Cosmic Queries – NASA v. Billionaires with Lori Garver

About This Episode

Mining on the moon? Owning an asteroid? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer questions about the private space industry, the role of NASA, and the future of space law with former Deputy Administrator of NASA, Lori Garver. 

Are we entering a new space age? We discuss the issues with the shuttle program and why we don’t go to the moon anymore. Why aren’t we on Mars yet? How much should the government spend on going to space? Explore the history of private industry in space, when it started, and why it didn’t happen sooner. Learn about Lori’s new book Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age.

Who’s better: bureaucrats or billionaires? Will private industry in space cause even more companies to go into space? Learn about space startups and whether NASA will manage to stay at the forefront of space exploration in the US. Are we going to mine asteroids? What technology will we use? Find out about asteroids made of planet core and missions to research the asteroid Psyche.

Who owns what? We explore space law and what rules need to be established. Will space lawyers let companies own asteroids? Is the homestead model the best for space? We take a look at our own history of exploration on Earth and what lessons we can take into space exploration. Plus, is there such a thing as space pirates? 

Thanks to our Patrons ​​Adam Connelly, ManDarin, Sergio, Glenn Carter, Anthony Schena, David Lenwell, Bruno Anyangwe, Christopher Soliz, Roslyn Goddard, and Chris Jones for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free.