Aerospace Engineering podcasts

Benjamin Thompson and Elizabeth Gibney discuss an experiment trapping a single positron and how precise measurements could probe differences between matter and antimatter. The episode then turns to JAXA’s mission to Phobos, including the challenge of operating a wheeled rover under extremely low gravity. These conversations connect laboratory tests of fundamental physics with the engineering and scientific aims of planetary exploration.

NASA aerospace engineer Nate Olson joins Taylor Sparks and Andrew Falkowski to discuss the materials and engineering behind spacecraft thermal protection. Topics include blunt-body designs, Apollo’s ablative heat shield, the Artemis I heat-shield anomaly and future protection systems. The scientific discussion is part of the Materialism materials-science series.

Hosted by Taylor Sparks, Andrew Falkowski