Cosmic Queries: Funding Space Exploration with Bill Nye

About This Episode

Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society, is back as guest host for an episode about a subject near and dear to his heart: funding space exploration. Together with comic co-host Eugene Mirman and guest Astro Mike Massimino, they answer questions from our fans about the value of planetary science, from innovation to inspiration. You’ll learn how NASA works with contractors and why the privatization of space still costs taxpayers money. You’ll also explore why for every $1 we spend on NASA, we get back $3.60. Find out about specific programs, including Curiosity, a manned mission to Titan, crowdfunded space telescopes like the Arkyd project, the Cassini probe, robots on the moon and so much more. Mike discusses how his two Space Shuttle flights to repair the Hubble Space Telescope helped support the discovery of dark matter. Plus, the trio discusses attacks on STEM education, the lack of science coverage in the mainstream news, whether astronauts really drink Tang and how you can have the greatest impact on NASA funding.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Cosmic Queries: Funding Space Exploration with Bill Nye.