On Episode 144 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik take a look a pair of private moon missions by Firefly Aerospace and ispace that lifted off this week and so much more.
2025 is the year that introduces the Great Lunar Armada! A small fleet of private and publicly-funded orbiters, landers, and rovers are heading off to explore Luna Incognita this year, and it will only speed up after that.
We also look at the recent Starship Flight 7—which ended in the total loss of the Starship upper stage—and the inaugural flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn mega-rocket, which flew successfully but did not manage to land on the recovery ship. Plus, our usual space dad joke and an update on the LA fires' impact on NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and how you can help.
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Space news of the week
- The Caltech and JPL Disaster Relief Fund
- Astronomy Experts Series 2025 featuring Tariq Malik & Alan Hale
- SpaceX catches Super Heavy booster on Starship Flight 7 test but loses upper stage (video, photos)
- SpaceX Starship explosion likely caused by propellant leak, Elon Musk says
- X.com: @deankolson87 - Just saw the most insane #spacedebris
- Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launches massive New Glenn rocket into orbit on 1st flight (video)
- Major milestone! India becomes 4th nation to dock satellites in orbit
Model Falcon 9!
Looking for a telescope to see planets and comets? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide.
Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners collectSPACE.com.
About This Week In Space
This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?
Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.