When the formation of the U.S. "Space Force" was announced, the new military branch was the butt of many jokes but what role will it serve in the 21st century? Tensions are currently high between the United States, Russia, and China. Is a war in outer space inevitable or will this new frontier offer prosperity for all who join in the adventure? A new guest on the program helps us to answer this important questions. REFERENCES: 'The Battle for the Soul of the Space Force' by Brent Ziarnik, 'The Hill' MUSIC: "Nonstop" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Ossuary 6 - Air" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Crypto" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Thunderbird" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Outer space is the ultimate strategic high ground for the world's great powers. This is true for both spy satellites and ballistic missiles. During the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan proposed the creation of a technologically advanced, space-based defensive weapon system known as S.D.I.. But critics of the proposal dubbed it 'Star Wars' and said it would trigger a new arms race with the Soviet Union. What historical lessons can be learned from this episode in history? REFERENCES: "Adolf Hitler's Plot to Bomb New York" By David Robinson https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/368490/Adolf-Hitler-s-plot-to-bomb-New-York "The 1983 Military Drill that Nearly Sparked Nuclear War with the Soviets" by Francine Uenuma https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1983-military-drill-that-nearly-sparked-nuclear-war-with-the-soviets-180979980/ "Strategic Defense Initiative" State.gov https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/rd/104253.htm MUSIC: "Nonstop" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Ossuary 6 - Air" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Shores of Avalon" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

50 years ago today, the three Apollo 17 astronauts departed the Moon to return to Earth. It was the first time in human history that a scientist set foot on another world: geologist Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt. What lessons does this historic mission have to teach us in the coming years as humans finally return to the Moon with the Artemis program? RECORDED BY: Jantzen Carter REFERENCES: 'Apollo 17: Diary of the Twelfth Man' by Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt 'The Last Man on the Moon' by Eugene Cernan and Don Davis 'A Man on the Moon' by Andrew Chaikin MUSIC: "Nonstop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Thunderbird" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Ossuary 1: A Begining" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The renowned and deeply insightful Andrew Chaikin joins the After Talk to share his views on space exploration along with his experiences interviewing the Apollo astronauts. Chaikin is the author of 'A Man on the Moon', 'Voices from the Moon', and 'A Passion for Mars'. MUSIC: "Slow Burn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The renowned and deeply insightful Andrew Chaikin joins the After Talk to share his views on space exploration along with his experiences interviewing the Apollo astronauts. Chaikin is the author of 'A Man on the Moon', 'Voices from the Moon', and 'A Passion for Mars'. MUSIC: "Slow Burn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Nearly half a century before the space age began in earnest, a few brilliant visionaries had the courage to look beyond their own time and see humanity’s future. From Russia to the United States, a few brilliant minds transformed science fiction into science fact, giving birth to the space age. REFERENCES: ‘The Russian Cosmists: The Esoteric Futurism of Nikolai Fedorov and His Followers’ by George M. Young ‘The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility’ by Robert Zubrin MUSIC: "Ossuary 1 - A begining" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ “Tenebrous Brothers Carnival: Act Two” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Infinite Perspective" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Host and producer discuss the future of space travel and manned missions to Mars. If you would like to make a contribution to the program, click this link: https://www.patreon.com/universeuniversity?fbclid=IwAR0GJjAwa3C1f8KKxDi7aeGVEO-Ou3dL10vmf1kQHjssQu5eEgmCkyNFMgw MUSIC: "Slow Burn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ REFERENCES: "Scientists and Seaman" [article] By Ben Finney "Humans Will Never Colonize Mars" [article] By George Dvorsky "The Case for Space" By Robert Zubrin PhD "Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism" By Robert Zubrin PhD "Elon Musk: Telsa, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" by Ashlee Vance

Host and producer discuss the future of space travel and manned missions to Mars. If you would like to make a contribution to the program, click this link: https://www.patreon.com/universeuniversity?fbclid=IwAR0GJjAwa3C1f8KKxDi7aeGVEO-Ou3dL10vmf1kQHjssQu5eEgmCkyNFMgw MUSIC: "Slow Burn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ REFERENCES: "The Case for Space" By Robert Zubrin PhD "Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism" By Robert Zubrin PhD "Elon Musk: Telsa, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" by Ashlee Vance

Dr. Robert Zubrin joins the after talk for an in depth discussion on space exploration. He starts by telling us the story of his Mars Direct plan, the founding of the Mars Society, and his relationship with the young Elon Musk. We go on to discuss the technical and political challenges of sending human beings to Mars as well as his personal philosophyof human space exploration. To watch the video version of this interview, click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4cWRQo2_Iw MUSIC: "Slow Burn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ REFERENCES: "The Case for Space" By Robert Zubrin PhD "Merchants of Despair: Radical Environmentalists, Criminal Pseudo-Scientists, and the Fatal Cult of Antihumanism" By Robert Zubrin PhD "Elon Musk: Telsa, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" by Ashlee VanceSpecial Guest: Robert Zubrin.

Mars has captivated the human imagination for generations. Yet the question remains: is there organic life on the Red Planet? If so, how can we search for it and what would such life be like? And what will day-to-day life be like for the first astronauts to set foot on Mars? The brilliant Dr. Robert Zubrin joins us to help answer some of these questions. If you would like to make a contribution to the program, click this link: https://www.patreon.com/universeuniversity?fbclid=IwAR0GJjAwa3C1f8KKxDi7aeGVEO-Ou3dL10vmf1kQHjssQu5eEgmCkyNFMgw VOICE CREDIT: A very generous, anonymous Patreon contributor offered to act as the voice to Agustina Lusky because Lusky does not speak English as her first language. The words in the episode are entirely Lusky's words. REFERENCES: "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must" By Robert Zubrin PhD "The Mars Underground" [2007 Documentary] Dir. Scott J. Gill "From Antarctica to Outer Space: Life in Isolation and Confinement" Edited by A.A. Harrison, Y.A. Clearwater, and C.P. McKay "Strife and Despair at South Pole Illuminate Psychology of Isolation" By Robert Reinhold, New York Times "A Brief History of Mars Missions" Space.com "Mars and Its Canals" by Percival Lowell MUSIC: "Nonstop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Ossuary 6 - Air" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Infinite Perspective" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Thunderbird" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Ossuary 1 - A begining" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Special Guest: Robert Zubrin.