logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
43 m

The Deep Space Network

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Brian Cox and Robin Ince visit Canberra for the first of 4 special episodes recorded in Australia. This week they visit the amazing Canberra Deep Space Communication Centre where scientists communicate with, and track the 200 or so spacecraft that are currently exploring our vast solar system and even beyond. They are joined by Astrophysicists Mark Cheung and Alan Duffy, Nobel prize winner Brian Schmidt and comedian Alice Fraser as they track legendary space craft like Voyager, still sending back messages from deep in space some 40 plus years after it first launched. They discover how despite these incredible missions we still don't know what 97% of our universe is made of, and how so many of these explorations are vital to our understanding of one very important planet - our own.

Producer: Caroline Steel Executiver Producer: Alexandra Feachem

Up next
Yesterday
201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar
Get ready for a landmark episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage as we celebrate our 201st show! Brian Cox and Robin Ince invite a lively panel of celebrity guests to pose their burning scientific questions to a top-tier team of scientists. Mel Giedroyc is tunnelling into the world o ... Show More
42m 35s
Mar 2025
Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley
Brian Cox and Robin Ince unpick the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature with mathematicians Sarah Hart & Thomas Woolley and comedian Dave Gorman.The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had ... Show More
42m 27s
Mar 2025
The Sound of Music - Brian Eno, Sam Bennett and Trevor Cox
Brian Cox and Robin Ince explore the history of music recording, joined by acoustics professor Trevor Cox, music professor Sam Bennett and musician and producer Brian Eno. Together they guide us through the evolution of sound recording, a space in which technology hasn’t stood st ... Show More
42m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
#411: Aussie Astronaut Adventures & Jovian Journeys: Unveiling Space's Latest Marvels
Embark on an astronomical adventure with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in the latest episode of Space Nuts, where they celebrate a historic moment for Australia with the announcement of the nation's first female astronaut, Catherine Bennell Pegg. Discover her remarkabl ... Show More
29m 42s
Nov 2023
Life beyond Earth
Under the mighty radio Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, Victoria Gill brings together some of the UK’s leading experts who were visiting the recent ‘bluedot’ science and music festival. They discussed the ongoing hunt for extraterrestrial life. We hear from Karen Olsson-Francis, ... Show More
38m 53s
Nov 2019
The Sound of Space
The previously silent world of outer space is changing. In this audio tour around the Universe, Dr Lucie Green explores the sounds of space.Some sounds have been recorded by microphones on-board interplanetary spacecraft. Others have been detected by telescopes and sped up until ... Show More
28m 17s
Sep 2020
Space Junk
Outer space is crowded. Satellites, pieces of rocket, and stuff that astronauts left behind, such as cameras and poop, are just floating around. This space junk can pose a threat to our communication systems. In this episode we talk with Lisa Ruth Rand, a fellow at the Science Hi ... Show More
58m 5s
Aug 2022
Frank Drake’s Cosmic Road Map
Are we alone in the universe? It’s a question we’ve been asking for millennia. Now we’re on the cusp of learning the answer. Frank Drake—one of the most vocal (and brilliant) askers—has spent the past six decades inspiring others to join him in this quest. Now, a new generation o ... Show More
37m 19s
Sep 2023
S26E109: Have they finally found Planet X?
SpaceTime Series 26 Episode 109 *Have they finally found planet X? Astronomers in Japan have found possible evidence of an Earth-like planet orbiting in the Kuiper Belt. *XRISM space telescope launches into orbit. A powerful new Xray telescope has just blasted into orbit. The X-r ... Show More
34m 39s
Jan 2024
Distant Stars // Shooting Star Testing // NASA’s Deep Space Network | S27E06
🌏 Get Our Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/stuartgary or use the checkout code STUARTGARY. It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌ The Space News Podcast. SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 6 *Distant stars spotted in the Magellanic Stream for the fir ... Show More
28m 51s
Sep 2023
S26E106: The Violent Accretion Disk of a Supermassive Black Hole // The Monster Centaurus A // Indian Lunar Rover
The Space News Podcast. SpaceTime Series 26 Episode 106 *The violent accretion disk of a supermassive black hole Astronomers have for the first time ever, captured spectra from the tumultuous accretion disk of an actively feeding super massive black hole. *Studying the monster Ce ... Show More
34m 18s
Dec 2023
Space Records Continue to Tumble: Record Setting Brown Dwarf Discovery | S26E151
The Space News Podcast. SpaceTime Series 26 Episode 151 *Discovery of a record setting brown dwarf Astronomers have discovered what might be the smallest Brown Dwarf ever seen – just three or four times the mass of Jupiter. *How gas-rich baby galaxies set the early Universe aligh ... Show More
29m 13s