Liftoff was a podcast about space, the universe, and everything. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand the major developments as explained by enthusiastic space fans Stephen Hackett and Jason Snell.

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#51: Dark Matter, with Dr. Katie Mack

July 18th, 2017 · 45 minutes

Jason and Stephen are joined by Dr. Katie Mack, a theoretical astrophysicist working at the University of Melbourne on dark matter and the potential it has to change our understanding of the universe, physics and more.

#50: A Science Skateboard

July 5th, 2017 · 48 minutes

There are a bunch of milestones to celebrate this week: Juno's been at Jupiter for a year, Stephen built his LEGO Saturn V and Pathfinder landed on Mars 20 years ago.

#49: A Feel-good Mission About the Sun

June 20th, 2017 · 34 minutes

This fortnight, our intrepid explorers talk about NEEMO, newly-discovered exoplanets and the Parker Solar Probe.

#48: Hidden Figures

June 6th, 2017 · 57 minutes

Jason and Stephen discuss the 2016 film Hidden Figures.

#47: Eclipses: Orbits Aren't Perfect

May 23rd, 2017 · 52 minutes

This week, Jason and Stephen talk about lunar and solar eclipses in preparation of a total solar eclipse in North America coming up in August.

#46: Team Pluto on the March

May 9th, 2017 · 31 minutes

This fortnight, Jason and Stephen cover a possible future Pluto mission, SLS delays and the X-37B spaceplane.

#45: Interested in Looking Awesome

April 26th, 2017 · 43 minutes

This fortnight we discuss Cassini's daring death dives inside Saturn's rings before the end of its mission, exciting news from our solar system's ocean moons and hints of a change in planning for future exploration of Mars.

#44: Voyager

April 11th, 2017 · 35 minutes

After visiting Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the Voyager probes are now probing the very edges of our solar system — and beyond.

#43: Release the Ice Mole

March 28th, 2017 · 31 minutes

This fortnight brings a flight-proven Falcon 9 launch, news about Enceladus' ice sheets and the return of the mighty RS-25.

#42: You Don't Wanna Hit a Moon

March 14th, 2017 · 41 minutes

This fortnight, Jason and Stephen catch up the news coming out of Washington D.C. and Blue Origin, and then consider what the Europa Clipper mission could mean.