This Week In Space podcast: Episode 183 — Lunar Lander Wanted! Apply Within

Lunar lander wanted! Apply Inside: Artemis III Contract Opening? – YouTube

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In episode 183 of This Week In Space, Mike Wall joins Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik to discuss NASA’s quest to beat the Chinese to a human landing on the moon.

Lander, lander, who’s got the lander? Last week, NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy announced that the agency would reopen the contract for the Artemis III lunar lander, which had previously allowed SpaceX to fulfill its Starship Human Landing System. Unfortunately, that effort is long overdue and the Trump administration has made landing astronauts on the Moon, ahead of China, a national priority.

With multiple refueling and landing tests required, there are concerns that SpaceX may not be able to meet its commitment before China’s announced landing date of 2030. Elon Musk responded to the announcement in his signature tone, with phrases like “Sean Dummy” and a double-digit IQ.

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Space news of the week.

Falcon 9 model!

Lastly, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Rocket model maker Estes Impressive scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can purchase now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and sells for $149.99. You can save 10% by using code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners CollectSPACE.com.

About this week in space

This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we delve into a fascinating topic. What is happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX actually send people to Mars?

Join Space.com’s Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe to your favorite podcatcher today.

Host of This Week In Space on TWiT

Host of This Week In Space on TWiT

Rod Pyle

Rod Pyle is an author, journalist, television producer and editor-in-chief of advertisement-astra magazine. He has written 18 books on space history, exploration and development, including Space 2.0, NASA-style innovation, Interplanetary robots, Blueprint for a Battlestar, Amazing stories from the space age, first on the moonand Destination Mars

In a previous life, Rod produced numerous documentaries and short films for The History Channel, Discovery Communications and Disney. He also worked on visual effects on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Galactic Battlestar reboot, as well as several sci-fi television pilots. His most recent television credit was with the NatGeo documentary about Tom Wolfe’s iconic book. The right thing.

This Week in Space Co-Host

This Week in Space Co-Host

Tariq Malik

Tariq Malik, responsible for Space.com’s editorial vision, has been editor-in-chief of Space.com since 2019 and has covered space news and science for 18 years. He joined the Space.com team in 2001, first as an intern and soon after as a full-time spaceflight reporter covering human spaceflight, exploration, astronomy and the night sky. He became editor-in-chief of Space.com in 2009. As an on-air talent, he has presented space stories on CNN, Fox News, NPR and others.

Tariq is an Eagle Scout (yes, he earned the Space Exploration merit badge), a veteran of Space Camp (four times as a child, once as an adult), and has last taken a “voke comet” trip while reporting on zero-gravity fires. Before joining Space.com, he served as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times covering city and education issues. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University.