Episode 1: New Horizons Ultima Thule Flyby

Technology Today

Southwest Research Institute

Technology

4.8 • 19 Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2018

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Get ready for a front row seat on a history-making mission to the far reaches of the outer solar system! Southwest Research Institute space scientist Alan Stern is leading NASA’s galactic journey to the Kuiper Belt to explore 2014 MU69, or Ultima Thule, an object suspended in the “third zone” of our solar system, more than 6 billion kilometers from Earth. The New Horizons spacecraft will fly by Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day 2019. This is the farthest exploration of an object in space on the fastest spaceship ever launched. Stern tells us how Ultima was discovered, how it got its unique nickname and what information this object frozen in time could hold about the beginnings of our universe. In this episode, an inside look at the upcoming farthest planetary encounter in history.

Transcript

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0:00.0	We're launching an out-of-this-world conversation in our first episode of the Technology Today podcast.
0:06.8	Coming up, you'll hear from the leader of a NASA space mission.
0:09.9	His team is about to send a spacecraft 6.6 billion kilometers from Earth to get a close-up look at an object frozen in time.
0:19.5	What is this mystery object? What can it tell us about the
0:22.3	universe and about our home planet? That's next on our very first episode of Technology Today.
0:32.5	We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of innovative research every day.
0:38.8	Now, let's understand it better. You're listening to the new Technology Today podcast presented by
0:44.5	Southwest Research Institute. Hello and welcome to technology today. I'm your host, Lisa Benia.
0:52.3	Today we are talking deep space exploration and an upcoming
0:57.5	event that will be a first for humankind happening New Year's Day 2019. Our guest today is Dr.
1:04.9	Alan Stern. Dr. Stern is leading NASA's New Horizons mission. This is the mission that brought
1:10.6	us spectacular, never-before-seen
1:12.8	images of Pluto in 2015, and now New Horizons is on to its next astonishing adventure in the
1:20.1	Kuiper Belt just weeks away from the farthest planetary encounter in history. A staggering 6.6 billion kilometers from Earth. From there,
1:31.9	New Horizons will beam back information about an object known as 2014 MU69, also called Ultima
1:40.7	Tully. Thank you for joining us, Dr. Stern. It's great to be here. Thanks.
1:44.7	Now, did I say all that correctly?
1:46.1	That was all right on the mark, yeah.
1:48.0	Well, let's talk about Kuiper versus Kuiper.
1:50.6	Which one is it?
1:51.5	It's whatever you like.
1:52.8	Whatever feels right.
	...

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