#30 - December 2014

The Discussion: The historical landing of the Philae probe on Comet 67P, lunar imaging and astronomy outreach in the UK. The News: In the news we relive the events around the comet landing and the latest science findings from Churyumov Gerasimenko, the upcoming first test flight of America’s new manned space capsule Orion and the tragic accident aboard Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two, resulting in the death of one of the crewmembers The 5 Minute Concept: Fresh on the heels of the European Space Agency’s latest successful mission, Paul turns his attentions this months to the beacon of knowledge, space exploration and engineering that rose from the ashes of Europe’s darkest days: ESA. The Interview: Ralph speaks with NASA’s Orion Project Manager, Paul Marshall, about the upcoming test flight and the future of manned American space exploration. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month Ralph & Paul answer: How far away is Voyager from the Oort Cloud and how many years will it be before it gets there? Lee Garner via Twitter. I'm bored of reading sniffy comments about the cost of Rosetta. Can u do a piece next podcast about the benefits vs low budget?Alex Speed via Twitter.