April 13, 2017 10:16 pm

Friday, Neil Tyson Delves into the Real History of Space Exploration, Now Extended with Cosmic Queries

Why did the United States really start a space program? Why did the Apollo program end early? And how much did the US space program rely on former German scientists, some of whom were Nazis?

NASA archive photo of the first missile launched at Cape Canaveral, a Bumper V-2, on July 24, 1950.

The Bumper V-2 was the first missile launched at Cape Canaveral on July 24, 1950. Image Credit: NASA.

It’s time to revisit another classic in the StarTalk canon. Back in Season Four, Neil Tyson and Prof. John Logsdon dug into the history of space exploration and now this episode has been extended with Neil and comic co-host Chuck Nice answering fan-submitted Cosmic Queries.

Usually our Cosmic Queries are submitted in advance, but this new segment was the first-time Neil ever answered Cosmic Queries live in-studio, via Facebook Live and Periscope.

During the new segment, you’ll hear Neil and Chuck answer questions in real time, and, per usual, StarTalk fans know how to ask questions, even on the fly. The results included questions on a bevy of topics.

You’ll hear Neil talk about the peer review articles he’s written, a prediction he made in The Astrophysical Journal Letters about the number of galaxies in the universe, and how he studied the “language of the universe” while in school.

Discover the possibilities of carbon capture technology, if there are any viable solutions to making the technology real today, and how there are other ways to solve CO2 emission problems.

When a fan asks whether to explore the Moon or Mars, Neil urges us to make the whole solar system our backyard.

That’s all in the new segment, Plus, Neil answers once and for all if he would ever consider running for President.

If you want to find out the answer to these Cosmic Queries, or to look back on the history of space exploration, then please join us tomorrow night for Extended Classic: Space Chronicles (Part 1) at 7pm EDT right here on iTunes Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. And if you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen

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