Made of Stars

SpaceX record-breaking IPO turns many of its employees into millionaires. SpaceX prepares to send a rocket to the Moon and NASA wants input from anyone who observes the impact. Hale-Bopp Comet's Alan Hale has passed away. And the longest day of the year will be Father's Day. 

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NASA has announced the Artemis III astronauts and one has Columbus ties. The ISS is leaking air.. again. Scientists have gotten better at locating gravitational waves which means they are finding more of them. A meteorite discovered in the Sahara Desert may have been part of an ancient Mars-sized planet from our own solar system. 

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Blue Origin has a relly bad day. A cannibal CME could bring aurora to middle latitude regions. Cape Cod experienced a big boom. And NASA says goodbye to MAVEN. 

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Get ready for a great view of Venus, Jupiter and Mercury in the evening sky. NASA has announced plans for the upcoming moon base missions. SpaceX has successfully tested their Starship V3 but the ship's end caught the attention of the FAA. A newly discovered FRB is giving new information about the mysterious phenomena. 

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An accident has taken the life of a contract employee causing a delay in the next launch of the Starship V3 out of respect and for an investigation into the cause. An asteroid passed by Earth this week that was close, but not too close. Scientists have learned an important lesson aboout attempts at mining asteroids. Plus the ESA's Gaia telecope shows evidence of a huge wave rippling through the Milky Way. 

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Blue Origin's lunar lander is ready for astronaut training. Spacex's new megarocket is set to launch next week. Get ready for more Methalox comets. And we now know more about the origin of 3I/ATLAS. 

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SpaceX is sending up 34th resupply mission to the ISS with lots of experiments. Virgin Galactic shows off its Delta Class spaceplane. Sea-based rocket launches could be coming sooner than you might think. JWST has observed the surface of an exoplanet!

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NASA's administrator says he thinks Pluto should be a planet again. Artemis III's core stage has arrived at KSC. Canada is preparing to look for Earth-sized exoplanets. The Sun is producing floating mountains AND arctic tongues of ionization. 

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Artemis III is now a step closer to launch which means Artemis IV is now a step closer to landing astronauts on the Moon. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is complete. Japan's MMX is on the launchpad and preparing for a late 2026 launch to Phobos. A double solar flare was detected on the Sun this morning. 

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Artemis II featured a Michael Bay level product placement. Artemis astronauts saw colors on the Moon better than camera equipment. 45 years ago, NASA launched and landed the first space shuttle.  Fireball season hasn't disappointed. 

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Artemis 2 is heading home and there's been some great examples of why we send humans to space and not robots. The Artemis 2 crew is expected to splash down Friday April 10 at 8:07PM Eastern. We lost a comet to the Sun but another comet is scratching our comet itch. 

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Recorded Live March 28,2026
This live edition of Made of Stars covers Artemis II's launch plans, nuclear Mars helicopters, Jared Isaacman's plans for the Moon, a 7 hour gamma ray burst, AI's use to "find" alien worlds and questions from the audience. 

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Artemis II is getting close to its next launch window and astronauts could be leaving Earth's oribit next week. Fireball season is upon us. Two baby planets have been spotted forming around a young star. NASA is set to deploy a tool for finding water. Plus a preview of Made of Stars Live 2!

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NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams completed a spacewalk outside the ISS. Artemis II will soon roll back out to the launch pad for a possible early April launch. An asteroid was spotted over Ohio this week.Plus an update on Comet MAPS!

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Can we see that comet in the sky?? No signs of technology on K2-8b... and that might be a good thing. Rare evidence of two worlds colliding. And it's finally time to talk about Made of Stars Live 2.0!

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Artemis 2-5 has a new gameplan. Scientists may have a new way to provide oxygen to lunar and Mars missions. Martian soil may have a self defense against microbes from Earth. 

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The latest wet dress rehearsal for Artemis II showed a launch wouldn't be possible in March. We now know which Crew-11 astronaut had a medical issue. There's a few reasons to look at the night sky over the next week. JWST has given us another amazing image. 

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Artemis II does its latest tests to prepare for a possible early March launch. Firefly prepares to launch its 7th Alpha flight. Massive glaciers could be hiding on Mars. Astronomers detect a 7 hour signal from space. 

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Crew-12 is prepping for a Friday launch. NASA selects AXIOM for a fifth private mission to the ISS. China is a step closer to a lunar mission. Could the supermassive black hole in the middle of the Milky Way really be dark matter?

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NASA's wet dress rehearsal for Artemis II gave reasons to delay the Feburary launch. There's another risk of an X-flare today. We may see a new comet this Spring. And scientists have found more evidence that we are made of stars. 

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The Challenger tragedy's 40th anniversary is a time to remember and a time to reflect on the fact that in spite of how it sometimes looks easy, rocket science is hard. Artemis II is getting closer to a possible launch in about 2 weeks. Astronomers are leaning more about exoplanets thanks to the world's largest radio telescope project. 

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Artemis II has made the journey from the VAB and is now in place for launch. Crew-11 astronauts say that their training prepared them for the medicl emergency that ended their mission early. Earth was hit by the strongest solar storm in 2 decades and at least one pilot got incredible photos of the aurora. And astronomers may have located an interstellar tunnel that links us to other stars. 

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Three astronauts remain in the ISS after a medical emergency ended the mission for Crew-11 early. SpaceX has broken its own record for launch turnaround. What are the little red dots? A trimple superior conjunction of planets is happening... and you can see it, just not without the internet.  

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A Crew-11 astronaut's health has caused a delay in a planned spacewalk. NASA acknowledged the work done on the ISS in 2025. Doug Hurley is honored for his achievements by his hometown. NASA will announce the company soon that will produce its next lunar vehicle.  A blackhole is producing insane amounts of energy as it devours a massive star.  

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Let's look back at some of the biggest space news stories if 2025!

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Let's look back at some of  the biggest space news stories if 2025!

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Everyone who buys a chainsaw isn't a serial killer. 

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Jared Isaacman has been confirmed to lead NASA. NASA has completed its next-gen space telescope. JWST has confirmed a runaway supermassive black hole. Rocket Lab has launched the Space Force and NASA DiskSat experiment.

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Russian Soyuz has returned to Earth full of love. NASA is preparing for Artemis IV by selecting instruments. MAVEN has gone silent. AI discovered and fixed vulnerabilities for NASA spacecraft. SpaceX could go pubic in 2026. 

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The Russian Cosmodrome was damaged after a launch over Thanksgiving. A Russian cosmonaut won't be flying aboard a SpaceX mission because of his cell phone. Tryptophan is the 15th amino acid found on Bennu. OSIRIS-APEX is off to explore another asteroid. We got another reminder that solar radiation can be very bad for airplanes. 

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NASA has begun the next phase of preparations to send a crewed mission around the Moon next year. NASA has made a pivot to Starliner. Perseverance has discovered a meteorite on Mars. A nearby super-Earth could be a good place to look for life. Were Earth and Theia once neighbors?

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Scientists say the auroas brought us milstone solar radiation. Plus NASA's possible new chief is expected to appear before Congress again next month. NASA has released some 3i/ATLAS photos and they don't show much. Plus a one of a kind triple star system has been photographed by JWST!

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Solar activity gave all fifty states aurora borealis this week and there's a chance for more tonight. Blue Origin wants to launch today by the solar activity could complicate things. Astronomers have observed a CME on a star not called the Sun for the first time. And comet 3I/ATLAS is looking more like an interstellar comet that an alien spacecraft. 

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Recorded November 1, 2025: It's Made of Stars... LIVE! How do you move a space shuttle without a shuttle mover and while preserving it? We're learning more about Jupiter's role in our solar system. Plus 3I/ATLAS and its strange behavior has scientists scratching their heads. Plus photos from the 50's have light flashes that could be UFOs. 

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Blue Origin was preparing a lander for the Artemis V mission that may never happen and now it could be used for Artemis III. SpaceX has broken one of its own launch records. Venus has lost its last active spacecraft. Astronomers continue to find organic molecules everywhere they look. Is it comet or an alien spacecraft?

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NASA's voyager 1 is set to make history again. Elon Musk isn't happy with NASA's decision to re-open bidding for Artemis III's Moon landing contract. NASA has awarded Katalyst Space Technologies a contract to raise a satellite's orbit. And three of the world's wealthiest people say people will be living off planet sooner than you might think. 

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Jared Isaacman could actually head NASA after being dropped from consideration. SpaceX successfully launched the final Version 2 Starship Super Heavy this week. A NASA payload unintentionally landed on a West Texas ranch. Aurora could be coming to the US tonight!

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NASA and Blue Origin are preparing to launch two spacecraft to Mars. Dream Chaser is preparing to debut as a free-flying spacecraft in 2026. ESA's TGO has gotten some slightly closer images of 3I/Atlas. And we have new evidence that Enceladus has favorable conditions for life. 

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NASA has announced its next ten candidates for astronaut. STEVE has returned. Strong solar flares are possible over the next few days. Axiom has selected its first Project Astronaut. 

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NASA says the Artemis II Moon mission could happen in six months and there's a way your name can travel with it. NASA and SpaceX sent up three probes to study space weather. NASA's VIPER mission has come back to life. And stars have been spotted eating things. 

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