Episodes

  • Cat's Head Nebula, Artemis 2028 & Planet Nine Pushed Back

    Cat's Head Nebula, Artemis 2028 & Planet Nine Pushed Back
    Nov 1 2026
    (00:00:00) Cat's Head Nebula, Artemis 2028 & Planet Nine Pushed Back
    (00:01:25) NASA Artemis 2028 Moon Landing
    (00:02:18) Commercial Lander Safety Gaps
    (00:02:54) Planet Nine Theory Under Pressure
    (00:03:35) K2-18b SETI Survey Results
    (00:04:14) Lunar Landing Simulator Training

    The James Webb Space Telescope has done it again — this time cutting through the dust of the Cat's Head Nebula, roughly 7,500 light-years away, to reveal what appears to be a newly forming star hidden inside. Combined with Hubble data, the multi-wavelength imagery is reshaping our understanding of stellar nurseries, though spectroscopic confirmation of the protostar's age and mass is still pending. Webb caught the nebula at a rare moment before photoevaporation erases it entirely.

    NASA's Artemis programme has been restructured around an early 2028 crewed lunar landing at the Moon's south pole. Artemis III is now a docking demonstration in 2027, with the actual surface landing moved to Artemis IV — a response to both technical realities and China's pre-2030 lunar ambitions. But a NASA Inspector General report has flagged serious crew-rescue gaps in the SpaceX and Blue Origin lander programmes, a safety issue that must be resolved before any astronaut touches the surface.

    Elsewhere: the discovery of sednoid 2023 KQ14 has pushed the hypothetical Planet Nine beyond 500 astronomical units, well outside current detection capability. A coordinated Very Large Array and MeerKAT radio survey of exoplanet K2-18b found no technosignatures — but validated the automated SETI pipeline the Square Kilometre Array will depend on. And at NASA Ames, astronauts are already using the Vertical Motion Simulator to train for the lunar south pole descent.

    Six stories. Everything that mattered in space today.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    5 mins
  • Starship Upper Stage Catch, Artemis 2028 & First Exosatellite Candidate

    Starship Upper Stage Catch, Artemis 2028 & First Exosatellite Candidate
    Oct 31 2026
    (00:00:00) Starship Upper Stage Catch, Artemis 2028 & First Exosatellite Candidate
    (00:01:12) NASA Artemis 2028 Moon Push
    (00:02:25) Starship Flight 15 Testing
    (00:03:06) Possible First Exosatellite Found
    (00:03:42) China Space Military Buildup
    (00:04:04) Key Watchpoints Ahead

    This episode covers four of the most consequential stories in space right now, each with real stakes and open questions worth tracking.

    SpaceX completed critical pre-flight tests for Starship Flight 15 this week, including a full 33-engine static fire of Booster 22 and a six-engine deorbit burn simulation for Ship 42. If FAA licensing clears around mid-November, this will be the first-ever attempt to catch the upper stage using the Starbase launch tower's mechanical arms — an operation Elon Musk puts at 50–60% success probability on the first try.

    NASA has officially redefined the Artemis roadmap. Artemis III in 2027 becomes a critical docking test with commercial landers in Earth orbit, not a surface mission. The first actual lunar south pole landing moves to Artemis IV, targeting early 2028. With China aiming for a crewed lunar landing before 2030, NASA Administrator Isaacman has framed 2028 as the hard deadline for U.S. leadership. SpaceX lander readiness and unresolved rescue capability gaps remain the key risk variables.

    Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have detected a possible exosatellite — roughly Jupiter's mass — orbiting a brown dwarf in the CD-35 2722 system. If confirmed, it would be the first moon-like body ever identified beyond our solar system.

    Finally, asteroid 2025 TF passed closer to Earth than the ISS on October 1 — and no one detected it until hours after the flyby. The episode explains why that's not a system failure but a hard limit of current planetary defense coverage for small objects.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    5 mins
  • Triple Black Holes, Youngest Planet & First Exomoon Candidate

    Triple Black Holes, Youngest Planet & First Exomoon Candidate
    Oct 30 2026
    (00:00:00) Triple Black Holes, Youngest Planet & First Exomoon Candidate
    (00:01:20) Youngest Planet Ever Confirmed
    (00:02:07) Possible First Exomoon Detected
    (00:02:49) Artemis Radiation and Mission Complexity
    (00:03:41) The Pattern Across Today's Discoveries

    Three supermassive black holes have been detected in a single galaxy 12.5 billion light-years away, offering the clearest observational evidence yet that mergers drove the rapid growth of massive black holes in the early universe. One of the three is feeding beyond the Eddington limit — the theoretical maximum accretion rate — and no one yet has a satisfying explanation for how.

    Also confirmed today: Elias 2-24 b, the youngest planet ever observed. This Jupiter-sized world is less than one million years old and sits 55 astronomical units from its host star — a distance and timeline that conventional planet formation models say shouldn't be possible. The models, it seems, need revision.

    A third major story: a plausible candidate for the first confirmed exomoon has been detected orbiting a brown dwarf in the CD-35 2722 system. Classification is genuinely uncertain — is it a moon or a rogue planet? The Extremely Large Telescope will likely settle the question, but the detection itself highlights how far advanced coronagraph instruments have pushed the boundaries of what's observable.

    Rounding out today's episode, new radiation data from Artemis I's lithium fluoride detectors is shaping crew safety planning for Artemis III. NASA has also confirmed an unprecedented dual-lander crewed orbital test in Earth orbit before any Moon landing attempt — making 2027 a critical milestone to track.

    All four stories share a common thread: JWST, precision detectors, and next-generation coronagraphs are revealing phenomena the physics long predicted but observers could never confirm. The universe is catching up to the theory — and the theory isn't always holding up.

    A YesWee production.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    5 mins
  • Starship Flight 15 Ready, ISS Power Upgrade & China's Spaceplane Revealed

    Starship Flight 15 Ready, ISS Power Upgrade & China's Spaceplane Revealed
    Oct 29 2026
    (00:00:00) Starship Flight 15 Ready, ISS Power Upgrade & China's Spaceplane Revealed
    (00:01:10) Starship Flight 15 Testing Complete
    (00:01:57) Lazuli Telescope's 27 Exoplanet Targets
    (00:02:50) China's Shenzhou Spaceplane Revealed
    (00:03:20) Commercial Space and Astroscale Defense Plan
    (00:04:01) Mars Cliffs and Closing Watchpoints

    Space news is moving fast this week, and this episode covers six major developments across exploration, commercial spaceflight, and astronomy.

    SpaceX has completed all hardware testing for Starship Flight 15 — Super Heavy Booster 22 ran a successful 33-engine static fire, and Starship 42 completed single and six-engine tests. The only remaining gate is FAA regulatory clearance. If Flight 15 succeeds, it will be the first mission to attempt catching both the booster and upper stage at the launch tower in a single flight — a landmark moment for reusable rocket economics.

    On the ISS front, two spacewalks scheduled for October 29 and November 5 will install the final two IROSA solar arrays, boosting the station's power capacity from 160 kilowatts to 215 kilowatts — the margin needed to sustain operations through the station's planned 2030 deorbit.

    The U.S. military released high-resolution satellite imagery of China's Shenlong spaceplane docked in orbit with its payload bay doors open — the first visual confirmation of its docking capability from space.

    Privately-funded Lazuli Space Telescope, backed by Eric Schmidt, has published a peer-reviewed list of 27 giant exoplanet targets for direct atmospheric imaging using reflected starlight — a technique that opens access to older, cooler worlds beyond what thermal imaging can reach.

    In commercial space, startup Cowboy Space unveiled Big Iron, a 282-foot rocket designed to launch 20,000 AI data center satellites by late 2028. And Astroscale has proposed repurposing its satellite servicing tech as orbital bodyguard spacecraft.

    Finally, Curiosity has captured striking wind-carved cliff formations on Mount Sharp that may preserve ancient volcanic ash layers.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    5 mins
  • Black Holes Too Big, Too Soon — Saturn's Decagon & Mars Dust Risk

    Black Holes Too Big, Too Soon — Saturn's Decagon & Mars Dust Risk
    Oct 28 2026
    (00:00:00) Black Holes Too Big, Too Soon — Saturn's Decagon & Mars Dust Risk
    (00:00:28) MoM-BL-z10 and the Formation Problem
    (00:01:18) Triple Black Hole System J0148-4214
    (00:02:01) Saturn's Unexpected Ten-Sided Pattern
    (00:02:55) Mars Dust and the Brain Exposure Risk
    (00:03:39) What to Watch Next

    Astrophysics is under pressure. A newly confirmed black hole — designated MoM-BL-z10 — weighs up to 36 million solar masses and existed just 470 million years after the Big Bang. Standard accretion models cannot explain how that much mass assembled so quickly. And it's not alone: a galaxy 12.5 billion light-years away, J0148-4214, has been found to host three actively feeding supermassive black holes, two of them just 620 light-years apart. Together, these findings suggest the early universe was producing massive black holes through pathways our models simply don't yet account for.

    Closer to home, Hubble has detected a ten-sided atmospheric wave — a decagon — forming at Saturn's south pole, a structure with no clear explanation and no precedent. Unlike the famous northern hexagon, which has persisted for over 40 years, this southern pattern appeared only recently and is still strengthening. It isn't a storm or vortex — it's a large-scale wave, and understanding it could reshape how scientists model gas giant atmospheres.

    Finally, Perseverance has confirmed the presence of 100-nanometer dust particles in the Martian environment — particles small enough to travel through the olfactory nerve directly to the brain. That finding has moved from theoretical concern to engineering constraint, already influencing habitat and airlock design for future crewed Mars missions.

    Three stories, three open questions. All of them moving fast. This is your daily space and astronomy briefing.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    4 mins
  • Artemis 2027-2028 at Risk, Webb's Ancient Spiral & First Exosatellite

    Artemis 2027-2028 at Risk, Webb's Ancient Spiral & First Exosatellite
    Oct 27 2026
    (00:00:00) Artemis 2027-2028 at Risk, Webb's Ancient Spiral & First Exosatellite
    (00:01:12) Starship Refueling Dispute
    (00:02:28) COSMOS-74706 Early Universe Galaxy
    (00:03:10) First Exosatellite Candidate Found
    (00:03:49) Subaru Roman Telescope Partnership

    NASA has officially dated the next two Artemis missions — an orbital docking rehearsal in summer 2027 and a crewed lunar landing in 2028 — but the hardware picture is far from settled. This episode breaks down the confirmed architecture: a new extended Centaur V upper stage solving Orion's long-standing propulsion deficit, SpaceX Starship handling crewed lunar descent, and Blue Origin's redesigned Blue Moon offering a parallel path via four New Glenn launches.

    The sharpest risk remains SpaceX's in-orbit propellant transfer requirement. NASA's Safety Panel estimates roughly 22 tanker launches; Elon Musk claims six to eight. That gap represents unresolved engineering — cryogenic boiloff, transfer efficiency, and demonstrated lift capacity are all still open questions. NASA is deliberately running both commercial architectures in parallel, but the 2028 timeline carries very little margin if either slips.

    Beyond lunar hardware, James Webb Space Telescope delivered a striking cosmological surprise: galaxy COSMOS-74706, spectroscopically confirmed at 11.5 billion years old, is a fully formed barred spiral — a level of structural maturity current models didn't predict at just two billion years post-Big Bang. Meanwhile, ESO's Very Large Telescope announced the first plausible exosatellite candidate, a Jupiter-mass object orbiting a brown dwarf in the CD-35 2722 system, detected via radial velocity.

    Rounding out the episode: the Subaru Telescope commits 100 nights to a coordinated partnership with NASA's Roman Space Telescope, targeting exoplanets, dark energy, and large-scale cosmic structure from 2027 onward.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    5 mins
  • NASA Locks 2028 Moon Landing, Webb Breaks Cosmology & First Exosatellite

    NASA Locks 2028 Moon Landing, Webb Breaks Cosmology & First Exosatellite
    Oct 26 2026
    (00:00:00) NASA Locks 2028 Moon Landing, Webb Breaks Cosmology & First Exosatellite
    (00:00:36) SpaceX vs Blue Origin Lander Race
    (00:01:27) XLSSC 122 Breaks Cosmology Models
    (00:02:15) Ghost Starlight Maps Dark Matter
    (00:02:58) First Exosatellite Candidate Detected
    (00:03:43) Key Watchpoints Ahead

    NASA has officially targeted 2028 for its next crewed Moon landing, invoking Apollo-era urgency under Administrator Jared Isaacman. With SpaceX and Blue Origin locked in a race for the Artemis IV lander contract, a docking test launches next summer as three consecutive crewed spaceflights are planned from Cape Canaveral in close sequence. China's advancing lunar program makes the competitive stakes unmistakable.

    James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a landmark three-paper analysis of galaxy cluster XLSSC 122, located 10.4 billion light-years away at cosmic noon — the peak era of galaxy formation. The cluster is too massive, too concentrated, and too structured for standard cosmological models to explain. Webb also detected the earliest-known intracluster light in the system, revealing that faint ghost starlight from scattered stars traces the same distribution as dark matter — opening a powerful new tool for mapping dark matter across the early universe.

    In a separate breakthrough published in Nature, ESO's Very Large Telescope has found evidence of a Jupiter-mass object orbiting a brown dwarf in the system CD-35 2722. If confirmed through follow-up observations with ESO's Extremely Large Telescope, it would become the first exosatellite ever detected beyond our Solar System — a discovery that challenges every existing classification framework.

    Key watchpoints: the Artemis III docking test next summer, a larger galaxy cluster sample to validate the XLSSC 122 anomaly, and follow-up confirmation of the CD-35 2722 exosatellite candidate.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    5 mins
  • SpaceX AI Beats Rockets, Artemis Overhauled & Starship Refueling Dispute

    SpaceX AI Beats Rockets, Artemis Overhauled & Starship Refueling Dispute
    Oct 25 2026
    (00:00:00) SpaceX AI Beats Rockets, Artemis Overhauled & Starship Refueling Dispute
    (00:00:50) Starlink's 13.6 Million Subscribers
    (00:01:20) NASA Artemis Architecture Overhaul
    (00:02:16) The Starship Refueling Dispute
    (00:02:54) Extended Centaur V Solves Orion Gap
    (00:03:23) Space Force Commercial Partnerships
    (00:03:48) What to Watch Next

    SpaceX just posted Q3 earnings that redefine what kind of company it is. The AI division, branded Super Intelligence, generated $7.56 billion in revenue — a nine-times year-over-year jump — overtaking both Starlink ($5.25B) and rockets to become SpaceX's largest business segment. Net profit hit $4.4 billion on $14.6 billion in total revenue. Meanwhile, Starlink crossed 13.6 million subscribers, up 69% year-over-year, and the company is projecting combined AI and connectivity revenues of $500 billion to $1 trillion in annual recurring revenue by end of 2027.

    On the lunar front, NASA has formally confirmed a sweeping Artemis architecture overhaul. The Lunar Gateway is gone. The new plan routes Orion through high-Earth orbit docking with both SpaceX's Starship lander and Blue Origin's Blue Moon vehicle before the lunar transit. Artemis III now targets a 2027 orbital docking test, with the actual lunar landing pushed to 2028.

    The sharpest unresolved question: how many refueling flights does Starship need in orbit? NASA's independent safety panel says 22. Elon Musk says 6 to 8. That gap — and unvalidated propellant transfer data — is the critical unknown hanging over the entire schedule.

    Also covered: NASA and ULA's Extended Centaur V upper stage designed to close an Orion propulsion gap, and the Space Force's new commercial space monitoring agreements with Anduril, LeoLabs, Slingshot, InTrack, EOS, and NorthStar.

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    4 mins