WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.439 Imagine the place where you can escape for a day, 2 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:08.800 get immerged in a world of rooms, inspiration and expertise, 3 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.480 where you can lay in luxury, accommodation and kids cam 4 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:20.320 fees from ninety five sets. Tickets are free to everyone 5 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:25.559 and include all the attractions you've just imagined. A day 6 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:30.519 out at Ikia Theikia the Wonderful. Every day you're. 7 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:32.960 On the bus an hour from home and bumper to 8 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.159 bumper traffic creeping forward a few inches at a time, 9 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:39.600 someone's kids are screaming, and suddenly. 10 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:40.200 Your back is too. 11 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:45.759 Luckily, Panadal extra film coated tablets are boosted by caffeine 12 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:47.640 and they get to work in as little as ten 13 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:52.039 minutes for powerful relief. That's more than just paracetamol. That's 14 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:56.399 one for Panadal speed based on absorption data contains paracetamol. 15 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:03.439 Always read the label or leaflet. Hey it's your stepbrother's girlfriend, 16 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:04.760 the one with the pet rat. 17 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:05.519 What's up? 18 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:09.799 It's Sali Ward. Welcome back another episode of ologies. Hi guys, 19 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:13.239 I'm happy continued summer to all of our friends in 20 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:17.959 the Northern Hemisphere, Happy sweater weather to the Southern friends. Boy, 21 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:20.799 howdy do we have a special two parter for you 22 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:28.239 this week and next Mars. Are you ready? Okay? So 23 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:32.159 that that orange orb in the night sky. It's fodder 24 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:35.959 for science fiction and it's a place where billionaires ask 25 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.799 themselves can we go there? When we ruin the planet 26 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:42.079 we're on. It's kind of like a very dry rebound 27 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:45.480 after we crash and burn our marriage with Earth. So 28 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:48.920 maybe you love Mars. Maybe you don't know why people 29 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:51.359 love Mars. Maybe you're like me, And until a few 30 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:54.120 years ago, I was like, wait, is Mars a really hot? 31 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:57.519 Like fiery one? Because it's red and stuff? I had 32 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.879 no idea. So this week you're not on getting answers 33 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:03.280 to the questions you feel too stupid to ask, but 34 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:06.319 also some in depth knowledge of what's coming up next 35 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:10.919 from one of the most chill but deeply enthusiastic ologists 36 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:13.360 I've ever gotten to sit down with. Whoo Okay, but 37 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:15.400 first I'll be quick. So this show would not be 38 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:18.680 made without the patrons. At patreon dot com slash ologies. 39 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:20.520 You can join that club for as little as a 40 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:22.759 dollar a month twenty five cents a week. Unless you 41 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:24.919 see what topics are coming up next, you can submit 42 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:28.159 questions that I ask theologists directly. Also, I say your 43 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:32.280 name sometimes I pronounce it right. So this is an 44 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:36.400 entirely independently made podcast. You guys make it happen. Another 45 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:38.759 way to support the podcast if you'd like, is to 46 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.400 go to ologiesmerch dot com. There's tots and hats and 47 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:46.280 shirts and pins and just in are you ready for this? 48 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:51.159 Ologies swimsuits and backpacks. You can put science on your butts. 49 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:53.560 It's very exciting. It's so exciting that I was like, 50 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:56.039 I should have a sale. I should just have a sale. 51 00:02:56.280 --> 00:03:01.919 So if you enter the code Campologies cam Ologies at 52 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:04.120 check out, you'll get ten percent off your whole order 53 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.000 all through July. So if you decide you need an 54 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.680 Ologies bathing suit with bugs on your butt or boobs 55 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:15.000 or whatever, go to ologiesmerch dot com go get them. Also, 56 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:17.599 your reviews and ratings keep it up in the charts 57 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:21.439 for other people to discover. And I'm often writing this 58 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:25.039 without a bra I'm recording in my closet, and your 59 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.879 reviews make my week, and then I read them, such 60 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.960 as Nikki the Nerd, who titled her review I know 61 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:31.879 you're reading this Alli. 62 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:33.039 She's not wrong. 63 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:37.319 She said this podcast is Filippin' awesome. Every week. I 64 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:39.759 now have new random factoids to spit out of people 65 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.199 in awkward situations. So thank you Ali for being a 66 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:45.120 geek and giving your fellow nerds a place to geek 67 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:49.360 out together. I want to know how awkward your situations get. 68 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.560 I told one hundred people over a PA system about 69 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:55.199 getting my hands stuck in an escalator, and this story 70 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:59.960 did not go as well as I thought. Anyway, it happens, Okay, Areology, 71 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.520 Let's get into it. So first off, Mars has a 72 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:05.639 lot of iron in the soil, which makes it red, 73 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.520 which makes it look like the Solar system's big, bloody eyeball. 74 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:13.800 So hence we named it after the god of war, Mars. 75 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:17.160 So it's Aris in Greek mythology. And if you want 76 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:20.160 to know more about Roman's ripping off Greeks, listen to 77 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:22.680 the mythology episode. So the Greeks were apparently kind of 78 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:26.480 ambivalent toward Aries. They were like, he's jacked and he 79 00:04:26.519 --> 00:04:28.439 could kick ass in battle, but also he's kind of 80 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:31.839 a dick. So the word areology means study of Mars. 81 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:35.360 So this ologist was introduced to me via email by 82 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:39.360 my NASA friend Casey. Hi, Casey, Hi, Christine Casey's email 83 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:41.879 between us simply said do you need introductions? 84 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.240 No, you do not. 85 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.279 Then I received a message back from her saying that 86 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:49.680 she listens to the podcast. She's been a patron since 87 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:53.399 approximately ten minutes after listening to her first episode, and 88 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:57.680 that once she played ologies with her friend where she 89 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:01.519 pretended to be me and interviewed him, and she said, 90 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:04.240 and I quote, I even talked about how dirty my 91 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:06.920 hair was and put in asides. And let's just say 92 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:09.519 I wanted to print up her email and frame it 93 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:13.639 in something ornate and gold. So this interview was on, 94 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:16.600 it was happening. So she grew up in the heart 95 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:20.240 of la She has the most laid back textbook so 96 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:24.360 cal accent I have ever heard, maybe the chilliest areologist 97 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:26.839 on any of the known planets. So I got off 98 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:28.680 a plane from a work trip. I had it straight 99 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:31.759 from the airport to a little conference room with squeaky 100 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:35.399 chairs at Caltech in Pasadena to talk about like what 101 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:38.680 Mars's deal is and the best sci fi about it, 102 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:45.240 some super recent discoveries about moons and life, insane dust storms, 103 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:48.000 the rovers they're building, and some of the best science 104 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:50.959 dreams I've literally ever heard in my life, So please 105 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:55.040 prepare for a journey into space and your rocky subconscious 106 00:05:55.079 --> 00:06:18.199 with aerologist Jennifer Booze. All right, so you know the drill, 107 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:19.879 but this is a microphone. 108 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:23.360 You talk into it. Okay, this is gonna be fun. 109 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:27.600 It's great. You just so just talk regularly about the microphone. 110 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.160 Yeah, exactly. You look at this. 111 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:31.000 You're already a prop. 112 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:34.680 You're already so good. At this point, I looked over 113 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:38.199 and I saw that Jennifer was prepared with six printed 114 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:42.600 sheets of questions from the Patreon page, asked by listeners, 115 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.560 annotated by hand with her answers. She took the liberty 116 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:50.480 of printing and answering them to prep for this. Oh 117 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:53.600 my god, you printed them out and answered them. 118 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:57.199 Oh my god, I don't want to be caught off guard. 119 00:06:57.399 --> 00:06:59.160 This is great. This is the most prepared to anyone's 120 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:01.199 ever been. So we'll get to all those questions in 121 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:04.120 part two of this series next week, but just know 122 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:09.199 she's a wonderful genius. Also, her website is so worth perusing. 123 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:14.000 It's her name minus the vowels, so jnnfr dot besy, 124 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:18.240 and it features this pixely drawing of herself with purple 125 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.240 hair and a turtle body floating in the cosmos, and 126 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:25.800 it has photos of her work, links to significant space labs, 127 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:27.480 and a ton of easter eggs that you just have 128 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:29.600 to click around to get into. And as soon as 129 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.160 I saw it, I was like, I'm interviewing this very 130 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:34.240 bizarrely amazing human being. 131 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:34.879 I love her. 132 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.439 Also, someone should clone her and populate a planet with 133 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:40.319 a bunch more of her. Your website's so spectacular, by 134 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:41.120 the way, I love. 135 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.560 Thank you so much. I thought about making it more professional. 136 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:49.560 Nah that same, No, don't do that. Okay, So you 137 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.480 study Mars. Yes, you're an areologist. 138 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:53.439 Yes? 139 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:54.319 Is that correct? 140 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:57.839 Yeah, well I think I'm a planetary geologist who studies Mars. 141 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:00.519 But I study marsologist. 142 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:03.600 Okay, how long have you studied Mars. I'm going to 143 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:06.160 get straight into it with basic bitch questions. 144 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:10.680 Okay, I started studying Mars when I got to Caltech, 145 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.360 so it's been about six and a half years. 146 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:18.279 So Doctor Jennifer Booze got her bachelor's and master's degree 147 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:22.439 in geological and planetary sciences at this little startup school. 148 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:24.240 I don't know if you've heard of it. It's called 149 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:30.040 MIT dude, and she just defended her geological PhD this 150 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:34.320 April at Caltech. During her schooling, she just always dreamed 151 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:38.600 of working with rocks from far away lands. And it's 152 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:42.120 so easy to spend your twenties focused on dipping pizza 153 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:44.679 into nacho sauce and trying to get your brother to 154 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:47.360 buy you drugs. But Jennifer was like, I gotta get 155 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:49.879 my mids on some space rocks. When you got the 156 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.360 call that you knew that you would get to work 157 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:54.440 on this, like for real, Okay. 158 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:56.240 So like maybe that moment would be when I was 159 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:58.960 an undergrad I applied to work in a lab that 160 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:03.399 studied moon rock and that would be like my first time, 161 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:06.559 like my first real exposure. And when I got that 162 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.399 that research position, it was like a summer position. I 163 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.600 was like, Oh my god, I'm gonna be touching moon rocks, 164 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.279 like they're going to be in my possession, Like I 165 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:17.559 get to look at them every day, and like they 166 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:20.480 came from the Moon. And I was reading Apollo transcripts 167 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:22.279 like when they found the rocks, and I was like 168 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:26.120 listening to the audio tapes and like, oh that's when 169 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:28.320 they found my rock. Oh my god, and like and 170 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:30.799 then one day I broke the rock, and I was like, 171 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:32.919 they're gonna fire me for sure, but they didn't because 172 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:33.200 they were. 173 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:34.080 Like, yeah, a rock's break. 174 00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:34.639 Oh my. 175 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.240 But that day when I got that job, I was 176 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:42.159 just thrilled beyond belief that, like I that they someone 177 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:44.519 trusted me with a rock that came from the moon 178 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:45.879 that like an astronaut collected. 179 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:49.440 Oh my god, Yeah, that must have just been such butterflies. 180 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:52.799 Yeah, that was like super super exciting and what. 181 00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:54.720 A good lesson to learn that, like you can break 182 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:56.120 a moon rock and life will go on. 183 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:59.440 Yeah. I remember that day I broke the rock and 184 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:02.840 I just packed up my stuff and went to my dorm. 185 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:05.279 I wrote an email to my advisor. I was like, 186 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:07.960 I broke the rock. I'll be at my dorm and 187 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.200 I like went and I was like really upset, and 188 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:12.000 I told the people in my hall. I was like, 189 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.919 you guys, like I definitely got fired just now, and 190 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:16.840 like they all comforted me, but they were like, yeah, 191 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:17.679 it sounds serious. 192 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:21.080 And then my advisor was like are you coming back? 193 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:28.240 And we've all broken rocks so cute. And then I 194 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.919 was like, oh, did you like pack up your stuff 195 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:36.960 like your desk area. Yeah, like I'd only been there 196 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.000 like a couple of days, but I like packed up 197 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:41.159 everything in the lab. I like made it all neat, 198 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:43.679 and I just like put put it in my I 199 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:45.360 just went back. I just went home, and I was 200 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:48.840 just waiting just so he was at lunch. And it's 201 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:50.840 like if he hadn't been at lunch, I would have 202 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:52.559 just gone to his office and probably sat down and 203 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:54.120 like cried and like I broke a rock. 204 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:55.679 But I did. I just send him in this email, 205 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:56.519 like I broke a rock. 206 00:10:56.679 --> 00:10:58.960 Oh, I just picture you walking across campus with like 207 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.279 a box and like am that says I'm loney for 208 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.360 the moon and like just being like, I guess this 209 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:04.200 isn't my office. 210 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:06.240 Oh my god. 211 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:07.399 That's the cutest thing ever. 212 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:11.240 That's great that they like the in my In my experience, 213 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:16.519 my advisors have been really understanding and like, you know, 214 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:20.120 just patient with me too. I mean it's nice that 215 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:24.080 even scientists who study like the coolest shit even on 216 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:28.600 other planets, are all like, we're all earthlings. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, 217 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:32.200 we're all just little humans. Yeah, that's so cute. 218 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:36.240 And speaking of little humans, when Jennifer was just a 219 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.960 wee one, her folks took her on tours of NASA's JPL, 220 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:44.039 the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and she just became 221 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:47.799 deeply stoked looking at the models and the replicas of 222 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:52.120 the rovers. These things bumble around Mars, scrubbing rocks and 223 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:56.639 taking pictures, and eventually some models zap rocks with lasers. 224 00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.720 Right now NASA is planning the next one. There's a 225 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:04.639 ton unnamed rover to add to the four already up there. 226 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:08.840 There's Sojourner, which kind of turned into a pumpkin metaphorically 227 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:13.240 in nineteen ninety seven. And there's Spirit, which is stuck 228 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:15.679 with a broken wheel, but up until a few years 229 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:19.080 ago was bravely pinging back. And then there's Spirits twin 230 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:23.279 rover opportunity, which has been cruising around since two thousand 231 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.559 and four. And then there's a larger Curiosity. This is 232 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:28.679 the one you've probably heard of a lot more recently. 233 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:31.679 It's about the size of a Mini Cooper, so says 234 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:36.240 NASA itself. And Curiosity landed in August of twenty twelve, 235 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.080 and it's been kind of bebopping around a crater named 236 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:42.879 Gail for the last six years. So fun fact to 237 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:46.960 help areologists figure out how loose the soil is and 238 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:51.399 how far the rover has traveled. The Curiosity tires have 239 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:55.480 a few dots and dashes in the tread that spell 240 00:12:55.519 --> 00:13:00.200 out a secret message in Morse code. What does it spell? 241 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:05.919 What it spell spells JPL ding dong. So I did 242 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.879 some digging in the dusty soil of the internet and 243 00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:13.639 I discovered that Rover driver Mark Mamone, he's ginger haired, 244 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:17.279 jolly looking, is responsible for that Morse code. And also 245 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:21.840 his cell number was just like listed. So I did 246 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:24.360 what any classy stranger would do at eight pm on 247 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:27.039 a Wednesday, and I texted him just being like, hey, Mark, 248 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:29.519 you totally don't know me, but my name is Ali 249 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:31.600 Ward and I just found out you're the one who 250 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:34.840 proposed the JPL Morse code on the Curiosity tires. I'm 251 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:38.919 just saying, hey, that was badass, super cool idea. But 252 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:42.039 it's been five days and I have not received a response, 253 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:45.080 so don't do that. So back to the Curiosity Rover 254 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:48.759 landing in twenty twelve, which was an exciting time for 255 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:52.840 space nuts. So Curiosity Rover, Yeah, we landed it one 256 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:53.639 six years ago. 257 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:54.559 I think that's right. 258 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:57.399 Did you stay up late to watch it. 259 00:13:57.639 --> 00:14:02.360 Yeah, I volunteered at a like a public event where 260 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.159 they were showing the landing and stuff. 261 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:09.000 So what was I didn't see the landing. I think 262 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:10.559 it was in the middle of the night, right. 263 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:10.919 It was late. 264 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:12.799 I feel like it's like eleven or something. I don't 265 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:13.559 really remember, though. 266 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:16.440 What was that moment like when it touched down, Like, 267 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:16.960 what were. 268 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:17.519 You doing. 269 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.159 That shopping from? 270 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:26.080 We were just all watching the screen, and I think 271 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:29.600 there was lots of screaming and people crying and lots 272 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:30.679 of general excitement. 273 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:36.720 Take it. There's raw video of the NASA JPL control 274 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:42.600 room when the Curiosity rover touches down safely. Millions of dollars, 275 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:45.720 so many millions of dollars, thousands and thousands of hours 276 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:50.039 and trials and failures and redos and teamwork to get 277 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:53.440 this thing on fucking Mars. People in the control room, 278 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:58.039 like bearded men, grown women, just all weeping with joy. 279 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.639 Did I watch it and cry? Maybe I did? None 280 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.360 of your business. Jennifer at the time was also pretty 281 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.879 jazzed because that meant she didn't have to throw her 282 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:09.320 unfinished PhD thesis into a burning garbage can. 283 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:13.120 My PhD research was going to be using that data. 284 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:17.240 So it was just like super nervous also that it 285 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:19.720 maybe wouldn't work and so and then I was gonna 286 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:22.399 have to pick a new project. But I was like 287 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:26.559 super excited also, So yeah, it was like high emissions and. 288 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:29.320 I like if it literally bit the dust, you'd be like, well, 289 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:34.320 there goes my PhD. What was your PhD project? My PhD? 290 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.360 Uh basically came down to like five projects related to Mars. 291 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:42.960 Wait a second before we even talk about what she 292 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:45.679 was doing on Mars. Let's just talk about Mars. Let's 293 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:47.840 just back the hell up for one second. As a 294 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:51.320 planetary geologist, can you run me through, like what the 295 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.360 fuck is Mars? What's its deal? Why is it so dry? 296 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:57.120 How cold is it? How big is it? Just tell 297 00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:59.039 me what we're working with here, Give me some specs. 298 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:01.240 Like if you were if you were a dog, and 299 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:03.240 you're like, I don't know what Mors is, like, how 300 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:04.120 would you start? 301 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:08.960 Okay, So Mars. You know it's the next planet from 302 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:11.679 ours sun, so it's going to be like older. It's 303 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:12.840 also a lot smaller. 304 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:18.159 At its closest, Mars is around thirty four million miles. 305 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:21.559 That's fifty five million kilometers. If you live in a 306 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:24.919 country with a metric system and good healthcare away. So 307 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:28.000 scale wise, Mars is about half the size of Earth 308 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:32.519 and has roughly one third the gravity. One third. So 309 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:36.159 I looked up a few simulators of Mars gravity, and 310 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:40.000 in one there's this human in an orange onesie supported 311 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:44.559 by slings, taking these graceful leaps around an indoor track, 312 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:49.120 kind of like a giant marionette in a prison jumpsuit. 313 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:52.080 In another video, I saw what appeared to be a 314 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:56.759 gaggle of French cosmonautical tourists taking a ride in a 315 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:01.360 vomit Comet, which is a seatless commercial jet that makes 316 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:06.079 these roller coaster dips in flights and simulates lower gravity. 317 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:08.200 I don't know, from what I can tell, less gravity 318 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:11.680 looks fun as hell with these middle aged Parisians resorting 319 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:16.680 to whoops, they're hooting like tiny happy donkeys our kids 320 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:23.119 in a ball pit. Ah, So Mars gravity. Take your weight, 321 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:26.960 divide it by three. That is your bounding happy space 322 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:27.599 pony weight. 323 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:30.240 It's like, atmosphere is super thin right now, but in 324 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:32.880 the past it had a thicker atmosphere and there was 325 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:35.480 water on it for sure, Like we have evidence for 326 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.720 like streams and lakes and all sorts of like things 327 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:40.960 like that. And it was a lot warmer because it 328 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:43.079 had an atmosphere, and it used to have a magnetic 329 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:45.759 field like we had on Earth, but its dead doesn't 330 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:46.480 have one anymore. 331 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:48.559 How did magnetic fields die. 332 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:51.119 The planet Mars? Because it's smaller, it kind of like 333 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:54.279 cooled down a lot quicker. On Earth, it's like hot 334 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:57.720 down in our core, and we have got iron spinning around, 335 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.200 and it's also like a big planet and so, but 336 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:04.000 Mars doesn't have like all those things, and so it's like, uh, 337 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:06.960 it's core is like just not putting out like that 338 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:09.200 kind of motion anymore. So we're not getting a magnetic 339 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:09.799 field anymore. 340 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:11.440 I had no idea that was even a thing. I 341 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:12.480 didn't know that was an option. 342 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:13.319 Yeah. 343 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:15.359 And the moon used to have a magnetic field too, 344 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:17.279 it doesn't have one anymore. 345 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:19.599 The Mars moon no our moon, Earth's moon. 346 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:22.920 Yeah really Yeah, So I studied the moon before I 347 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:23.720 studied in Mars. 348 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.400 Oh God, I got so many moon questions. Oh that's 349 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:29.000 gonna be another episode. Does Mars have moons? 350 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.519 It has two moons, Phobos and Demos. Okay, there's like 351 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:35.640 some debate about how the moon's form. How the Moon's form. 352 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:39.119 But I think most people think they're like captured asteroids. 353 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:42.759 So they're really small moons and not like ours. And uh, 354 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:45.920 I think from the surface they look more like a planet's. 355 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.440 So if you're on Mars, yeah, do you see two 356 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.160 moons in the sky at the same time. 357 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:54.759 I think you can. But I but they're so small. 358 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.240 I think that they look more like planets. Okay, they 359 00:18:57.279 --> 00:18:59.079 just are like little Dimi dots. 360 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:01.240 Yeah, I don't think they're don't look like Arman for sure. 361 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:03.880 Okay, yeah, I thought maybe have you ever cracked an 362 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:04.920 egg and you got a double yolk? 363 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:05.720 My luck? 364 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:09.440 An egg side note, how lucky is it to get 365 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:11.880 a double yoker egg? I had to stop and check 366 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:14.359 because I was like, how rare is that? Maybe it's 367 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:17.200 happened to me twice in my life. Anyway, some traditions 368 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:20.160 say it's really good luck, or that someone in the 369 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.960 family is going to get knocked up with twins, But 370 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:26.839 according to Norse legends, it's an ominous sign the death 371 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:31.319 will visit. So what's actually happening? Like biologically, so, in 372 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:35.079 about one in every thousand eggs, a hen just boops 373 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:38.559 out an extra yolk. She's like boop. Usually younger hens 374 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:40.640 do it more frequently. I don't know, maybe their bodies 375 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.119 are just like hell yeah, I'm a baby machine. Let's go. 376 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:47.720 As for Mars's double moons, some hot goss just came 377 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:51.759 out this past week. Jennifer emailed me that Phobos, which 378 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:55.880 she described as a twenty six kilometer wide lumpy turd 379 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:00.039 ball or a cocoa puff, may not have been a 380 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:03.880 aptured asteroid, but possibly it was formed out of a 381 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:07.720 cloud of dust that was left over from a giant impact, 382 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:11.000 kind of like our own beloved moon, and that possibly, 383 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:15.960 possibly Phobos has formed many times over Mars history, and 384 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:20.279 it just periodically crashes into the surface, forms a dust 385 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:24.720 cloud around Mars again, and then recreates itself into a moon, 386 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:29.279 and then crashes again, forms itself anew again, but smaller, 387 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:32.640 over and over and over, which is like the most 388 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:36.359 poetic shit I have ever heard. And also that's more 389 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:38.680 comeback than Brittany, and I respect that. 390 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:39.319 Now. 391 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.960 The decreasing orbit of Phobos, this tendency to kind of 392 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:47.480 decrease in decreasing crash, convinced even Carl Sagan at one 393 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:50.960 point that Phobos was just a hollow satellite put in 394 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:54.319 place by aliens. And I love the idea that maybe 395 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:57.119 Carl Sagan just thought of it kind of like a 396 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:02.880 backyard shed, like aliens would just store holiday decorations in tubs, 397 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:07.359 or like coffee cans filled with nails and ikea alan wrenches, 398 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:09.960 maybe a lawnmower that the Martians haven't used in a 399 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:13.480 few billion years because landscaping got a little parched up there. 400 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:19.480 Sounds like that, but moons and so it's dry. Yeah, 401 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:22.359