05 | The Challenger Legacy: Apollo on Steroids

NASA is gearing up for the Artemis II mission — where it will send astronauts around the moon for the first time in 50 years. While space exploration is never without risk, a retired astronaut is warning that NASA is "playing Russian roulette" with the lives of the crew. So have lessons been learnt from the Challenger and Columbia disasters? To hear more podcast episodes from hosts Fiona Pepper and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki about the legacy the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster left on culture, space exploration and high-risk decision making, search ‘Science Friction: The Challenger Legacy podcast’ from Radio National (RN) on the ABC Listen App (Australia), or wherever you get your podcasts. Get in touch with us: [email protected]. Guests: Peter King Correspondent for CBS News Radio Wendy Whitman Cobb Space policy expert at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies Charlie Camarda Retired NASA research engineer and astronaut Howard Berkes Former investigative reporter, NPR Leslie Ebeling Daughter, Bob Ebeling Brian Russell Former engineer, Morton Thiokol Credits: Presenters: Fiona Pepper and Karl Kruszelnicki Reporter: Fiona Pepper Senior Producer: James Bullen Series Producer: Jonathan Webb Executive Producer: Petria Ladgrove Sound Engineer: Simon Branthwaite Archives Research: Lisa Chidlow, Michael Osmond This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar peoples.