logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2015
47m 50s

Cosmic Queries: Colonizing Mars

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
About this episode
Is Mars the kind of place to raise your kids? This week, Neil Tyson and Chuck Nice answer fan questions about terraforming, psychology, international treaties, and even the impact of Martian gravity and atmosphere on baseball. 
Up next
Aug 21
Your Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman
What are the limits of the human mind? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore sensory perception, dreaming, synesthesia, time, and the flexibility of the human brain with neuroscientist David Eagleman. Why does time seem to slow down during an emergency? NOTE: ... Show More
1h 3m
Aug 18
It’s Bugs’ World and We’re Just Living In It with Jessica Ware
How big can bugs get? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Negin Farsad sit down with entomologist, Jessica Ware, to dig into the extraordinary world of bugs, insects the size of navel oranges, how they invented flying and so much more. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episod ... Show More
54m 35s
Aug 11
Super Solar Storms with Lika Guhathakurta
What does it look like beneath the surface of the sun? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice discuss the heliosphere, the Parker Solar Probe, and solar storms with heliophysicist Lika Guhathakurta. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode c ... Show More
1h 2m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2019
Curiosity - Going to Mars
Dianna Anderson and Liz Waid look at the recent journey to the planet Mars. What will scientists find there?Check out more Spotlight English content at: www.SpotlightEnglish.com 
15m 2s
May 2025
BONUS - Mole People on Mars
Should astronauts live underground on the Moon or Mars? Black hole jets, rogue planets, the big crunch (or freeze) and the Ontario question. Dr Becky, Izzie and Dr Robert Massey tackle your correspondence from the Supermassive mailbox and producer Richard makes a pronunciation in ... Show More
16m 6s
May 2018
Who's Going to Put a Colony on Mars First?
<p>The Space Race is on! With Elon Musk, NASA and plenty of other countries all hustling to get to Mars, just how long will it actually us to get there? And how hard will it be to build a space civilization? From sucking oxygen from the soil to 3D printing villages to the Dutch r ... Show More
38m 46s
Aug 2018
Is there life on Mars?
<p>It’s the central question for the current generation of Mars missions. Since the first close-up pictures of the red planet back in 1965, decades of space missions have revealed our neighbouring planet to be cold, rocky and sterile. But there are hints of a more dramatic past; ... Show More
27m 40s
Jan 2023
How to build the first city on Mars
The notion of human beings getting to and settling on Mars has been a staple of science fiction for decades. But what are the social, scientific, and engineering constraints for establishing a colony, and what are the current blueprint and design concepts for the settlement of an ... Show More
38m 32s
Jul 2023
Global boiling, and crashed crafts on Mars
Sweltering temperatures wreak havoc across Europe and North America, so what needs to be done to bring them down? We hear from the Cambridge scientist who wants to create the largest ever DNA and health research programme for children and young people. And, did aliens crash-land ... Show More
27m 57s
Aug 2022
Citizen Science: Join the search for Martian clouds
<p>NASA Jet Propulsion Lab scientists Armin Kleinboehl and Marek Slipski lead a new project that is recruiting thousands of citizen explorers. They explain to host Mat Kaplan how this massive effort may help us finally understand how the once plentiful Martian surface water disap ... Show More
35m 7s
Nov 2024
Could we really live on Mars?
Space-settling enthusiasts have long had an eye on Mars, and now they have the backing of the world’s richest man. Elon Musk recently claimed that humans could be on the planet by 2030 and be living there in a self-sustaining city within 20 years. But is it really that simple? Ma ... Show More
21m 25s