Mars

In his new book, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, British palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist Dr Henry Gee offers a rather blunt assessment of why humanity might already be a dead… Audio

Sydney-based New Zealander Dr Matt Baker joins the show for a chat about some of the latest science news. This week he looks at elephant trunks, and the work of the Mars rover Perseverance. Audio

Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins' new book, Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century, examines the history of the world's most famous electric car company. He joins Jim to… Audio

Her fulltime job is as a priest at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Maryland, Virginia, but in her 'other' life, Rev. Pamela 'Pan' Conrad has worked as a member of the tactical operations team for… Audio

Space Mining specialist, Serkan Saydam believes the red planet could be colonised by 2050. So far only uncrewed spacecraft have landed on surfaces described as dusty and dry. But, decades of… Audio

NASA's rover Perseverance has this morning successfully landed on Mars.

Perseverance has spent seven months travelling from Earth, and is NASA's most ambitious attempt at searching for signs of life… Audio

The prospect of humans landing on the Red Planet is possibly a step closer with the US President's State of the Nation speech in which he promises we will be going there. Audio

Kim Hill explores what life is, where it began and what conditions it needs with two astrobiologists, an expert in microbial evolution, and an expert in Matauranga Maori, at Auckland University. Audio

Deep in a desert in the heart of the US state of Utah there's a research facility, which allows scientists to develop the technology and science required for exploration to Mars

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Australian archaeologist Dr. Alice Gorman (aka Dr Space Junk) has been a pioneering figure in the field of space archaeology for over 15 years. She speaks to Jim about about space junk and our… Audio

In spite of the financial demise of the company behind the ambitious plans to colonise the red planet, New Zealand Mars One applicant, Saeed Ghandhari, is hopeful the project will still go ahead.  Audio

Humans are poised to try to colonise Mars some time in the next few decades - and if there IS life on Mars, we'll have to be careful not to jeopardise it. Audio

The InSight lander touched down on the surface of Mars just before nine o'clock this morning - the culmination of a US$1 billion international effort. Otago Museum director Dr Ian Griffin joins us to… Audio

Mars has been in the news quite a bit recently, last week it was revealed scientists had discovered an underground lake on the planet. So what are the possibilities here, could food be grown there… Audio

Scientists say they've spotted what appears to be a sizable salt-laden lake under ice on the southern polar plain of Mars, raising the possibility of life on the Red Planet. Jillian Kitchener reports.

Astronomer, planet-discoverer and Otago Museum director Dr Ian Griffin joins us to talk all things Mars. Audio

Is or was there ever life on Mars? The answer is may be yes after Nasa's Mars rover found organic matter in an ancient lake bed on the planet. NASA's finding is being hailed as a major breakthrough in… Audio