the emergency escape baskets at the top of the tower. So if on launch day, while the rocket is on the launch pad, that's like, something's going wrong and they need to get the astronauts away quickly. They have these, like, little cradles which they essentially zipline away from the rocket. Just get them away as quickly as possible. They were a little bit worried about the brakes. It's a little bit of an important component. And so they've replaced those, but now they're happy. And, yeah, there doesn't really seem to have been any major concerns. There was. There was that thing about the Brakes. But, but that's it. Yeah.

[A]

So, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

We're now waiting for the wet dress

[A]

rehearsal, which as we said, is on Saturday.

[B]

Saturday as we record.

[A]

Saturday as we record, yeah.

[B]

So it may well have either happened or be imminently underway or in progress. As you're listening to this episode, depends on if it gets delayed and when. You're listening now, the wet dress rehearsal, that is started two days before their kind of simulated launch time. So it's a process, takes about 49 hours. What happens in a wet dress rehearsal,

[A]

did you say 4, 2, 9 or 49?

[B]

49.

[A]

49. That's what I thought. I thought I'd just check that.

[B]

49 hours.

[A]

It's a long process. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I was like, yeah, it's a very long process. And that is because they are stopping and starting as they're going. It is a run through of all of the processes that will have to be executed on launch day. With breaks, do extra checks, they can rewind the clock so that they can run through another scenario that's slightly different, you know, simulating different conditions, things like that. This is why it's a two day process. The real critical part is the fuel loading.

[A]

There's a lot of fuel.

[B]

There's a lot of fuel.

[A]

There's a lot of fuel.

[B]

2.6 million liters of fuel going on.

[A]

Yes, that, that, that's, that'd be a lot.

[B]

And it'd take time to be loading that on.

[A]

Yeah. Joe, it's my favorite facts about the Apollo mission. Go on, go on. Right. Fuel economy at launch, 13 centimeters per gallon.

[B]

What, as in like, that's how much. Wait, what do you mean by fuel economy?

[A]

Fuel economy. So like, as it launched every gallon of fuel, it burned, moved the rocket 13 centimeters? No. So, you know, like, you know, your car is like, you know, but you know, my car does about 50 miles to the gallon. Yeah, this is.

[B]

Yeah, Exactly.

[A]

The Saturn 5. The takeoff was 13 centimeters per gallon.

[B]

Oh, my. That's a fantastic. I wonder what this one is. I wonder what this one is. Oh, I bet you someone's worked that out.

[A]

Brilliant.

[B]

That's a good factoid. I like that. So all of the processes will be run through except for anything that's involving the crew. Because the crew will not be on board. Those processes have already been run through while the vehicle was in the assembly building. So they had the crew in the capsule, they ran through, practice, everything that they need to do. The crew won't be on board for the wet dress rehearsal. The Clock runs down to T minus 30 seconds roughly. T T minus 33 approximately there. That is the point at which during an actual launch attempt, that's when all the computers would take over the monitoring and it all kind of becomes automated.

[A]

That's the point of automation, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And so they're basically taking it down to the point where the people are doing everything and then stop. Then what they'll do is recycle back to about T minus 10 minutes and they could do this several times. And that is just going through the final preparations, the critical preparations, where there's most variants and running through slightly different scenarios just to make sure everyone is, is happy. They'll hold and stop at different points to see how all the systems cope. Yeah, yeah, all of that sort of thing. So you can expect to see it going back to 10 minutes before launch several times. It's also a practice to drain the fuel after the wet dresser hurts. Also, the fuel will not remain on the ship. It'll all be drained off and restored throughout this process because, you know, it's, it's a long process. The wet dress rehearsal, they'll be topping up the fuel as they go because it'll start boiling off. So there's all sorts of things going on. Now in an ideal world, they'll do the wet dress rehearsal, everything will be tickety boo and then they could launch like a week later. They may not find this is the case. As with Artemis 1, it has to go back to the vehicle assembly building

[A]

three times and say, I'm gonna, I'm, I'm gonna. But I'm gonna lay that bet down. They ain't gonna launch on the 6th of February. No, it's very, very unlikely.

[B]

I don't think they're gonna hit the February launch window. But my reason for thinking that is the weather.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Now, America is currently experiencing an unusual

[A]

cold snap, including Dustin's film of the

[B]

snow of like 2 foot of snow was spectacular.

[A]

Yeah, it was wild.

[B]

Yeah. He said he went out to like clear his car three times because I was thinking like, why is he clearing his car? But just wait, the snow.

[A]

Yeah. Otherwise you leave it too long, you just won't ever be able to dig the damn thing out.

[B]

So, yeah, yeah, it was wild. And like, what this seriously makes me think of is, and I hate to bring it up, but 40 years ago, January 1986, there was also a cold snap when there was a rocket on the launch pad and those cool temperatures compromised rubber O ring seals on the solid Rocket boosters of Space shuttle Challenger and unfortunately, yeah. The lives of several astronauts.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

The SLS rocket uses a lot of technology from the space shuttle. So all of the engines, the, the RS25 engines are flight flown Space shuttle engines, they've all been to space. Every single engine on the rocket has already been used in space at least three times.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

They've been revamped, of course they have. With new electronics and all of this.

[A]

It's the boosters. That's the, you know, you say the O ring seals actually on the solid rocket boosters, which is bloody great.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're extended versions. Now we know that the design's been changed but. Yeah, absolutely. We got, you got to kind of. That must be in the back of some engineers minds like it's a bit cold.

[B]

So if it was me, yeah. I would be very carefully checking any components to have a temperature, a low temperature risk.

[A]

Well, hopefully that'll come up in the dress, in the dress rehearsal like that. That's gonna.

[B]

Exactly. And this is why we do the dress rehearsals to make sure that everything is going to be fine. So we may see the rocket roll back to the vehicle assembly building if that happens. It's nothing to worry about. Standard procedure. You know, maybe they've got to check something, switch something out, make sure it's okay. I know. For example, they've been testing the water quality in the Orion capsule because they're not quite happy with it. There seems to be certain elements higher than expected. So there may be some things that need. Need altering. Also there are very strict weather constraints. You know, there's constraints about lightning within a certain distance. There's temperature constraints. There's hail, there's ice, there's rain and clouds. There's all these weather constraints. And I think if anything's Gonna Delay Artemis 2, I think it's gonna be the weather causing issues.

[A]

Yeah, I agree. Exactly that, exactly. That's exactly what I think, that they'll either be some sort of. In the dress rehearsal, there'll be like, oh God, something's leaking. Right. We better wheel it back because that needs fixing. And it'll be a, it'll be, it'll be a simple thing, but it'd be something they can't just do on the launch pad. It's just something they'll have to take.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Or exactly. It's just gonna be like actually it's just February and it's just crap. It's just the weather's just not, not gonna work. Not gonna Smile.

[B]

The weather's not gonna work. We're not gonna leave it out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We're just gonna put it back in safely and then bring it back out.

[A]

I would say, on that, kind of the odds of a. What is essentially a prototype rocket. They're all prototypes, really. You know, working, going space and actually getting there on the first. The first attempt. It's really unusual for that to happen. It's really unusual for that to happen. So.

[B]

Yeah. Because SLS has only flown once.

[A]

Yeah. And it was uncrewed. This is. Remember, this is the first crewed flight of the Orion capsule and the sls.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, you know, they are not going to take any risks. This is especially post starliner. They are not gonna take any risks on that, are they? They got their fingers burnt there, so they. They are. It's got to be perfect.

[B]

Yeah. They won't. They will. And especially because there's crew on board, they'll be extra cautious. So what will happen after launch? So what is the mission? So the point of Artemis 2 is to completely validate the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule for human use. It isn't technically validated yet. One of the big things to tick off is the life support system, which was not on Artemis 1 and has not yet been tested.

[A]

No, no. I mean, you know, if you're gonna

[B]

test it, use some people.

[A]

You might as well put some guinea pigs inside it and see what happens.

[B]

That's wild, isn't it?

[A]

Yeah, it's an interesting one. And it's an interesting one because of how far they're going. That, that's, that's. That's. I think the. The interesting part about this mission, which perhaps does here, makes it a little bit more exciting, a little bit of jeopardy, because, of course, when we tested Apollo, we did Apollo 7 first, which just went into Earth orbit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it went up on a Saturn 1B, went round the Earth a few times and came home. Didn't go far. So anything went wrong. It was. They weren't far away.

[B]

They weren't far away.

[A]

This. Yeah. This is like, yeah, we're going to the moon.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So.

[B]

So they. They're sort of doing a little bit of like, Apollo 7, Apollo 8 crossover, because they will orbit the Earth a few times before they go to the moon. And in that procedure, they will be, of course, testing the life support in the sense of if they're not dead, it works.

[A]

If they don't freeze to death. Asphyxiate.

[B]

Yeah. Then they're good to go. So they will be Doing that. They will also be developing some manual controls because, you know, of course, last time there was no one on board, so everything was automated. And the Orion capsule is designed to be fully automated, but you need a manual backup. And so actually, the astronauts on this mission, they will be conducting experiments to actually write the manuals for manual operation.

[A]

Yeah, which, which is not actually unusual in the sense that that's what happens with any aircraft, is the test pilots write the manual. So there's, there's a basic manual about how to basically operate a new aircraft. And then the test pilots, that's what test PI. You know, that's what they do, they fly the new craft for usually months or even a couple of years and write the manual. They write. You know how they literally go like, right, what happens if I do this? Oh, it does that. Right? Don't do that. Or do it like this, you know,

[B]

oh, this is how you manage this.

[A]

Or when this happens, do that. Because when we did that, that's what happened. And that's, I mean, that's what you're saying. These craft are always generally like, you know, consider sort of slightly prototypes every single time, because especially ones like this. I mean, this is a prototype. And these guys are test pilots.

[B]

Yep. So, yeah, they are. And so they'll be doing, you know, a little bit of that kind of Apollo 7 style before they then go off. But there is a point of kind of no return, as it were. There is a kind of last, last station port of call. And because they're going to orbit Earth, but then the third stage is going to put them into a highly elliptical orbit and of about. Altitude of about 45,000 kilometers. And then when they're ready, they get to kind of the tail end of this elliptical orbit. That's when then the thrusters on the Orion capsule fire to send them off into this translunar injection and they're on a free return orbit, which means that if all of the engines fail on Orion, gravity will just swing them back.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

But at that point, once they, they do that translunar injection burn, they go in and they ain't coming back for about a week.

[A]

Yes, that's it. They're off, the orbit is set and they're. And essentially, in some respects, dare I say it, we keep saying, oh, it's Apollo 8. Really? This mission's Apollo 13?

[B]

Yes. Yeah, because Apollo 8, they went into orbit around the moon. They actually, they're not doing this. It's much more like Apollo 13, which

[A]

is just that, actually that thing of the free return, because that's the thing that doesn't really come across in, in the film Apollo 13 is that they were always coming back. It's whether they would come back alive that's actually the jeopardy is whether they would, they would last the distance with the, with the oxygen and the filters. But actually the Apollo 13 was always going to return because they didn't actually put themselves into lunar orbit. They was just on this highly elliptical orbit, which is how you get there initially and then you fire your engine to drop into lunar orbit. So they always come back and that's what these. So in a way, let's hope that's the only part of the Apollo 13 kind of mission. But actually the mission bears a bigger resemblance in some respects to Apollo 13.

[B]

Yeah. And they'll be going further behind the moon than any humans ever, about seven and a half thousand kilometers beyond the moon. So they're not going to do this low skim over the moon like they did with Apollo, but they're going like quite far behind the moon. And the analogy has been the moon will look like a basketball held at arm's length to them.

[A]

Yeah. Which is not big, that, which is, which is quite, quite far. I mean that's, that's a long, long way.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The current record holders of that are Apollo 13.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

As the people who've been the furthest back from the moon. So yeah, you know, that's, yeah. Hopefully this is the, the only, only part of that that they're going to.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do. But yeah, it's Lovell, Lovell, Swiggarten and Hayes are the furthest humans from, from earth and so 1970. So you know that that record's about to be broken. That record's about to get. And who is going to break that record?

[B]

Very good question. We should talk about the crew on board. So the commander is G. Reed Wiseman, NASA veteran astronaut, spent 165 days in space on the ISS. He was flight engineer on X Expedition 41. And during his expedition him and his team then they conducted a record breaking amount of scientific research. And he's also done 13 hours spacewalking. So he is a science man. He is highly experienced, you know, doing long missions.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, loads of

[B]

experience under his belt. Good choice for commander.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Pilot then is Victor J. Glover and no kind of stranger to piloting daring missions because he was the pilot on the first fully certified crew mission to the ISS that was run by SpaceX on the crew Dragon. So he's tried out New capsules before, you know, he's got that experience.

[A]

And he's a US Navy test pilot as well originally. So yeah, this guy is sort of

[B]

the, the, he's, he's a great, the

[A]

creme de la creme of, of of flying people and of course the first person of color to leave low earth orbit.

[B]

Low earth orbit.

[A]

Very excited.

[B]

This is, it is very exciting.

[A]

You know Apollo 12, the Apollo missions were fantastic and everything but of course it was, you know, it was all white men. White men.

[B]

It was all middle aged white men. And we are stepping away from, we're stepping away Artemis, which is right, exactly what we should be doing. And so Glover was on Expedition 64 to the ISS, 168 days in orbit and did four spacewarms. So buckets of experience.

[A]

Buckets of experience. Yeah, yeah, just the kind of guy you want.

[B]

Then we've got Christina Cook and she is also like a history maker, I think it's fair enough to say because she's going to be the first woman to ever leave low earth orbit. And she's already broken records because she has conducted the longest single space flight by a female astronaut. So 328 continuous days on the International Space Station. Also took part in the first all female spacewalk. So again, excellent choice in terms of plenty of space experience, long duration missions, things like that. And then astronaut number four is Jeremy. Ah, Jeremy. Little Jeremy Hansen. Yeah, he's a rookie. He has never been to space before.

[A]

You say little, he's not actually little at all. He's absolutely massive.

[B]

Yeah, I know Joe. It's a good job that this capsule has got 60% more room than the Apollo capsules because they're gonna need it.

[A]

Because he's a big lad.

[B]

He is a big lad, but he also has no space experience. So I think if I'm gonna take my hat off to anyone, it is absolutely Jeremy for going on this, this flight. Like the thing is as well, he's a massive record breaker because he is a Canadian astronaut. So he will be the first Canadian to leave low earth orbit as well. First mission into space. First Canadian to leave low earth orbit. I mean my God, the man is either stupendously brave or a massive idiot.

[A]

He's just saying he's a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, so stupendously brave. And here's a great fact though, if you want to know what he looks like, go and watch the coronation of Charles iii because he was carrying the Canadian flag.

[B]

No, that's a fun fact.

[A]

Fun fact. He carried the Canadian flag. Because, of course, Charles III is also the king of Canada. Yes, he carried the Canadian flag. He was.

[B]

Oh, I like that factoid.

[A]

So, yeah, he also has three children, so it makes him brave in my book. Yeah, but, yeah, so, but he, he of course is the first non American.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So it's just very exciting.

[B]

I mean, it is very exciting and it kind of really reflects the, the international nature of this mission because, like, you know, ESA has made the service module so where all the power and the propulsion and the life support, that, that's all esa. Interesting factoid for you. In the service module provided by Issa, there's 20 miles of wires and cables.

[A]

20 miles?

[B]

20 miles.

[A]

Amazing. Well, he's. Here's, here's a great, here's a great little thought for you. Big, big fact. So think about Neil Armstrong. Neil Armstrong, first, first person, including his time to the moon, so his total career in space. How many days in space do you think? Bear in mind, of course, you know, X15 pilot, he was Gemini 8, Gemini 11. And then 17. 17 days, you reckon? No, no. What do you reckon? 14 days, 8 days, 14 hours and 12 minutes.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Just over a week.

[B]

That's mad.

[A]

Just over a week.

[B]

So I think these guys are qualified.

[A]

So when you think about, you think, you think about, like, you think about Wiseman, you know, the captain of this, this mission has been 165 days in space. He's literally spent probably more time in space than all the Apollo astronauts put together, actually.

[B]

Yeah, you're probably right.

[A]

And in terms of like Christina Koch, she literally has more space time than like, probably all the Apollo astronauts and like the entire Apollo program, including like

[B]

all the Gemini, the Mercury, all of

[A]

them, the Skylab guys, literally, she's been in space for almost a year. This, in terms of a crew, this is a seriously experienced crew other than our Canadian, who is, you know.

[B]

Yeah. Who's just gonna be so excited and terrified. But it's okay. He doesn't have to worry about shitting his pants because there's an actual toilet this time.

[A]

The first toilet to go to the moon.

[B]

It is because they didn't have a toilet on Apollo. They literally had to poop in a mouth.

[A]

They did have to shit.

[B]

And sometimes the poop didn't say in the bag. And there's literally audio of them exclaiming about turds floating around, people being sick and they're having to like catch globules of sick in, in bags and. Very addictive.

[A]

Yeah, they have actually Got a bog on board. So, you know.

[B]

Yeah. Thanks to developments from the iss. So, you know, never know what technology is going to come in useful for.

[A]

You watch the toilet break like it does on the iss.

[B]

What they have said, though, is there's no privacy. No, there's not. Like, it's not like on an airplane where they can go into a little toilet.

[A]

You thought they could have like a little curtain or something.

[B]

You know, I think that there might be like. Yeah. A little sheet that they can sort of pull across a bit.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, like on the crew Dragon, there's nothing. There's just everyone else has to look the other direction.

[A]

Yeah. Although we thought that was really weird with the, the Apollo missions where they, you know, they're crapping in little bags. I mean, can you imagine you're in a thing that's about the size of a flipping mini. Yeah. Three of you all crammed up next to each other and actually, I really need a crap, guys. Yeah, it has to sort of turn around and the other two are just like, sort of like probably looking out the window going, no, you're done, you're done.

[B]

I figured I didn't open the window to let the smell out.

[A]

No, no, exactly. You're done, Neil. Like, hang on a minute. Yeah, passes the paper.

[B]

And the thing is, like, for the length of their mission as well, it's not like they can just hold it because they can end days that has to come out that can't stay inside you.

[A]

God. God. Yeah.

[B]

I bet you though that they are taking a ton of laxatives just before they go up, so they're like, as empty as possible.

[A]

Well, of course, I don't know if the Americans do this actually, but the Russians, of course, give you an enema.

[B]

Oh, do they?

[A]

Yeah, the Russians give you a double enema before Soyuz was. Yeah. Chris Hadfield describes how it's like the most. It's that moment where you're like, yeah, I'm an astronaut, I'm going to space and be really exciting. He says, but before the mission, there's a most humiliating experience of basically being knelt over on a, like, Russian bathroom floor with a big Russian Air Force technician standing over you with a jug of water and a hose pipe. You know, it's just, ah, the glamorous life. You get double enema before you go, you know, clean you out.

[B]

And then I think we should probably look to the future.

[A]

Yes, future. Future, future, future, Future.

[B]

Autumn is three, so, you know, we've had Artemis 1. There was a big gap very big between Artemis 1 and Artemis 2 because there were unexpected happenings with the heat shield, but they figured that out. Now in brief, the unexpected happenings were bits of it fell off during re entry that they weren't anticipating. And that was because of the skip entry maneuver that they did meant that heat wasn't evenly distributed over the heat shield. It didn't get up to proper temperature. And so gas, which was being produced by the heat shield, as it should, as it's burning, was getting trapped. It wasn't escaping through the porous material because it was being produced in a different way than was expected. And then, you know, if the gas builds up, it's going to pop bits off. And so what they're going to do is not do the skip entry maneuver for entry, but that is why we had this big gap between Artemis 1 and Artemis 2. Artemis 3 though, who knows? There's no lander. No, there's no lander. It was supposed to be starship. It's a bonkers plan. NASA's finally admitted it's a bonkers plan. They've put out calls for like Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, people like that. Give us your options for a moon lander. Yeah, we don't know.

[A]

Do you know?

[B]

And maybe that's part of the lackluster.

[A]

Do you know what?

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

SpaceX are still saying they're going to, they're going to land a starship on the moon and on Mars this year.

[B]

Absolutely not.

[A]

I know.

[B]

I mean, first of all, the window to Mars doesn't open till later in the year, so they end of the

[A]

year, they still think they're going to send a starship to Mars. No, I know, I know.

[B]

I will eat a model of a starship if that thing goes to Mars.

[A]

I'll make you one.

[B]

Yeah, you can make me one like paper mache and I will eat the damn thing if that goes off to Mars.

[A]

Nice, but televise it.

[B]

And so then just to finish off, I just feel compelled, I have to do this. I feel utterly compelled to point out that we had the emergency evacuation of the ISS. Right. They landed on the 15th of January, all went off to the hospital together as planned. Then very conveniently, Artemis 2 rolled out two days later and we have heard absolutely zip about those astronauts that were

[A]

medically evacuated from the iss. Nothing about that. Now I know there's a whole medical privacy. Yeah. You know, and why shouldn't they have that? But it is interesting. There has been nothing about that.

[B]

There is and I checked before we started recording, I was not a sausage. Searching, not a sausage, not a sausage. And I think that's interesting. Yeah, you deflection.

[A]

You would generally expect a little bit more generally.

[B]

But even just everyone's fine.

[A]

Yeah, thumbs up.

[B]

We're not asking for the details. It's none of our business what the problem actually was.

[A]

But you would expect a little bit more and we've really had nothing. Yeah, no.

[B]

Right, well, we better go on with the sky guy, didn't we?

[A]

Yeah. Right then. Sky guide. Well, it's, it's those with a burning need to see the smallest planet. Not you, Pluto. Piss off. Mercury is in the evening sky and reaches greatest elongation after sunset in the southwestern sky. Your window is really from the 10th until the 1st few days of March with greatest elongation. That's the distance from the sun to the furthest distance from the sun on the 19th though by a quirk of the angles. Because of course as it sunsets it then sort of tips vertical if you like. The 22nd would actually be the day that it's actually at its highest in the sky, but not actually furthest from the sun, if you see what I mean.

[B]

Ah, yes, okay.

[A]

Play with Stellarium if you want to understand how that works. It'll be a sky guide or skyguide. Yes, of course, a scorching 13 degrees high.

[B]

People, don't spoilt spoiled.

[A]

Don't crick your neck looking up, will you? Now, if you have a good clear low southwestern horizon, you'll see Venus rising ever higher too at the same time. And by the 28th, the two planets will be very close, about 5 degrees apart. That'd be a nice little pairing. And before that you might catch the crescent moon sitting between them on the 18th, while the day after the 19th the moon will be above them. But park next to almost unnoticed planetary interloper Saturn, which will be about 10 degrees from Venus and Mercury that pairing on the 28th. So you'll have this all the light triple pairing, nice little little group of planets together which should all nice be visible just after sunset. And it's worth pointing out this is really the last chance saloon for Saturn, this apparition as it will soon be lost in the evening sunset glow. It's, it's almost there. It's getting there through February now. So this is it if you want to see, if you want to see Saturn, you, unless you want to go really early in a couple of months, this is it. Jupiter course blazing away. You know, Saturn finally fades. Jupiter is very much in its prime opposition was just a few weeks ago. Looks absolutely stunning even through the clouds. I mean I've stuck it with all the bad weather. I still see Jupiter because it's so bright.

[B]

It's so bright. It's caught me off guard a few times. I've been like what's that? It's really.

[A]

Oh yeah, Jupiter, yeah because it's so bright at the moment and you can see it through clouds if you. It's nice and high I think it's over. It's well over 40 degrees when the sun goes down so it's nice and high. That will kick your neck. Yeah, yeah. Look out for a double shadow transit of Callisto and Europa on the evening of the 12th so you get two shadows going across which would be nice. Hot moon action people. Hot.

[B]

It's all about the moon this a

[A]

lot about the moon this month. Yeah, the moon, the moon's sexy, it's gorgeous. So it's hot moon action. So this month the moon is going bonkers with the encounters. We said this back in our December like little sum up of the year to come and how the moon was going to be doing all these things.

[B]

We did loads of encounters this year.

[A]

The night of the 2nd and 3rd of Feb regulus is either very close or actually occulted by the moon depending where you are. So in the UK the star grazes at 25 arc minutes. I mean that's like bumbling along across the surface, not even a degree. While in the US Leo's brightest vanishes behind the disc of the moon for just shy of an hour.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you know, enjoy. New Zealand gets a double bit of excitement with star Phi Sagittari occulted on the 14th and then Mercury and we talk about Mercury and the Moon when moon. The moon was going to be next to Mercury on the 18th. Well if you're in New Zealand it's an occultation next to Mercury it'll be in front of Mercury because it's actually going to occult Mercury on the 18th

[B]

for though like that, like that.

[A]

For Those in the UK you count on the 27th being cloudy and wet because star Kappa Geminorium is occulted in the late evening with the occultation starting sometime after 9:30 depending where you are in the UK later as you go, go further north. It's just after half past in London I think it's more like quarter to 10 in like yeah we'll be cloudy so definitely cloudy and rainy that day. Then there's even an annular eclipse of the sun for the true penguin fanciers down in Antarctica on the 17th.

[B]

Yes, there is. And then of course it'll be partial

[A]

for greater swathes, great swathes of sort of all the penguin fanciers. We'll see something probably right. Time for deep sky. Time to go crabbing with a cat. Now, while the constellations of Cancer and Lynx, which sits just above Cancer, are composed of relatively faint stars, they host some of those fascinating sleeper targets for amateur astronomers, ones people don't really mention. Enchanter is famous for its bright open clusters, while Lynx offers distant exotics, deep sky challenges. Yeah. So Cancer is prime target for binocular and small telescope users, primarily due to its two famous Messier objects. When I say famous, the famous one of course is Mach 3.7 Messier 44, known since antiquity as Prasipe the Manger, more recently as the Beehive Cluster. Of course, this is one of the nearest open clusters to Earth. It contains over 1000 stars and covers an area three times the size of the Full Moon, which my God, is big. Yeah. Through binoculars you'll see dozens of sparkling blue, white and yellow stars scattered across the field. The more forgotten object in cancer is the mag 6.1 messier 67 or the king Cobra Cluster, which unlike the young Beehive, is one of the oldest open clusters known. Nearly 4 billion years old, roughly the same age as our Sun. It appears a dense rich glow near the star alpha cancer. A 6 inch telescope resolve into a stunning phygean cap. This will shave dozens of individual stars. Now, Lynx was named in sort of supposedly because you need the eyes of a lynx to see its faint stars. I know. Oh cheese, cheese, I know. But it's very faint. Most people couldn't point to links in the sky. If you are like even sort of experienced amateur astronomers, it's one of those constellations. But he's actually like literally it's the line of stars. Just above Cancer and above Gemini There is Mag 10.6 NGC 2683, just over the border from Cancer. This galaxy is tilted nearly edge on from our perspective, giving it a sleek kind of saucer like appearance that earned its nickname the UFO galaxy. So under dark skies you can see the bright thin line of the disk and a slight swelling in the center representing the galactic core. Over to the right of the constellation above Castor in Gemini is NGC 2419, the intergalactic one wanderer. This is one of the most distant globular clusters in Milky way, located nearly 300,000 light years away, which is farther than The Magellanic Clouds. I know for a long time, astronomers thought it wasn't bound to our galaxy at all, hence the name the Intergalactic Wanderer. And the name stuck. But we know it is actually in orbit around the Milky Way through a telescope. Looks like a small, faint round smudge. Its extreme distance makes it one of those big bucket list items for many observers. You got to tick that one off because it's really far away.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Then our Moon guide.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Right. Day seven to nine. So for our ongoing Moon guide, it's time for day seven, eight, nine, where the Moon is transitioning from first quarter phase into the waxing gibbous phase. This is arguably the best time for moon gazing because the Terminator, the line dividing day and night, cuts through some of the most dramatic landscapes on the lunar surface.

[B]

Day seven, and it amuses me endlessly that it's the terminator, the Terminator.

[A]

Day 7 is the day where the Moon is exactly half illuminated. The shadows along the topography of the Moon really starts to stand out. Big things to look out for include the lunar V and the lunar X. They're quite sort of famous little imaging targets where you get, you see the V and an X. So two letters and they're actually. These are what called optical clair. Obscure effects. Yes, I know, fancy. See, learn, learn new things here. So for a few hours, light hits the rims of the specific craters, in this case Purback and Blochannis, while the floor remains in shadow. So it creates these distinct X and V shapes. But it's just the sort of bumps and lumps on the thing. Mori, Seren Tartis and Mari Tranquillitatus are fully visible. So you can try and track down the Apollo 11 landing site. And one of the real standout features on day seven is the Apennine Mountains, which is one of the most rugged mountain ranges on the Moon. Watching the sunlight touch each peak is an observation session well spent. That's good. Day eight. Day eight sees us moving into the vacuum gibbous phase of the Moon cycle. The straight wall Rupus Recta becomes visible. This is a famous fault line in the Mare Nibium, which appears as a thin dark line looking like a sword on the lunar surface. Craters Archimedes and Plato are very prominent. Clear. Plato is famous for its dark, smooth floor, while Archimedes sits near the edge of the vast sort of Mare Imbrium, the sea of rains, which itself begins to emerge from the darkness. By day nine, the Moon is noticeably swollen beyond a half circle and is entering the bright Part of its cycle, Sinus iridium, the Bay of Rainbows, pops into view. This is spectacular semicircular bay on the edge of the Mare Imbrium. And because of the surrounding Jura mountains are high, they catch the sunlight while the bay floor is still dark, creating an effect known as the golden handle.

[B]

Ooh, like that.

[A]

My favourite crater, Copernicus, is now on show. Massive crater, distinct terraced wall and a central mountain peak that starts to shine brightly as the day goes on. And then there is one of my other favorites. Clavius, which is located in the southern highlands, is one of the largest crater formations, featuring a curved chain of smaller daughter craters inside it.

[B]

Oh, craters in craters.

[A]

Love a crater in a crater. So the Moon this month is full on the 1st, last quarter on the 9th, new on the 17th, and first quarter on the 24th. So we wish you clear skies and happy hunting.

[B]

Right, then. Have I convinced you to get excited about Artemis?

[A]

Well, I could be interested.

[B]

Oh, it's an improvement.

[A]

It's an improvement.

[B]

It's an improvement.

[A]

I think the honest answer, I think I said this the other day, is like when it's actually just in that couple of days before and the crew are getting ready. We know it's about to go and I probably get excited about it, but I've just. Yeah, at the moment, I think the other, you know, the other reason. This is the other, you know, I was saying I'm thinking of reasons why there are so many flipping rocket launches now.

[B]

Yeah, but this one's got people on it.

[A]

I know, but it's kind of get excited for Jeremy. Yeah, I know.

[B]

I'm so excited of all of them. I'm just like real in for Jeremy. I just can't believe this is his first mission.

[A]

That's brilliant. What a first mission. I know.

[B]

What a first mission.

[A]

But. But, yeah, I will get excited. When it's actually up and running, I'll probably be like a small boy.

[B]

I think you're a little bit chipper than you.

[A]

I. Yeah. Well, as the art of excitement washes over me and I'm left in a state of delirium, it is time to bid you goodbye.

[B]

Email us your thoughts, your comments, your queries and even things that you don't like. To the show. @awesomeastronomy.com we are still trying to work out if emails are actually coming through or not. So please drop us a line because we're not sure whether it's just no one's listening anymore or we're just not getting emails.

[A]

We're just talking to ourselves.

[B]

We're just talking to ourselves. That's it. Yeah, that's it.

[A]

So until the middle of the month, it's goodbye. From Cydonia Base.

[C]

Awesome Astronomy is produced by Ralph Paul, Jen, John Damian and Dustin and is free to use with attribution. Theme music by Star Salzman with stinger variation by Rin Jorgensen. We promote general science, astronomy, space exploration, and rational thinking with more resources on our website at awesome Astronomy. If you want us to read your thoughts and comments out on the show, send us your views, opinions, critiques, or questions to the [e-mail] tweet us at awesomeastropod or give the awesome Astronomy Facebook page a like and leave your comments there. Thanks for listening. From Cydonia Base Head of Transmission.