Space Boffins, from the Naked Scientists

Shuttle pilot and International Space Station Commander, Terry Virts, chats to Space Boffins about flying the Shuttle, commanding the ISS, photographing the Earth ...and UFOs. And after the triumphant flight of Wally Funk, Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by space reporter and commercial spaceflight expert, Sarah Cruddas, to talk about space tourism and space entrepreneurs. But will th...

On the 10th anniversary of Space Boffins, BBC Science and Space Correspondent Jonathan Amos comes aboard to celebrate Mercury 13 legend Wally Funk as she prepares to launch to space with Jeff Bezos. We also catch up on ten years of space developments, chat to ESA's project scientist for the JUICE mission to Jupiter's icy moons, Olivier Witasse, and celebrate Apollo 15 with an epic montage featurin...

Two astronauts, one space hipster, a writer and a musician all feature in this month's Space Boffins. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by podcaster and founder of the Space Hipsters, Emily Carney. They also hear from pioneering astronaut Anna Fisher in conversation with astronaut Nicole Stott. And David Brown, author of The Mission, talks about Jupiter's moon Europa and the chances of...

In a podcast exclusive, Britain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman, joins the Space Boffins 30 years after her 1991 Juno mission. She describes the selection process, training in the Soviet Union and her return. Author of the Martian, Andy Weir, chats about his latest book, Jason Achilles Mezilis is the musician behind the Mars microphone, and we commemorate the death of Apollo 11 legend Mike Collin...

In an epic edition of the Space Boffins Podcast we ambitiously celebrate the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight and the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Space Shuttle. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by live guests Stephen Walker author of Beyond, a new book on Gagarin, and Libby Jackson who leads the human space programme at the UK Space Agency. They also talk to tw...

AS NASA's Perseverance rover makes it safely to Mars, we chat to science writer Elizabeth Howell about the array of missions now studying the red planet. Also the European Space Agency's head of diversity, Ersilia Vaudo, talks about plans for parastronauts, and the UK ground station that relayed the first footsteps on the Moon gears up for the next big lunar adventure. Plus, find out who was right...

This month science journalist Katia Moskvitch joins the Space Boffins to discuss the zombies of the cosmos, neutron stars, as well as the European Space Agency's new astronaut recruitment and Yuri Gagarin's birthplace. They also hear about the new communications system fitted to the space station, ColKA, and talk to author Neal Thompson about the Don Draper of astronauts, Alan Shepard. And see if...

Space journalist Andrew Jones and his cat join the Space Boffins this month to discuss China's ambitious plans for the Moon and beyond. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham also talk to Nellie Offord from UK company SSTL about their lunar communications satellite (and whether it will go beep), hear from author Rebecca Siegel about the enormous egos of the Mercury astronauts and celebrate space chimp...

In a specially recorded face to (socially-distanced) face interview to mark the fifth anniversary of his mission to the International Space Station, British European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake reveals the details of his perilous space station docking, physically challenging return to Earth and launchpad music selections. He also discusses the legacy of his flight and the influence it's had o...

NASA has just collected a sample from an asteroid and work is well underway to land a woman on the Moon. Space journalist David Whitehouse chats about whether President Trump was good for space. Dr Sara Russell discusses the OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu, and Thales Alenia Space UK CEO Andrew Stanniland explains how they'll build a fuel station for the Moon... Like this podcast? Please help...

To celebrate 20 years of people living on the International Space Station, we feature only ISS astronauts in this special edition of Space Boffins. NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott joins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson and we revisit interviews with Chris Hadfield, Cady Coleman, Scott Kelly, Sergei Krikalev, Luca Parmitano and Michael Foale. What other podcast on the planet gives you seven astronauts...

Skylab's perilous and dramatic mission, life on Venus, the religion of Cosmism, and Brexit all get discussed this month. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by astronomer and writer Dr Stuart Clark to chat about our relationship with the night sky. Also aboard are David Hitt, author of Homesteading Space - the Skylab Story, and Arfan Chaudhry, from the UK Space Agency, on new UK space pro...

Space Boffins celebrate their 100th Naked Scientists' edition with two major guests: NASA's head of science, Thomas Zurbuchen, and the UK Space Agency's head of human space exploration, Libby Jackson. They discuss the future of the International Space Station and lunar exploration and the inside-track on the troubled James Webb Space Telescope. Also aboard, Charles Cockell on asteroid mining, and...

Mars is the destination of choice for three Mars missions this summer, with the US, China and the United Arab Emirates all preparing for launch. Also, UAE plans for a Mars habitat, the UK engineer working on ways to return samples to Earth, the Mars Society's Lucinda Offer outlines plans for Martian settlements, Nicolas Booth talks landers, life, and rovers, and a review Spaceship Earth, the new m...

Following the successful Crew Dragon launch, Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman talks about the terrors of splashdown, and Shuttle astronaut and aquanaut Kathy Sullivan describes the choreography of spacewalking. The Boffins are also joined by TV presenter Gareth Jones and hear about a mission to remove space debris, and listen to the latest release from Kraftwurst... Like this podcast? Please help u...

With astronauts preparing for the first flight in the Dragon spacecraft, space reporter Sarah Cruddas discusses this new era in space travel. Richard and Sue hear about the space industry's response to Covid-19, astronaut Nicole Stott talks about space art and we feature another song about Hubble that should have been a Britpop classic. As the Space Boffins in lockdown go mildly hysterical, enjoy...

In a special bonus episode of Space Boffins Richard Hollingham celebrates Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who died in March. The podcast features extracts from interviews Richard conducted with Al, including previously unbroadcast material, and includes the astronaut's comments on being the loneliest human, the stamps controversy and his relationship with mission commander Dave Scott. Al describes...

Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson celebrate Hubble's 30th birthday with Shuttle astronaut Kathy Sullivan, who deployed the space telescope, and hear from NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill about his warning alarm system for Apollo 13, celebrating its 50th lucky escape anniversary. And Craig Clark, of AAC Clyde Space, shows them around the cubesat pioneer's HQ in Glasgow. All this with bonus space-themed...

The Sun, stamps and exoplanets in this edition. ESA's senior science advisor Mark McCaughrean reflects on the emotional launch of Solar Orbiter, Nobel Prize winner Didier Queloz talks CHEOPS as the telescope prepares to start studying planets outside our Solar System, and Stuart Clark reveals his role in the UK's recently released Visions of the Universe space stamps. Like this podcast? Please hel...

Live at Astrofest 2020, Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham talk to UK Space Agency chief scientist Chris Lee, space law expert Chris Newman and the European Space Agency's Antonella Nota. They discuss Hubble's legacy, the James Webb, legality of lunar ownership, and the impact of hundreds of new satellites. Plus, TRUTHS - the new climate-monitoring mission. Like this podcast? Please help us by supp...

Shuttle astronaut Mike Mullane recounts stories of space sexism, toilets and M and Ms in the first Space Boffins podcast of 2020. We also meet the engineer developing the controls for a new robotic arm for the space station - or 'Man Machine Interface' - and Richard and Sue are joined by science writer Colin Stuart to look ahead to the next year in space. Warning: this podcast features some distur...

Rubber gloves, sew sisters and a mission to the Sun with Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson this month. Richard talks to Solar Orbiter ESA and NASA mission scientists in Munich. Sue reports from the US on the seamstresses to the stars - including Jean Wright, who sewed thermal blankets on the Space Shuttle and Jeanne Wilson, who helped make Neil Armstrong's spacesuit. Plus astronomer...

What would a house on Mars look like? Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson tackle the tricky topic of Mars interior design and the challenges of moving to Mars. They're joined by the Head of Science for the UK Space Agency, Chris Lee, to also discuss a new mission to a comet - a comet that's not yet been discovered - and future international science missions. They also hear from Apollo...

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham visit Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne factory floor in Long Beach, California and Sue heads to Spaceport Cornwall, where Virgin Orbit plans to launch its small satellites from a modified Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl. Shahida Barick from SSC Space UK joins them in the studio to explain what Sweden has to offer the space industry and there's a tribute to c...

How clean is really clean? This month, as Europe's Rosalind Franklin Mars rover leaves the UK, Space Boffins visit the clean room to discover the effort needed to keep Mars safe from Earth-bugs. With guest NASA Curiosity mission scientist Sanjeev Gupta from Imperial College London, we hear about the two Mars rovers heading to the red planet in 2020 and their search for past or present life. We als...