Show Notes
We've all seen the movies... the aliens come to Earth, the aliens overcome the inferior humans, and the aliens fall prey to something dumb they overlooked, like microbes, Windows 95, or most absurdly, water. From the 1950s through yesterday, some of the best movies we've seen were about the invasion of our planet. They can be clever, scary, or even downright dumb, but they are all fun. Veteran space writer Rich Edwards joins us to give advice on how to repel the invaders!
Headlines:
Department of Defense drops new batch of UFO/UAP files
Blue Origin traces New Glenn rocket explosion to faulty oxygen valve
SpaceX's first public earnings call reveals key financials and hints at Starship's future
Total solar eclipse set to cross Europe; safety tips and gear recommendations
Main Topic: How to Invade Earth in Sci-Fi—22 Dos and Don'ts with Rich Edwards
The enduring appeal and adaptability of War of the Worlds
Why alien invaders always go for major landmarks (and why it's all for show)
Critique of aliens with impractical invasion strategies—water allergies and cocky attitudes
Pop culture's obsession with alien disguises, conspiracy plots, and gradual infiltration
Deep dive into Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Day of the Triffids, and the power of slow, stealthy takeovers
Starting small: Alien invasions in isolated towns and subtle conquests
The strategic use of time travel in alien invasion movies, with Star Trek: First Contact
Why James Cameron's Aliens remains a sci-fi invasion classic decades later
What makes a satisfying alien invasion ending—and the pitfalls of lazy resolutions
Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik
Guest: Richard Edwards
Download or subscribe to This Week in Space at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.
Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts!
Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Sponsor: helixsleep.com/space
More from This Week in Space (Audio)
In this week's episode we turned to Chelsea Gohd, former writer for NASA/JPL and now with Space.com, to talk about the recent large data dump from the Artemis II mission. What was included? Why is this new data important? What observations were made, and what discoveries might result from them? What kind of annotations and notes did the astronauts include that make these observations uniquely valuable? And finally, we talk about Artemis III - what is the mission profile and what are the stakes for SpaceX and Blue Origin?
From the earliest works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to the best of contemporary space science fiction, Tariq and I dive deep into our favorite space si-fi across the ages! And our challenge to you for some of the most obscure titles we know.
Think you're having a hot summer? Try living on 55 Cancri-e, a super-Earth with daytime temperatures above 4000 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of these super-Earths orbit frighteningly close to their host stars and have long since had their atmospheres scraped away, leaving them baked, parched rocks. But some, like 55 Cancri, still have dense envelopes of air. How is that possible, when the planet is 20 times closer to its star than our own planet Mercury? Dr. Laura Schaefer explains how molten lava worlds defy the odds. Plus: Starship update, the first orbital data centers, and a new year on Mars.
This week it's Rod and Tariq working through the most important space headlines. The big story: Starship could launch test flight 14 as early as Monday the 28th. We've seen lots of tests, but this is the first attempt at an orbital flight, the success of which is necessary for the lunar landing system and eventual retirement of the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon. Also: Vast starts up a lunar division, Isaacman's relief over delays to China's lunar program, concerns over announced discontinuation of SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon, and yet more money for Boeing's troubled Starliner. This and more on this episode of TWiS!
In the 1980s, as the US space shuttle was just starting operations, the UK embarked on an ambitious project called HOTOL—short for Horizontal Take Off and Landing, a radical, air-breathing spaceplane design. Political and funding shifts in the UK ultimately derailed the project, despite the promising technologies it pioneered. The idea was later restarted as Skylon, with key individuals and refined technologies at its core. This project, too, struggled, ultimately shuttering in 2024. Despite this, the promise of rapid, reusable spaceplanes that can launch and land at airports is still coveted by many countries, and efforts continue. Join Rob Coppinger, author of the definitive book on the topic and editor of the UK's "Spaceflight" magazine, as he tells this fascinating story.