Feel the need for speed? Well, you’ll need an extra helping of speed if you plan to leave the Earth and explore other parts of the solar system. On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, and as part of our series for the International Year of Astronomy: what it’s like to travel in a rocket (why you won’t feel any motion), and NASA’s plans for returning to the moon.

Also, life in an accelerating universe and why a spacecraft’s quirky trajectory may mean that the laws of motion need tweaking. And we revisit Stanley Kubrick’s epic film 2001: A Space Odyssey

Plus, Seth gets around … and around … when he takes a spin in a gravitational centrifuge.

Guests:

  • John Keller – Deputy project scientist for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
  • Robert Kirschner – Astronomer at Harvard University
  • Jaime Mateus – Graduate student at M.I.T.’s Manned Vehicle Laboratory
  • Mark Frank – Astrodynamicist in California
  • Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood – Stars of the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey

Podcast also available on PocketCasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and RSS.

2026 Webby Award Nominee
for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

Hosted By

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

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