This Week in Space 37

America is returning to the moon, but how can we best do this? NASA is pursuing the massive Space Launch System, or SLS, that uses repurposed space shuttle technology to build a one-use, throwaway rocket that is not yet powerful enough to stage a landing mission without a third-party landing stage. SpaceX's Starship, which is NASA's first choice of a lunar lander, is larger, more powerful, reusable, and will one day be capable of going from the Earth to the lunar surface in one shot - and for a fraction of the cost. Why build both? How do they stack up when compared? Rod and Tariq dive deep into the Rise of the Megarockets!

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Links

• National Space Society
• NASA leaves its Artemis I rocket exposed to winds above design limits
• Section of destroyed shuttle Challenger found on ocean floor
• NASA's inflatable flying saucer aces Mars heat shield reentry test