<p>This holiday special episode of This Week in Space covers a wide range of space topics from 2023, including asteroid sample return, China's space achievements, commercial lunar landers, Mars sample return challenges, UFO disclosure, and more.<br /> <br /> Headlines:</p><ul> <li>The asteroid Bennu sample return mission delivers intriguing early findings, including organic molecules and "cauliflower" textured particles that may provide insights into the early solar system.</li> <li>Speculative ideas on "dark life" forming from dark matter shortly after the Big Bang prompts discussion on expanding definitions of life.</li> <li>Congress orders UFO records released within 25 years but allows military to withhold information threatening national security, disappointing those seeking full disclosure.</li></ul> <p>Main Topic: The Year in Review</p><ul> <li>Recap of major SpaceX milestones in 2023 with Falcon 9 reuse and Starship testing advances, though the lunar landing variant and orbital refueling still need work.</li> <li>India bounces back from previous lunar landing failure with successful Chandrayaan-3 orbiter and Pragyan rover mission.</li> <li>Mars sample return mission faces criticism for ballooning costs now exceeding $11 billion and delays pushing to 2030 or beyond.</li> <li>OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return hailed as a major success story for 2023 despite minor parachute issue on re-entry.</li> <li>Psyche and Lucy asteroid missions yield early surprises on unique asteroid properties.</li> <li>China's 2023 space achievements and future plans make it a program to watch with possible Mars sample returns, an increased pace of lunar landings, and more... maybe even sample sharing with the US!</li> <li>ULA readies new Vulcan Centaur rocket for a January launch — it's a critical path to the moon with the first commercial lunar lander onboard.</li> <li>Artemis delays provide cover for missing elements like SpaceX's lunar lander, orbital refueling tests, and lunar surface EVA suits.</li> <li>Guest Leonard David covers latest intrigue around government UFO briefings and disclosure efforts.</li></ul> <p><strong>Hosts:</strong> <a href="https://twit.tv/people/rod-pyle">Rod Pyle</a> and <a href="https://twit.tv/people/tariq-malik">Tariq Malik</a></p> <p><strong>Guest:</strong> <a href="https://www.leonarddavid.com/" target="_blank">Leonard David</a></p> <p>Download or subscribe to this show at <a href="https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space">https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space</a>.</p> <p>Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at <a href="https://twit.tv/clubtwit" rel="payment">https://twit.tv/clubtwit</a></p> <p><strong>Sponsor:</strong><ul> <li><a href="http://bitwarden.com/twit" target="_blank" rel="sponsored">bitwarden.com/twit</a></li> </ul></p>
Source: https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space/episodes/91
Published: 2023-12-15 15:11:05