Webcasts: NASA LADEE, JP Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and more

Here’s sampling of recent space audio webcasts of interest:

* John Batchelor Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 4-16-14 | Thespaceshow’s Blog –

Dr. Haym Benaroya from Rutgers University […] discussed the NASA LADEE mission, lunar dust issues, the lunar surface, the importance our astronauts returning to the Moon and the Lunar Dust Experiment which so far has proven to be inconclusive regarding the questions it was to solve. Dr. Benaroya went over the toxic and corrosive nature of lunar dust to both humans and equipment, had similar things to say about Martian dust, and talked about how important it is for us to go back to the Moon.

* John Powell, Tuesday, 4-15-14 | Thespaceshow’s Blog

John Powell of JP Aerospace gave an update on their airship programs, PongSats, Airship to Orbit (ATO) project, and more.

* Planetary Radio Live at Yuri’s Night—Under Space Shuttle Endeavour | The Planetary Society

We’re back at the California Science Center, final home of Endeavour, the shuttle that made 25 flights into space. Join the party as we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of humanity’s transition to spacefaring species with Yuri’s Night Executive Director Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, Virgin Galactic CEO and Yuri’s Night co-founder George Whitesides, and astronaut Ron Garan, who heads Fragile Oasis. You’ll also get a Curiosity update from Emily Lakdawalla, and we’ll find out what happened this week in space history with Bruce Betts.

* Cosmic Queries: A Stellar Sampling | StarTalk Radio Show by Neil deGrasse Tyson

This episode is bursting with conspiracy theories and strange hypotheses, but that doesn’t stop your own personal astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson from dropping some serious science. You’ll learn why the government isn’t secretly using HAARP to manipulate weather and why we shouldn’t dispose of pollution in our atmosphere. Find out where black holes go when they die, why there is no speed of dark, what would happen to the planets if we moved the Sun, the difference between black holes and white holes, and whether we could use quantum teleportation to explore inside a black hole. Neil also explains atmosphere, air pressure and vacuums, why hot air rises but air is colder at higher altitudes, and why time passes differently on Jupiter than on Earth. Plus, he tells comic co-host Eugene Mirman how to use physics to communicate with a 3-meter tall alien “gummy bear.”