Digging In: When Rovers Get Dirt on Mars...

In this season 4 finale, Gentry Lee and Rob Manning reveal how surprises, hidden flaws, and uncertainties have always been a part of rovers and the exploration of Mars. 

How does a rover keep driving on a planet with no gas stations? Shonte Tucker, Sabah Bux and Rob Manning power us through the ways Mars rovers keep going. 

Before a rover can make tracks on Mars, it first has to rocket off Earth, speed through space, and then alight gently on the planet’s surface. Al Chen and Swati Mohan guide us through the many stages of a rover’s flight to Mars. 

SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 135 *Could Uranus Moon Miranda Have a Subsurface Ocean? A new study suggests that Uranus' moon Miranda may harbour a liquid water ocean beneath its peculiar jigsaw-like surface. The findings, published in the Planetary Science Journal, challenge existi ... Show More

What does it take to mine the Moon? Engineers behind NASA's ISRU Pilot Excavator, or IPEx are digging into the answers. The robotic excavator is designed to unearth lunar regolith and extract oxygen for fuel. In this episode, Jason Schuler, IPEx principal investigator, and Drew S ... Show More

SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 45 *Perseverance collects its 24th sample on Mars NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover has just collected its 24 geological sample from the surface of the red planet.  The drill core offers new clues about Jezero Crater and the lake it may have once held. *N ... Show More

SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 13 Mysteries of Water on Mars and the Origins of Earth's Moon In this episode of SpaceTime, we explore groundbreaking discoveries about the history of water on Mars. New research reveals thousands of mounds on the Martian northern plains, rich in clay ... Show More

SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 119 *Australian Crater Offers Fresh Insights into Earth's History Scientists have uncovered a potential 600-kilometre-wide crater in Australia's outback, which could revolutionise our understanding of Earth's geological past. This discovery, presented ... Show More

This episode is brought to you thanks to NordVPN. To get the special Space Nuts and 30 day money back guarantee deals visit www.nordvpn.com/spacenuts Weird Mars Rock, Anti-Ageing in Space, and Asteroid CollisionsJoin Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in this fascinating ep ... Show More

Mars, Exoplanets, and Spacewalk Solutions Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in this captivating episode of Space Nuts, where they explore the latest discoveries and innovations in space exploration. Episode Highlights: - Curiosity's Sulphur Surprise: Discover the unex ... Show More

SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 151 *A New Perspective on the Moon's Aitken Basin Recent observations of the Moon's south pole reveal that the Aitken Basin crater is more circular than previously believed. This significant discovery challenges existing theories about its formation an ... Show More

In the news, we speak to the WHO about the rise in cases of the new variant of Mpox. Also, the final piece of Stonehenge is traced back to its origin, and Nasa's InSight lander finds evidence of liquid water on Mars. Plus, how horses almost deceived scientists into believing they ... Show More

Mysterious Polygons on Mars: Scientists discover strange, irregular wedge-shaped objects buried beneath the Martian surface.Polygons range from centimeters to 10 meters in size and may have formed during ancient freeze-thaw cycles billions of years ago.Possible formation mechanis ... Show More