Universe Today Podcast
Your Ultimate Guide to All Things Space
Space news, interviews, Q&As, and exclusive content from Universe Today.
Audio versions of Fraser Cain YouTube channel.
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May 19th, 2025
So far we couldn't find liquid water on Mars. But there are still places where it can hide from us. One of them is pockets under the ice. How can it exist there and which possible ways do we have to detect it? Finding out in this interview.
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May 16th, 2025
ESA’s PLATO mission gets its eyes installed, Webb finds water ice in another star system, could it be dark matter and not dark energy that’s evolving over time? And in our longer [Space Bites+] on Patreon, researchers have found that hardy bacteria are evolving to thrive in spacecraft clean rooms.
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May 14th, 2025
Our current tech doesn't allow us to block light from Sun-like stars to see Earth-like planets. The brightness difference is just too high. One of the ways we can achieve it is with quantum coronagraphs. What are they and how do they work? Finding out in this interview.
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May 14th, 2025
Why risk sending big space missions instead of swarms of cubesats? Can NASA protect future Mars astronauts from radiation with EM-rockets? How close are we to discovering our first exomoon? And in our Q&A+ version, which sci-fi tech is the closest to becoming a reality? Answering all that and more in this Q&A show.
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May 13th, 2025
Is keeping the Voyagers active a waste of money and time on the Deep Space Network? Could you play catch with a baseball-mass black hole? How confident are we in the distance ladder? And in our Q&A+ version, does it make sense to film a movie in space? Answering all that and more in this Q&A show.
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May 12th, 2025
The Kerbal Space Program is a fun game, but also an incredible tool for simulating a realistic space exploration program. According to a new paper, people playing the game can help develop innovative ideas that can turn into real missions, especially with the development and integration of reusable rockets like Starship and New Glenn.
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May 9th, 2025
The official NASA cuts are here. Several missions reach big milestones. The Solar Gravitational Lens will be challenging to use, and in our special bonus version on Patreon, [Space Bites+] an additional story about New Horizons scanning the clouds of hydrogen around the Solar System.
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May 8th, 2025
Which evidence will be a definite smoking gun when it comes to finding extraterrestrial life? Why is a Dyson sphere more realistic than warp drives? Will America ever adopt the metric system? And in our Q&A+ version, will China be collaborating with other nations in space? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.
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May 6th, 2025
Can artificial black holes be the great filter for advanced civilizations? Where exactly will the Artemis 3 mission will be landing on the Moon? What's the smallest possible star? And in our Q&A+ version, how much would a fossil from Mars cost? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.
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May 5th, 2025
Vera Rubin Telescope (aka LSST) is finally ready. We're expecting first light in the coming months. It will find Planet 9 (if it exists), discover thousands of new asteroids, millions of new supernovae and will change the way we do astronomy with its surveys of the night sky. Here's how it will do all that.
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May 2nd, 2025
There’s a problem with Psyche’s propellant fuel lines. Have astronomers found the first hint of Planet 9? How Kerbal Space Program could help space agencies design real missions, and gold from magnetars. And on our longer Space Bites+ edition on Patreon, a soviet Venus mission will be re-entering the atmosphere in May.
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May 1st, 2025
Can we protect Mars from solar radiation? What happens in the cosmic voids? Would we have different astronomy if we lived in another part of the galaxy? And in our Q&A+ edition, Can we use the energy of the Apophis flyby to launch an interstellar probe? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.
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April 29th, 2025
Is gravity infinite? Did the dinosaurs feel the effects of the asteroid before it crashed? How long would the ISS survive without support? Would potential life on K2-18b be trapped in their gravity well? And in our Q&A+ edition, is Vera Rubin telescope DOGE-proof? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.
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April 28th, 2025
Finding extraterrestrial life is a goal for a lot of space missions. Telescopes are analysing distant planets in search of biosignatures. We've spent a lot of time thinking about what it will be like to find life on other planets. But what if we don't? What happens then? Finding out in this interview.
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April 25th, 2025
Lucy’s close up images of another asteroid, why Mars has a lopsided magnetic field, Chinese engineers rescue a pair of satellites with gravitational slingshots, and new hints about where Mars’s carbon dioxide atmosphere went. In our longer Space Bites+ on Patreon, a proposed human mission to both Mars and the asteroid Ceres.
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April 24th, 2025
Why am I so pessimistic about the progress of humanity? Which kilonova did all our heavy elements come from? What's the deal with the dark stars? And in our free Q&A+ on patreon, can a single nation realistically have a Moon outpost? Answering all these questions and more in this question show.