This Week in Space 232: The Lunar Dump

In this week's episode we turned to Chelsea Gohd, former writer for NASA/JPL and now with Space.com, to talk about the recent large data dump from the Artemis II mission. What was included? Why is this new data important? What observations were made, and what discoveries might result from them? What kind of annotations and notes did the astronauts include that make these observations uniquely valuable? And finally, we talk about Artemis III - what is the mission profile and what are the stakes for SpaceX and Blue Origin? Headlines: - SpaceX Seeks Approval for 450 Starship Launches Per Year - Flying Tesla Roadster Demo Features SpaceX Thrusters and Suction Fan - Astronomers Spot Possible First Green Star – the Cosmic Zombie - Perseverance Rover Breaks Martian Distance Record Main Topic: Artemis II Mission Data Dump and Lunar Science - NASA Releases 800GB of Artemis II Lunar Mission Data - Science, Images, Audio, and Annotations Collected by Astronauts - Crew's Training to Make Detailed Lunar Observations - Importance of Human Eyes on the Moon Versus Remote Sensing - Astronauts Witness Spectacular Impact Flashes on Lunar Surface - Firsthand Descriptions of Moon's Subtle Colors and Terrain - Insights Into Crew Experience and Data Collection Process - Astronauts' Career Moves Following Artemis II Mission - Artemis III Plans: Docking, Landers, and Science Objectives - Challenges Facing SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin Blue Moon Lander - The Role and Status of New Axiom-Prada EVA/Mobility Suits for Artemis III - Reflections on Historical and Current Lunar Exploration Approaches **Hosts:** Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik **Guest:** Chelsea Gohd Download or subscribe to *This Week in Space* at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space. **Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!** Support what you love and get ad-free audio *and* video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit **Sponsor:** - coveron.com/thisweekinspace and use code thisweekinspace