Roid Rage

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission went to asteroid Bennu expecting sandy soil and found a rock quarry instead. In this episode, AstroForge senior payload scientist and former Lead Scientist on OSIRIS-REx's sample physical and thermal analysis working group, Andy Ryan, joins Jack to discuss what the team actually found, why it was so radically different from what was expected, and what it might mean for mining a metallic asteroid. Plus; planetary defense, porosity, and lock-in thermography!

Jack sits down with Max and Chris to talk through the end-to-end RF test we just ran: what worked, what didn't, and why the test plan and the test outcomes were not the same. They also get into why we built an anechoic chamber in-house and what it's like to work two feet away from something that would cook you if the walls weren't there.

Jack is joined by Matt and Chap to talk through the Artemis shakeup, why Jared Isaacman airing NASA's dirty laundry is actually a good thing, and how Lunar Trailblazer failed a year ago and nobody said anything until now. Chap walks through why the mining industry is fundamentally broken: it's a hand-crank engine being asked to power an energy transition. We roast a market report that claims asteroid mining is a $2 billion industry in 2025 - Matt would like to have a word with whoever wrote that.
Medium article: https://medium.com/cathay-innovation/redefining-the-mining-value-chain-3d029e5906db

Jack is joined by Matt and Robyn to break down the Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal*, why Starliner is what happens when you build a jobs program instead of a spacecraft, and a full rundown of Deep Space 2's recent testing gauntlet.

Matt, Chap, and Jack discuss Artemis II's second wet dress rehearsal, the volatility of metals markets, and Jack's car getting stolen.