Space Policy Edition #3: Plutonium-238, Europa via SLS, Cost of the Next Mars Rover Rises

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

The Planetary Society

Technology, Science

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2016

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In our third episode, we debate the risks and rewards of tying the future of a Europa mission to the fate of NASA's massive Space Launch System rocket. Also, NASA just announced that the next Mars rover will cost $2.4 billion—$900 million more than initially thought. But the mission is not considered over budget. Why not? Lastly, the U.S. just generated 50 grams of Plutonium-238, the largest amount in nearly thirty years. We celebrate the successful effort to create this critically important, though highly toxic, power source for deep space spacecraft.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Big rockets to Jupiter, a rover that's over budget that is not over budget and why Mars needs plutonium among other places.
0:17.0	That's what we're going to talk about on this month's edition of the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio.
0:22.8	Welcome everybody.
0:23.8	Welcome back.
0:24.8	We're glad to have you.
0:25.8	And we are so thrilled to be getting all those wonderful reactions from those of you who've
0:30.4	heard the past editions of this little conversation that we've got
0:34.0	underway. It is great to receive those. It is also great to know that this program
0:41.0	and so much of what the Planetary Society does is thanks to our
0:46.0	members and so a plug right up front we have a brand new membership program at
0:50.6	planetary.org or slash membership.
0:53.0	It is taking off like wildfire,
0:55.0	which is a bad thing to say in California right now.
0:58.0	But...
0:59.0	Too soon that.
1:00.0	Too soon.
1:01.0	Too soon.
1:02.0	During. It is going great. You should check it out. We can say that because this is a
1:07.0	podcast. We have great new levels of membership, great new incentives and lots of reasons,
1:12.4	great ones like supporting this program for you to
1:15.4	consider becoming a member joining us as part of the Planetary Society.
1:19.5	All right let's introduce my partners in this effort,
	...

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