logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
47m 3s

Flying Cars & Pilotless Planes with NASA...

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
About this episode

How would flying on Mars be different? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Matt Kirshen explore aeronautics, aerodynamics, airplanes and more with NASA aerospace engineer and author Wendy Okolo, PhD. 

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: 
https://startalkmedia.com/show/flying-cars-pilotless-planes-with-nasa-engineer-wendy-okolo-phd/

Thanks to our Patrons David Hemsath, Becky Basmadijian, Etopirynka aka. Kate, Jaime Parker, Liuba Tereshko, Jeremy Seeman, and Carol Flynn for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: NASA/MIT/Aurora Flight Sciences, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Up next
Oct 7
Things You Thought You Knew – Quantum Cat
What happens when you fall into a black hole? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice give us the step-by-step on spaghettification, explain Schrodinger's cat, and explore quantum tunnelling… Or do they? NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: h ... Show More
46m 35s
Oct 3
The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt
Is social media rewiring childhood and fueling a mental health crisis? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore the costs of growing up online and how to take back childhood with social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt.NOTE: Star ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 30
The New Space Race with Jeff Thornburg
What will the future of space look like? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the engineering challenges and scientific questions shaping the next era of aerospace with aerospace engineer Jeff Thornburg.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode ... Show More
1h 7m
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Crew Flight Test: The Astronauts
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams discuss their astronaut journeys and preparation to be the first humans to fly Starliner. HWHAP Episode 332. 
36m 56s
Sep 2022
Can Asteroids Rock Our World? with Christina Hernández and Terik Daly
It's a beautiful night—the sky is clear, the stars are twinkling. You see a shooting star! Or is it a comet! Maybe a meteor? Whatever it is, it’s gone in an instant. But what if that whirring bit of space were headed... straight towards the Earth, not past it? Yeah, not so cute. ... Show More
1h 7m
Apr 2021
#108 Thomas Zurbuchen: Adventures in Astrophysics
Thomas Zurbuchen is currently Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, where he seeks answers to big questions about the universe and our place in it. Previously, he was a professor of space science and aerospace engineering at the University of Michig ... Show More
1h 25m
Nov 2019
Dava Newman: Space Exploration, Space Suits, and Life on Mars
Dava Newman is the Apollo Program professor of AeroAstro at MIT and the former Deputy Administrator of NASA and has been a principal investigator on four spaceflight missions. Her research interests are in aerospace biomedical engineering, investigating human performance in varyi ... Show More
39m 45s
Aug 2021
Building Highways in the Sky
When you think of NASA, you probably think about outer space. But the first “A” in NASA - aeronautics - means we’re busy crafting a lot closer to home. Aerospace engineers Shivanjli Sharma, David Zahn, and Mike Guminsky are hard at work inventing and testing new ways to fly. 
19m 9s
Dec 2023
Hidden No More: A Conversation with Space Suit Technician Sharon McDougle
Who dresses the astronauts for flight? Why are the suits orange? And how are they cared for? Sharon Caples McDougle joins us to talk about her work as a modern day hidden figure, a space suit technician responsible for processing the orange launch and re-entry pressure suit assem ... Show More
46m 53s