Former paralympic athlete, surgeon and European Space Agency (ESA) reserve astronaut, John McFall joins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham to share his experiences of the Fly study to investigate whether people with physical disabilities could become astronauts. Also on the show, astronaut Tim Peake, who now has a new role at Axiom Space, Saxa Vord CEO, Frank Strang, and director of operations, Scott Hammond, discuss how they are building a spaceport in Shetland... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Was the Space Shuttle fundamentally flawed? Richard Hollingham talks to Adam Higginbotham, author of a new book on the Space Shuttle to discuss the design, the dream, and the wishful thinking that led to the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Sue Nelson visits London's Design Museum to visit a new Barbie exhibition and talk "Space Barbie". Also, discussions on the future of the International Space Station, Star Trek: The documentary, and betting on smarties. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We celebrate the 40th anniversary of the flight of the first black astronaut, Gui Bluford and speak to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortes, directors of The Space Race, which tells the story of the men who should have become astronauts in the 1960s - Ed Dwight and Bob Lawrence. Also, India's landing on the Moon and the demise of the European Space Agency's ESA Aeolus satellite in music. Plus, ever wondered how to pronounce Space Boffins in Persian? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Broadcaster Dallas Campbell joins the Space Boffins at the British Interplanetary Society to discuss the giant new replacement for Hubble, hypersonic spaceplanes and balloon flights to the edge of space. They hear from astronaut Ron Garan about President-elect Trump and talk to one of the witnesses of the Apollo 1 fire, which killed three astronauts in 1967. Plus, discussions on urinating on the astronaut bus and books on sex in space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As we enter the darkest depths of winter, the days get shorter and the nights get longer. Or at least that's how it's supposed to be. But since the invention of the light bulb, we've long been working towards the end of night. But does this matter? Graihagh Jackson investigates... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a bumper end of year special, Space Boffins features Buzz Aldrin, last man on the Moon Gene Cernan, the nurse to the astronauts, a cosmic piano and a space sofa. Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by space journalist Sarah Cruddas to celebrate 2016 in space exploration, commemorate John Glenn and look forward to the year ahead. Where will President Trump take NASA? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Most astrophysicists would agree that it's highly likely that there's life beyond Earth. But then why haven't we found any? This month on Naked Astronomy, Graihagh Jackson tackles one of the fundamental questions of mankind with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jim Al-Khalili and Dallas Campbell. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins' Sue Nelson was at ESA mission control recently when the ExoMars spacecraft arrived at Mars after a seven month journey. She hears from ExoMars and Open University scientist Dr Manish Patel on the highs and lows of the orbiter and lander and Richard Hollingham reports from Arizona on the X15 space plane. Author Michelle Evans reveals the space plane's extraordinary history and, over at the Pima Air and Space Museum outside Tuscon, James Stemm is with the B52 bomber - undergoing restoration - that carried the X15 during the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The podcast comes from the Royal... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Gaia launched back in 2013 and has been mapping the Milky Way ever since. In fact, it aims to give us the most detailed survey of our galaxy, ever. But is that all its set to do? Graihagh Jackson explores why scientists are going gaga over Gaia... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are on Mars - which turns out to be behind a blue door in the Hertfordshire town of Stevenage. With guest Airbus head of science, Ralph Cordey, they discuss the final moments of Rosetta, Europe's latest mission to Mars - due to land in October - and Elon Musk's plans for martian colonisation. Sue reports from ESA's mission control in Germany and Richard hears about the fastest man on Earth. They also catch-up with J Willgoose Esq from the band Public Service Broadcasting. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Space Boffins meet the Mercury 7 nurse, Dee O'Hara, recalling what it was like to work with America's first astronauts. SETI's Seth Shostak explains why we should target AI to discover ET, and - in this US themed podcast - Spaceflight's David Baker reveals what role space plays in the forthcoming presidential elections. Studio guest is astronomy writer, novelist and broadcaster Dr Stuart Clark. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Fellow Naked Scientist Connie Orbach won a meteorite and so Graihagh Jackson made it her mission to find out as much as possible about this hunk of space rock, including how she might go about finding one of her own... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Space Boffins are at the Blue Dot music festival at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire where they hear live music from Cern's cosmic piano and chat to Rosetta project scientist (and space celebrity) Matt Taylor about the end of the mission. Richard also meets the band that bounced a guitar riff off the Moon and Sue reports from the Farnborough Airshow, where she asks Tim Peake about his body and learns about plans for a new lunar mission. In another first, they even have a producer: Izzie Clarke. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month it's all about the space environment - how do you remove space debris from orbit and make space more sustainable? The Earth Space Sustainability Initiative's (ESSI) Stuart Clark discusses missions to remove dead satellites, and Nick Shave of Astroscale and Clearspace's Rory Holmes explain their missions. Plus, light pollution problems: night skies so bright, some people never see the Moon... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA's Juno probe has reached Jupiter after a five year battle through our solar system and is orbiting the gas giant. But now it's completed this death-defying stunt, what now? This month on Naked Astronomy, Graihagh Jackson is colluding with the king of the planets to find out what it's really all about... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Jupiter's Juno mission, the magical world of Pluto and spacewalking feature in this special fifth anniversary edition of the podcast. ESA's head of the neutral buoyancy facility, Herve Stevenin, explains how a giant pool helped astronaut Tim Peake obtain his space station spacewalk, and New Horizons scientists Lesley Young and Joel Parker from America's Southwest Research Institute share their extraordinary findings from Pluto. Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined in the studio by Robert Massey, from the Royal Astronomical Society, and space journalist Sarah Cruddas. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's nearly been 5 decades since Neil Armstrong took one small step for mankind... But will we return again? As things heat up, Graihagh Jackson brings together the cosmically curious to unpick our the drivers behind the marathon to the moon Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Last man on the Moon, Captain Gene Cernan, and Apollo 9 lunar module pilot Rusty Schweickart join Space Boffin Richard at Spacefest in Tucson, Arizona. Apollo 17 commander Cernan expresses his frustration about the state of the space programme and Rusty Schweickart warns of the asteroid threat to Earth. We also hear from astronomer Nick Howes, spaceblogger Emily Carney, Thomas Zurbuchen on how small satellites could be the future for big science missions and the going rates for astronaut autographs. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month, Graihagh Jackson is getting all starry eyed over our Sun. Where did it come from? Where is it going? And what it's taught us about the universe? Plus, the mission that's taking us the closer to the Sun than we've ever been before... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month the Space Boffins get to grips with relativity, watch as British astronaut Tim Peake manoeuvres a Mars rover in a cave, and go inside a section of NASA's new giant rocket. With their guest, writer and poet Simon Barraclough, they also discuss space station alarms (with appropriate sound effects) and celebrate the flight of America's first manned mission, Mercury 3. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

On 9 May, Mercury will be seen as a black dot silhouetted against the Sun and this rare event enabled astronomers of the 17th century to work out how vast the universe was. But this transit isn't just phenomenally important historically: it has huge implications in our search for extraterrestrial life, as Graihagh Jackson finds out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham bring news of space sofas, super flat floors and Martian sunsets. They are joined at The Open University by ExoMars mission principal investigator Dr Manish Patel to discuss his work on the NOMAD instrument, which is currently on its way to Mars on board the recently launched spacecraft, and how you prepare for success and failure. Richard also reports from Alabama, gliding across NASA's Flat Floor Facility on a bed of air beneath a giant solar sail. While having fun at NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Centre in Huntsville, he hears about NASA's Near... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

What happens when we turn our astronomical instruments back to planet Earth? With the launch of over 12 satellites, Europe's version of GPS, Galileo, will be operational very soon but why are space scientists getting all excited about it? This month on Naked Astronomy, Graihagh Jackson is all about the satellites Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Buzz Aldrin is the legendary Apollo 11 and Gemini 12 astronaut who made history in 1969 when he became one of the first men to walk on the lunar surface. Today, he has his sights firmly on the future - specifically Mars. The visionary tells Space Boffin Sue Nelson about his cycling orbits to the red planet, why he wouldn't go to Mars himself, what he thinks of the ESA director general's plans for a Moon village and which item of jewellery he's wearing was a gift from Mohammed Ali. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Irish journalist Leo Enright joins us to discuss commentating on Apollo 17, an unfortunate celebrity encounter, the world's first astronomers, 20 years of Mars Express, sun angles on the Moon and the worst-named European mission. Sue continues her reports from the Artemis European Service Module cleanroom in Germany, talking to ESA's head of human and robotic exploration, David Parker. She also meets Bill Hartwell from NASA to chat about the success of Orion and working with Russia in space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

February 2016 marks one of the biggest discoveries in cosmology and astronomy: the LIGO team annouced that they'd detected gravitational waves, 100 years after Albert Einstein predicted them. Scientists believe this could revolutionise how we study the universe. But what are these gravitational waves? How were they detected? And how is the discovery changing our understanding of cosmos? Graihagh Jackson finds out... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham talk Mars rovers, Russian lunar rovers and floating number twos during this month's podcast. Europe's ExoMars mission scientist Nicholas Thomas reveals the role an alcoholic drink played in the naming of one of the Trace Gas Orbiter's key science instruments (as well as what it does of course) while NASA scientist John Grant reveals how some Mars rovers just keep on going and that maybe ideas of canals on the Martian surface weren't so far fetched after all. London science museum space curator Doug Millard also features discussing Luna 9 and,... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

One of the big questions in cosmology is what happened at the beginning of the universe? Astrophycisists are edging closer to answering this question - we can now look back to a fraction of a second after the Big Bang. But what happened before that still remains elusive and there are still many loose ends to tie up. In this episode of Naked Astronomy, Graihagh Jackson takes a look at the origins of time... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Space Boffins talk surgery in space with a real life Dr McCoy, NASA astronaut and physician Michael Barratt, and report from a school in St Albans during Tim Peake's first ham radio contact with UK students. A member of the European Space Agency's 60 day bedrest study explains how he's helping astronauts by lying down and the studio guest is Mark Craig, British director of the documentary about Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan - Last Man on the Moon - which is about to have its first cinema release in the United States. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham prepare for Tim Peake's launch to the International Space Station by speaking to Britain's first astronaut - Helen Sharman. ESA's Dr Volker Damann, Head of the Space Medicine Office, explains why space is bad for you and studio guests - rocket expert David Wade and space journalist Sarah Cruddas - share insights on the size of entrepreneurs' rockets and the future of Space 2.0. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Richard sits down with British European Space Agency astronaut, Tim Peake, to discuss gravity, guitars, 1980s computers and future missions to the Moon and Mars. Recorded on location at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, Richard also chats to curator Valerie Neal about humanity's 15 years of living off the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS) and whether the ISS could be converted to a starship. And, after a year on a comet, could the Philae lander wake up again? The mission manager is optimistic. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson's star (and space) studded podcast includes the first woman in space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, and astronaut Tim Peake. Britain's first European Space Agency astronaut discusses the final training before his December launch and why it's important to learn how to fix a toilet. Former space shuttle engineer and Spaceflight editor David Baker is in the studio to discuss the Soyuz rocket that will take Tim to the Space Station, as is Yen Yau from Into Space - a new UK Space Agency backed film project for young space fans. Naturally, they all... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by the Rosetta's project scientist, Dr Matt Taylor, to hear the latest on ESA's comet chasing mission now that perihelion is done and dusted. There's also NASA astronaut Cady Coleman on the importance of playing the flute on the space station and how being in space affected her life. Former astronaut Thomas Reiter - now ESA's Head of Human Spaceflight and Operations - discusses the future for Europe's astronaut corps plus Sue and Richard are joined in the studio for expert conversation by astronomer Dr Robert Massey from the Royal... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a first for the Space Boffins podcast - an interview with astronauts in space! NASA's Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are on a year long mission on board the International Space Station. They took time out from their duties to discuss how they're getting on so far. Studio guests space scientists Lucie Green and Graziella Branduardi-Raymont add some sun (shine) and a SMILE (mission) to the proceedings. Plus we talk to the first man to walk in space, Alexei Leonov, ahead of a new cosmonaut exhibition at London's Science Museum. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The Space Boffins celebrate their 4th year producing monthly podcasts in - aptly - a British rocket lab. Richard Hollingham joins engineer Adam Baker at the University of Kingston to discuss recent rocket failures and talks to the new head of the European Space Agency, Jan Woerner, about his plans for a village on the Moon. In Hatfield, Sue Nelson meets philosopher and author of Nobody Owns the Moon, Tony Milligan, to debate the ethics of space exploration and there's yet another reason to celebrate: the 40th anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

NASA's new head of science, Dr Nicola Fox, joins Space Boffins to chat about Mars sample return, solar missions and asteroids. Also, ESA new astronaut recruit, Pablo Alvarez, and experienced astronaut Alexander Gerst on preparations for the Artemis missions to the Moon, and we discuss the joy of boffins, Starship's rapid unscheduled disassembly and which ESA astronaut will be the first to step on the lunar surface? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In a Space Boffins special - Sue Nelson meets the first female Space Shuttle Commander, Eileen Collins. The retired astronaut - one of NASA's most experienced - reveals the challenges of flying the Shuttle, the flaws in its design and what happened in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster. They also talk about the way female astronauts are treated by the media and the next generation of spacecraft. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are joined by astronomer, Guardian writer and guitarist Stuart Clark for a Rosetta mission special - six months after it made history by landing on a comet. Pick up your backstage pass for behind the scenes interviews with key players in the European Space Agency mission: Rosetta project scientist Matt Taylor, former mission manager Fred Jansen, spacecraft operations manager Andrea Accomazzo and Koen Geurts from the German Space Agency's Philae Lander team. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson are inside London's Science Museum with the museum's curator of space, Doug Millard, and the original Apollo 10 capsule. Apart from a tribute to Apollo 11's crucial predecessor, they discuss Britain's history in space and hear from Skylon pioneer Alan Bond on the progress of his revolutionary spaceplane. There's also an update on Europe's ExoMars mission rover from the new Mars Yard at Airbus Defence and Space to celebrate its one year anniversary. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month Richard sees NASA's new giant rocket, the Space Launch System, taking shape in New Orleans. In the studio the Space Boffins are joined by poet Simon Barraclough to discuss the poetic power of the Sun. Sue reports on Europe's new mission to Mercury, they celebrate the 50th anniversary of the missions that made the Moon landings possible and unveil the original recording that inspires the Space Boffins jingle. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson discover why we should recover Beagle 2 from the surface of Mars; why we need the Uranus Pathfinder mission; and how exoplanets are putting a twinkle in the eyes of British space scientists. There's also music from Public Sector Broadcasting, with band member J Willgoose explaining how they use space archive footage as an integral part of their unique sound. They're also are joined by Dr Leigh Fletcher from Oxford University and Dr Sheila Kanani from the Royal Astronomical Society with interviews from Professor Ian Wright and Professor Mark Sims. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by the BBC's Jon Amos and ExoMars' Andrew Coates. They look ahead at the most exciting missions of 2015 so expect New Horizons, Ceres and Tim Peake's forthcoming trip to the space station. There's also interviews with UrtheCast's Scott Larson and Gaia's Timo Prusti. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Sue Nelson joins space fans in Florida to witness the Orion launch and meets Mars candidate Elmo. Meanwhile, Richard Hollingham talks to the DG of the UK Space Agency, David Parker, about the International Space Station and we hear from the people bringing espresso coffee to astronauts. Richard is joined by science writer Stuart Clark and broadcaster Sarah Cruddas, who also discuss the future of NASA's space programme, European space success and luxury items in space. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Emotions are running high in this month's Space Boffins as Sue reports from Germany on Europe's cometary landing. And, following the SpaceShipTwo tragedy and Antares explosion, Sue and Richard discuss the dangers of trying to make spaceflight routine. With space insurer David Wade (who insured Antares) and space scientist Sheila Kanani, they also meet a man commanding a Mars base. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffin Sue Nelson is at the European Space Agency's technical heart - ESTEC in the Netherlands - where spacecraft undergo a crucial 'shake and bake' before launch. She's joined by astronauts Paolo Nespali and Andre Kuipers, ESTEC head Franco Ongaro, Rosetta's mission manager Fred Jansen, and Andreas Jung, from Europe's experimental new spaceplane, IXV. Tales of retro re-entry in a Soyuz, the future of space travel and how chocolate can make a comet, in yet another tasty space treat. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham hear from the Rosetta mission's Flight Director, Andrea Accomazzo, about choosing a landing site on comet 67P - plus Apollo astronaut and last man on the Moon, Gene Cernan, on the spacewalk from hell. Dr Lucie Green from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory and the lab's poet in residence, Simon Barraclough, are the lively studio guests. Expect space poetry, scientific insight and a song about photons. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

European Space Agency Juice mission to Jupiter's Michele Dougherty talks about icy moons, magnetic fields and life elsewhere in the solar system, and the UK Space Agency's Caroline Harper discusses the Juice launch preparations in French Guiana. Also, the hidden history of Space Shuttle Enterprise: Eric Boehm at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum talks about the prototype shuttle's test flights and the aftermath of the Columbia disaster and the military space shuttle. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this special edition, the Last Man on the Moon, Gene Cernan, talks exclusively to Richard Hollingham about the final step, mortality and his disappointment about the way the space programme has developed. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do you orbit a comet? Set up a government in space or rescue a space shuttle crew? These questions and more in the latest edition of Space Boffins. Sue and Richard are at University College London where they're joined by Rosetta project scientist Matt Taylor and UCL space scientist Geraint Jones to look ahead to the European mission's rendezvous with a comet. They also talk to retired Nasa engineer, David Baker, who outlines a Shuttle rescue plan and Richard reports from the Extraterrestrial Liberty Conference on government beyond the Earth. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do you design the inside of a starship? Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham talk to space architect Rachel Armstrong about journeys to the stars. They also meet Luca Parmitano, the astronaut who almost drowned in space, and take a look at a new hi-tech satellite that will provide Google with close up views of your house. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists