🎙️ Exclusive ESCAPADE Mission Update with Rocket Lab’s Morgan Connaughton

In this episode, we sit down with Morgan Connaughton, Rocket Lab’s Vice President of Communications, for a wide-ranging and inspiring conversation about storytelling in spaceflight—and she brought us an EXCLUSIVE update straight from the ESCAPADE mission to Mars.

Morgan shares the behind-the-scenes excitement as Rocket Lab successfully completed a brand-new 13-second trajectory correction burn on the Blue spacecraft, with Gold scheduled for December 8. She walks us through how her team plans communications years in advance, and how you can be intimately involved in the success of a mission without ever touching a piece of hardware.

We explore Rocket Lab’s famously lean comms team—just seven people creating videos, graphics, mission names, PR, and social content with the same intensity as the engineers designing the rockets. Morgan also talks about the joy and chaos of going public, the challenge of maintaining culture across 3,000+ employees, and the values that guide Rocket Lab’s approach: fierce efficiency and doing the impossible.

She reflects on the art of mission storytelling, the importance of visuals in space history (including why the Moon landing broadcast still matters), and the rise of aspiring rocket photographers in New Zealand capturing Electron’s launches.

We also dive into fan-favorite topics like:

• How her team comes up with Rocket Lab’s legendary mission names

• The adrenaline of the helicopter catch attempt

• ESCAPADE’s twin spacecraft, Blue and Gold, and their journey to study Mars’ magnetosphere

Morgan’s path is a testament to creating opportunity through passion, vision, and storytelling.

This is one of our most inspiring episodes yet—and Rocket Lab’s ESCAPADE exclusive makes it one for the history books.

Morgan Connaughton's LinkedIN:

https://nz.linkedin.com/in/morgan-connaughton-4a211835

Rocket Lab

https://rocketlabcorp.com/

Escapade

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/

Exploring New Worlds: Dr. Sara Seager on Venus, Exoplanets, and Life Among the Clouds

In this episode of Red Planet Live, MIT astrophysicist Dr. Sara Seager takes us on a breathtaking journey through the frontiers of planetary science—from the acid clouds of Venus to the icy oceans of Enceladus, and even the methane lakes of Titan.

Dr. Seager reveals why Venus, often overlooked, is one of the most thrilling destinations for future missions. She discusses the possibility of life within its sulfuric acid clouds, where stable biomolecules could persist despite the harsh chemistry. Her team’s latest findings continue to show a phosphine signal with 4.8-sigma confidence, renewing excitement about potential biological activity in our neighboring planet’s skies.

We also explore the power of small but mighty missions, including Rocket Lab’s upcoming Venus probe and Asteria, the CubeSat that proved precision astronomy can thrive on a shoestring budget. Dr. Seager shares her insights on TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which at its peak was discovering up to 100 planet candidates a month—a quiet revolution in the search for other worlds.

From Sub-Neptune exoplanets like K2-18b, showing signs of life with dimethyl sulfide in its hydrogen-rich atmosphere, to her visionary idea of Starshade, a large space telescope, Dr. Seager paints a hopeful picture of humanity’s search for life beyond Earth.

We also touch on her Seager Equation—a parallel to the Drake Equation—and her book The Smallest Lights in the Universe, which reminds us that discovery is as much about human connection as it is about science.

Join us as we uncover why the most “underdog” worlds—and missions—often hold the brightest potential for discovering life in the cosmos.

Dr. Sara Seager's Links:

https://www.saraseager.com/professionalbiography

Venus : https://www.morningstarmissions.space/

https://www.projectstarshade.com/

Sara's memoir The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir

https://www.amazon.com/Smallest-Lights-Universe-Memoir/dp/0525576258

🎙 Ashton Zeth sits down with James Burk, Executive Director of the Mars Society, to share updates on the newest analog station HOPE in Ladakh, India (with ISRO as partners), record participation at MDRS, plans for the upcoming 2025 Mars Society Convention at USC, the launch of the new Mars Society Research Journal, and exciting developments from the Mars Technology Institute.

🌍 Highlights:

• Massive participation at MDRS this season

• Launch of the HOPE Analog in Ladakh

• Mars Society Convention 2025 — October 9–11 at USC (don’t miss Rob Manning at the Friday Night Banquet!)

• Updates from the Mars Technology Institute and new collaborations like Purdue University

• Discussing what's next in Mars exploration

📅 Preliminary Convention Schedule (subject to change): View Here

---Links --

Journal of Space Analog Research

https://jsar.space

HOPE analog Announcement:

https://www.marssociety.org/news/2025/09/16/indias-first-crewed-mars-analog-launches-with-protoplanet-isro-the-mars-society/

The Mars Society Convention 2025

https://www.marssocietyconference.org

Sponsor the upcoming convention in October: https://www.marssocietyconference.org/sponsors

Four Sponsorship Levels:

• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze
• Logo Only!

Flashline Analog in the Arctic

https://fmars.marssociety.org/

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Bhavya Lal, space policy leader, MIT alum, PhD from George Washington University, and recipient of NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal. After serving in senior leadership at NASA, Dr. Lal returned to RAND: School of Policy to continue shaping the conversation on national space strategy.

Our discussion spans some of the most urgent issues in space today: the growing orbital debris problem, the need for a shared global dataset, and the tension between America’s resources and ambitions in space. She emphasizes why strategic coherence and bipartisan commitment are essential for credibility and long-term success.

We also talk about the power of books to shape perspective, highlighting George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides — a life-changing novel that offers an “anti-history” of collapse and resilience, and what it teaches us about humanity’s fragile place on the cosmic shore.

🚀 Episode: Matt Gjertsen – From the Flightline to SpaceX to Startups

Matt Gjertsen has lived a life that blends military discipline, startup hustle, and a love for space. From early dreams of going to Mars, to serving as an Air Force instructor pilot, to shaping HR and training during SpaceX’s Crew Dragon era — his path has been anything but ordinary.

Now, through his own leadership courses and podcast, Matt explores what makes great teams tick — from the grind of late nights at startups to mission-focused endeavors. In this conversation, he shares how his military background gave him unique insights into building high-performing teams, why space still pulls at his heart, and how we can intrigue the world beyond the space bubble.

🌌 Expect talk of leadership, resilience, space stations, and the culture that pushes humanity further.

🎧 Tune in if you want to know what it takes to lead where it matters most — whether in the cockpit, the boardroom, or orbit.

Matt's Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgjertsen

https://bettereverydaystudios.com/

Host / Producer of Leadership Launchpad Podcast

https://leadershiplaunchpad.captivate.fm/listen

In this episode, space expert Leonard David dives into the evolving landscape of space law on the Moon, highlighting growing conflicts—especially with China—and framing it as the new space race. He shares insights from his unique background working near the historic Atlas rocket and discusses the impact of funding cuts during the Trump administration on space exploration. Leonard also breaks down the latest news about plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon and what this means for future lunar missions.

Don’t miss this timely conversation on the challenges and ambitions shaping humanity’s next giant leap.

A Stellar Chat with Ad Astra Su, Galactic Gal, and Astro Alexandra

Join us for a captivating journey back to our July 15th episode, featuring an incredible trio of space communicators: Ad Astra Su, Galactic Gal, and Astro Alexandra! This special conversation offered a unique glimpse into the world of an engineer working on lunar payloads at a top aerospace company, exploring the delicate balance of privacy while maintaining a prominent social media presence. Our guests also shared exciting insights into their next big adventures, both on Earth and beyond.

Tune in for an inspiring and educational discussion that truly explored the vastness of the universe and the personal journeys within it.

Find them on Social Media & the web:

https://www.thegalacticgal.com

https://www.astroalexandra.com

https://www.instagram.com/adastrasu/?hl=en

Join us for this fascinating episode recorded July 1st, where we sit down with Crew 315 from the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). Our guests —
🌟 Dave Laude (Commander)
🔧 Michael Andrews (Crew Engineer)
🩺 Urban Koi (Health & Safety Officer)
🎨 Tim Gagnon (Crew Artist; also a KSC Artist — kscartist.com)

— share their personal inspirations and reflections from their two-week analog Mars mission.

👨‍🚀 What you'll hear in this episode:
🚀 The story behind the 100cameras experiment — a unique photography initiative fostering connection, reflection, and community through images captured during isolation and confinement.
👨‍🍳 How the crew bonded over taking turns cooking meals and navigating life in close quarters under Martian simulation.
📸 Tim Gagnon’s insights on blending art, science, and space exploration as part of NASA’s creative community.
🤝 Tales of teamwork: Helping a stranded van in the Utah desert while maintaining sim integrity.
🌱 Urban Koi tells us about receiving NASA funding for her MUSHROOM FORGE initiative.

👉 Learn more about Crew 315’s mission:
🔗 Final Mission Summary – MDRS Crew 315
🔗 Tim Gagnon’s KSC Artist Site
🔗 Urban Koi's Instagram