Space Hazards

From our live Space Disasters (in 3D!) event at at EXP Restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. where we were joined by Sneaky Dragon and One Minute Medical School! In this episode we’ll discuss Kessler Syndrome, the cold depths of space, vacuum exposure, fluid redistribution, plus Soyuz 11, Vostok II, space debris, galactic cosmic radiation, space hazards in pop culture, and another live Lesser of Two Evils!

Music: “20 Minutes of Oxygen” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

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19 Responses

  1. Hey all, great show as always!

    Regarding the tops of your feet getting sore; Chris Hadfield mentioned once (I believe on Quirks and Quarks?) that the reason for this is because you are constantly using your feet for hooking onto things to stop from floating away.

    Dr. Rob: On bone loss, is there any way to increase bone before going into space? Certainly one can ‘bulk up’ muscles at the gym, but can you take all those supplements mentioned to bulk up your bone in preparation? Is this already done?

      1. Ooh, I’ve read a few other Mary Roach books (Bonk is excellent) but hadn’t seen this one. On the list it goes. 🙂 Thanks.

  2. When we finally send up satellites to collect all the space debris will the satellites be said to be making the… Kessler Run?

  3. Space debris? Someone notify the Han Division!

    Or, in English, the Space Debris Division of the Technora Corporation.

    Actually there was a brilliant but largely ignored anime that came out in 2003-2004 called Planetes. The story was about a special division that was specifically tasked to clean up orbital trash. As mankind attempts to break free of Earth, the worst case scenario that you address in this podcast becomes very, very real.

    Here is the English trailer for the show.

    http://youtu.be/DakRYsUIiIE

    Yes, the dub leaves a lot to be desired but don’t let that put you off. The show is thinking-man, hard sci-fi. The kind that is few and far between in anime right now. Planetes was based, as most anime is, on a manga that came out in the late 90s.

    The show is only 26 episodes long. Although the series is out of print, you can still buy it fairly cheap online.

  4. WRT the Deutsche Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahren, the fahren bit means to travel or drive, so it’s the centre for air and space travel.

    There’s a film coming out shortly called Gravity that looks like it’ll be an absolute corker for space hazards – something about an EVA gone wrong. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufsrgE0BYf0

    Say, has anyone heard of a Star Trek spoof about a crew who go around cleaning up space garbage, lead by Captain Quork? I swear I saw it as a kid, but have never managed to find anything out about it since. Tell me I’m not dreaming, someone!

    Btw, nice Shatner cum Walken intro there, Toren. 😉

    Great ep guys, wonderful to hear Dr Rob’s sultry tones again too, and such fascinating info about years of congestion on space flights – I’ve already cancelled my early bird trip to Mars.

      1. Ah, so that’s how you spell it. I saw it on the ABC in Alice Springs, where I grew up. I’ll go look it up now. 🙂

        1. Yes, it wasn’t a long-running series, that’s for sure. I only remember the details from a single episode – the one with e ‘beautiful aliens’

    1. There’s a more recent show called Space Janitors, although it is a spoof of Star Wars. Very funny!

  5. Came here to recommend Planetes and found someone already beat me to it. One of the episodes features terrorists who try to crash two satellites together to create a debris field that’ll keep humanity from ever using space again.

  6. Believe it or not, there are genuine horror stories regarding pedicures, such as the outbreak of non-tuberculis mycobacterial infections causing 110 people to develop boils on their legs which occurred at a California nail salon in 2000 because of unclean water baths.
    PEDICURE EPISODE PLEASE!