The Planetary Society has been on a mission: To empower the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. It’s the place for people who want to be involved in space exploration by sharing their passion with other like-minded people. Chief Development Officer of the Planetary Society, Richard Chute, joins Beth today on the podcast and explains how a hobby became a full-time job(s), and how enabling citizens of planet Earth to explore space together is one of the most remarkable adven...
Feb 25, 2022•46 min•Ep. 152
Emily Carney is an award-winning writer, editor, and public speaker specializing in spaceflight history. She’s also the co-host of the Space & Things podcast, and she’s the founder of the Space Hipsters Facebook group. Today on the show, Beth asks Emily how her love for space and talents as a writer began, how and when she’s most effective at writing, and what advice she may have for future space writers. AND, Emily shares a couple of classic astronaut adventures, too. About Emily: Emily Car...
Feb 12, 2022•49 min•Ep. 151
“There is no Earth vs Space. They live together.” Daniel Fox is the author and photographer of FEEL THE WILD, founder of THE FUTURE OF SPACE, and SPACE 100.10. Daniel believes that it is nature’s goal to venture into space. This episode of Casual Space is one filled with wisdom, as Daniel reflects on how nature lives within us, around us, and beyond us- in space. "We are ambassadors for life and it is our responsibility to share Earth's knowledge and gift so that we can support the Universe’s go...
Feb 04, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 150
On Christmas morning, NASA presented (launched) an incredible gift people of the WOLRD will be able to enjoy …The James Webb Space Telescope. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday, December 25 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America. On this episode of Casual Space, Beth and (resident space expert) Dean geek out on all things JWST! The world’s largest and most complex space science observatory will now begin six months of commi...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 149
Erin Sembroski didn’t know her husband Chris had entered a contest to fly to space. Then he won the Generosity seat on the Inspiration4 on a SpaceX, rocket and had to tell her the news. On this episode of the Casual Space Podcast, Erin shares her experience -from learning that Chris’ would be going to space as part of the first all-civilian crew- to how she worked to navigate the intensity of the obligations and emotions as an astronaut’s spouse. This is Erin’s story, told along side her husband...
Dec 24, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 148
This episode is an amazing story about the Commercialization of Cislunar Space by a company named ThinkOrbital. It’s also the story of how two talented people were bold enough to share their innovative idea to design something…different, better, and for all space explorers. Co-Founders Sebastian Asprella and Dr. Vojtech Holub met on Discord during COVID, and soon found that by applying their interests and talents together in a big way, a big idea for a single-launch space station could become a ...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 147
When you need to send payloads to space, you call upon the expertise of Stephanie Murphy , because Ms. Murphy and her newly merged company is (and has been) perfectly practiced at providing on-orbit testing for government and commercial customers. Today on the show, you’ll enjoy getting to know the impressive Stephanie Murphy- how she’s overcoming obstacles as a female principal owner in the competitive commercial space industry, what it takes to fly payloads in space, her team’s ability to cham...
Dec 03, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 146
Mike Mullane is a NASA astronaut who has written several award-winning and popular books detailing his space exploration experience. Years later, his son, Patrick Mullane, would also write a popular book about his own unique experience watching his father become an astronaut. Both accomplished veterans, Mike and Patrick sit down with Beth on Veteran’s Day to share some of their (hilarious) stories and (sincere) reflections, and even make a few predictions about the future of space exploration (D...
Nov 20, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 145
Built in 1966 to support the Apollo space missions, the NASA tracking station in Guam (GWM) was equipped with a 30-foot USB antenna and VHF Air-Ground Voice and Telemetry capabilities. Guam was the first dedicated Apollo station built, and it’s where Brian Riehle and his team helped to track and communicate with 5 Apollo missions, including Apollo 11! Beth had the privilege of meeting Brian at the Inspiration4 Mission launch, thanks to family friend and astronaut, Dr. Sian Proctor! About Brian: ...
Nov 11, 2021•53 min•Ep. 144
What kind of space suit will we need to go back to the moon? How long does it take to make a space suit? Why are space suits white? What’s the first thing that could kill you in space? (It’s not what you think). Dan Klopp’s division at ILC Dover has been making space suits for NASA for over 50 years, so he’s perfectly positioned to provide us with a space suit tutorial in this episode of Casual Space! About Dan Klopp : Dan Klopp is a business leader with an extensive background in technology and...
Nov 05, 2021•52 min•Ep. 143
A mixed-use business park. In space. That’s the description of the newly introduced Orbital Reef Commercial Space Station. More good news, this is not the ONLY commercial space station proposed, there are BIG plans on the LEO horizon… listen as Beth and Chad examine a future of orbiting laboratories providing solutions on, off and for planet Earth. About Orbital Reef: https://www.orbitalreef.com/ Orbital Reef will be the premier mixed-use space station in low Earth orbit for commerce, research, ...
Oct 29, 2021•37 min•Ep. 142
Christina Korp has traveled the world as a singer, producer, tour manager and as an Astronaut Wrangler. She’s produced groundbreaking, mass participation experiential artworks and event that focus on inspiring people and giving back to the planet. Today on the podcast, Christina shares with Beth her latest #AimHigher project success that recently completed on Monday, October 11, where Christina organized an incredible event in Woodruff Park in Atlanta, Georgia where a giant 6,300 square foot Ear...
Oct 22, 2021•57 min•Ep. 141
Does filming in space change the way in which we view space? How will filming in space change our perspective? When actors, directors, and artists go to space, can they help us see ourselves, and our planet Earth in a different way? Last week , a Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian film crew docked at the International Space Station to begin a movie shoot in orbit. The Soyuz ferried a Russian actress and a film director to the station alongside a veteran cosmonaut, who commanded the capsule. The...
Oct 14, 2021•50 min•Ep. 140
“How can you change the world if no one knows you exist?” – Izzy House When it comes to marketing, Izzy knows a thing or two. And when it comes to marketing for space, Izzy House wrote the book on it- literally! Her new book, Space Marketing aims to empower companies within the space industry promote space, generate excitement, and implement marketing strategies and tactics to help companies thrive. The space business model is changing, and the companies that are successful right now do ONE THIN...
Oct 07, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 139
You could say Tim Bailey is a space celebration connoisseur. As the Executive Director for Yuri’s Night - THE biggest space party in the world…Tim is qualified to rate and review the Inspiration4 “splashdown” party held just a week ago when the crew returned safely to Earth. (Acrobats? Star Wars bands? Flying astronauts? COLLECTIVE SOUL?!) Today on the show, Beth and Tim say they’re “still buzzing” from the EPIC SpaceX celebration, then discuss how space travel is basically available to everyone...
Sep 30, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 138
On Sept 15, 2021, our friend and colleague Dr. Sian Proctor achieved her life-long dream of launching into space and becoming an astronaut on the Crew Dragon as part of the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission! My fellow analog astronauts Dr. Brandy Nunez and Makiah Eustice share our impressions and insights of this historic flight in an intimate conversation together- 24 hours after witnessing the launch live from the Kennedy Space Center at historic Launch complex 39-A. Together, we discuss what this m...
Sep 25, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 137
Jesse Forte was NOT originally scheduled to be on the M4 Lunares X team. A crew member that could not attend the mission left an opening for a new, “first-time” analog astronaut to come and participate in our lunar simulation this July. Enter Jesse Forte , who said YES to this opportunity, and joined the crew with all the positive energy one could ever ask for- as he often does. On today’s episode, Jesse invites you to do the same- to say YES to the interesting events that come across your path....
Sep 10, 2021•46 min•Ep. 136
My conversation with author and philosopher of the Overview Effect Frank White continues - including the announcement of the Overview Effect Film Festival - on this episode of Casual Space. What is the Overview Effect? From Frank’s book, The Overview Effect , page 2, edition 3 (I’ve ordered my NEW addition, and so should you): The Overview Effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit, in transit b...
Sep 07, 2021•40 min•Ep. 135
Frank White returns to Casual Space: Author, space philosopher and consultant joins Beth to share a lot of news! A new edition of the Overview Effect is out- and Frank announces a new project coming to you in November! We discuss non-professional space explorers (astronauts?), the need to migrate off Earth, and examine the many interpretations of the Overview Effect . What is the Overview Effect? From Frank’s book, The Overview Effect , page 2, edition 3 (I’ve ordered my NEW addition, and so sho...
Aug 26, 2021•43 min•Ep. 134
That famous photo - the one we’re all familiar with- an astronaut in a bright white suit flying untethered – floating, really, above the Earth with the dark contrast of space in the background… that photo has an incredible backstory… and it’s been captured perfectly in an awesome new book by author Bruce McCandless III. Astronaut Bruce McCandless III is perhaps best remembered as the subject of a famous NASA photograph (below right), flying alongside the space shuttle in the Manned Maneuvering U...
Aug 20, 2021•57 min•Ep. 133
Awesome! Join the growing community of scientists, researchers, innovators, writers, artists and explorers working to enhance space exploration efforts. Now that Beth is back from her latest analog, Chad’s got some questions. On this episode, learn the who, what, where, when and why analogs are helping humans to better explore the universe! NASA’s official definition of an analog, with additional notations from Beth: Analog missions are field tests in locations that have physical similarities to...
Aug 12, 2021•47 min•Ep. 132
Did you know that the people and environment around you that you interact with can impact and even change the inside of your gut flora? Dr. JJ Hastings has found that in many of the past analog astronaut studies, there’s been a convergence- an evolution- between crew members and their environment, one that’s been seen on the International Space Station as well. These studies have shown how the immune system of a particular astronaut is responding to a specific environment, and JJ is working to s...
Aug 05, 2021•28 min•Ep. 131
Sorry, folks. You won’t find Paul Bakken on social media. You will find him running around the LunAres habitat repairing, improving and applying his years of analog astronaut experience to our mission in the LunAres Research Station! We’ve been beyond grateful that Paul’s been selected as one of our crew mates- in addition to his extensive background in law, community service, and analog missions, Paul happens to be an incredible chef! After enjoying this conversation with Paul, you will have a ...
Jul 28, 2021•31 min•Ep. 130
In the first MUND ON the MOON series, meet Paul Tomko. He is our crew’s Executive Officer- applying his expertise of Aeronautical & Astronautical engineering with his passion for space exploration and optimal health & performance. “I’m always looking to improve myself. I don’t want to go through life just existing…become healthier, explore new things, if I have a passion or a dream that I want to pursue, then I move towards it. It may change over time, but as long as you have a goal that...
Jul 22, 2021•38 min•Ep. 129
THIS WEEK, in the news from Space.com: Nuclear-powered spaceships for fast trips to Mars may now be one step closer to reality. “NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have teamed up to fund three design concepts for reactors that could become part of a nuclear thermal propulsion system , a next-generation technology that could make the exploration of deep space faster and more efficient.” On this episode, learn how Dr. Paolo Venneri and his team help provide hardware and services for reli...
Jul 15, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 128
This is the story of one amazing woman who is taking her expertise of space systems and implementing changes that will benefit us all- like making life support technologies easily accessible and affordable for terrestrial humanity. Clean and accessible water. Better air quality. And leaving the world a better place than when you found it. Brittany Zimmerman is the CEO and Chief of Innovation at Yummet, a company she’s built herself from asking the big questions, including how each of us can be a...
Jul 08, 2021•49 min•Ep. 127
Today on the podcast…. Beth welcomes back Chris Carberry to help introduce Space Drinks Association , a new organization comprised of diverse and unique collection of brewers, distillers, space exploration professionals, farmers, medical professionals, inventors, hospitality professionals, enthusiasts and futurists who are actively advancing the production and consumption of alcohol in space! Listen as Chris and Beth say “cheers” to the holiday weekend, and to all of the great potential benefits...
Jul 02, 2021•20 min•Ep. 126
There are *billions* of dollars’ worth of invaluable imagery, information, and data available, for free from NASA, NOAA, ESA, and more but unfortunately, sometimes it can be hard to get to… and hard to use. The folks at Element 84, a software development firm specializing in large scale geospatial data systems and remote sensing believe that the more they can help make that data accessible and usable, the more we can learn about our planet and how it's changing. “How hard can it be?” is a questi...
Jun 24, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 125
“How might we prepare today’s students for humanities multi-planet future?” -Mark Wagner, Casual Space Podcast How will we go to school in space? What will we need to learn? What do the “classrooms” look like? And who will be our “teachers?” Mark and the team at ARES Learning have thought about these questions and have come up with some very inspiring solutions! About ARES Learning At ARES Learning, cadets build the knowledge, skills and mindsets necessary to navigate the great challenges of the...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 124
People often ask me what it was like as a “NASA” insider. On this episode of Casual Space, one of the very best of the best, Michael Ciannilli joins me to share highlights and lessons learned from more than 25 years at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Michael “Mike” Ciannilli is NASA’s manager of the Apollo, Challenger, Columbia Lessons Learned Program, where he helps innovatively and effectively share NASA’s lessons of the past to help ensure future success. Inspired by Mike and his work? Check out...
Jun 10, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 123
