My name is Swapna Krishna, and I'm a space, science, and tech writer and journalist. You may have seen my work in Wired, Engadget, The Verge, New Scientist, Space.com, Slate, NPR, and more.
My RU-vid channel, Ad Astra, is a place to learn about the universe around us. Want to know more about that new rocket or the latest JWST photo? You can find that here. I always want to hear from you, so please let me know what you'd like to see.
If you want ACTUAL facts about the daily discoveries on Mars see "The Mars Guy". He isn't going to sensationalize this or other stuff. He simply gives it to you factually and without fanfare.
Well, all I can say is, I'll never be on anything Boeing ever again, in my case airplanes. If I were in the position of an astronaut, I'd really not want to be on Starliner either.
An excellent and engaging video. The Mars lander missions have been frustrating for me, because each of them promised to find life if it's there or was there, but they ended up only finding enough to justify another mission to Mars. I understand it's difficult to send humans to Mars to make the final judgement on life, but I don't understand why it's so difficult to autonomously send Perseverance's rock samples back to Earth from Mars. The Delta-V map of the Solar System says it's easier to launch to Earth orbit from Mars than from the surface of the Earth. It takes a full Starship stack and multiple orbital refuelings to get to Mars, but a Starship 2nd stage could make the return trip by itself without refueling as long as it's fully fueled on take-off from Mars. You wouldn't need anything nearly as big as Starship to perform this mission. What exactly is it that makes the Mars Sample Return mission SO expensive and difficult? Could this be the subject of another video? Thank you...
As soon as I heard helium leaks I went oh no. Sealing helium in a closed pressurized system I flinched. Pressurized helium is damn hard to seal anything other welded lines and hard even then! It will only smother you within a few breathes. Boeing has been forthcoming if two whistle blowers shooting themselves multiple times in the back of the head. RCS thrusters pressurized with nonleaking helium lines. Guess what, it will be ok is not a successful problem solving technique. I was always taught, never put any kind of tape or lube on O2 lines?
"Boeing is confident?" Famous last words. That's like saying that the Titanic wouldn't sink because White Star Lines called the Titanic "unsinkable." "Starliner" has been a disaster since the very beginning. No one could pay me enough to take a trip on "Starliner." I have more confidence in SpaceX's "Crew Dragon." At least SpaceX has a higher success rate that Boeing nowadays.
To all the people saying we don't need maned missions to Mars etc, that we can just send probes. I'd like to point out that the most advanced probes can't even find life on Earth, so how could they find it anywhere else?
Liquid water cant exist on the planet at its temperatures and pressures. It had and still has cryo-vulcanism and mud flows associated with it. Water on earth comes from vulcanism and thermal breakdown of ringwoodite rocks. There is zero evidence of such a thing ever happening on mars. The facts of what is really there should not be exaggerated to fund nasa future missions and does a disservice to science and humanity.
Ok, I have seen a lot of ad reads mid roll into a video and I have to say, this was flawless. Also, really hoping that the Mars Sample Return mission gets funded so we can find some answers.
I disagree with "the samples have to be examined by humans". Scrap the sample return plans and send automated labs. We could send dozens of rovers and Mars labs for the cost of MSR. The only thing that has to be returned is data.
We've found a rock that might prove the existence of life on Mars, but we need funding to bring the sample back to earth for further analysis. I see you NASA.
What will happen to the ISS when it is de-orbited and destroyed? Two things in particular, it will cease to smell like an old locker room & its verbs will go from present tense to past participle.
