This episode does NOT originate from a diner, but rather the main cafeteria at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada-Flintridge, California. Commonly known as JPL and administered by the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), JPL is all about getting mankind off planet Earth to explore other worlds.
The idea for this episode comes from me hearing people say, and reading on social media how they want to "get the hell off the planet!"
Space geeks, this is a podcast episode for you! What is possible? What's happening right now? Getting back to the moon. Getting to Mars. Audio of the Martian atmosphere and the Perseverance Rover. The Deep Space Network! The Hubble and Webb Telescopes. Space X, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic!
My guest is rocket systems engineer, Greg Kazz, who has survived at JPL for 37 years (they only do five-year contracts at a time!) because he's damn good at what he does. Greg shares what goes on behind the scenes during lunar and Martian missions, and the barriers astrophysicists and engineers face to successfully send a manned mission to Mars--and I have to be honest, it ain't gonna be easy folks!
Plus, Greg weighs in on the commercial companies trying to win the space race--when Elon isn't too busy buying Twitter or God knows what else. Greg also shares tips on how to get a job at JPL, so future scientists and engineers, listen carefully!
If you want to visit the Jet Propulsion Lab in person or virtually online, please visit:
www.jpl.nasa.gov
Enjoy!