Moon Mission 3D from Queen Guitarist Brian May and David Eicher

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode pairs two space stories: Jason Davis discusses Israel’s SpaceIL lunar lander, a former Google Lunar X Prize contender nearing launch with NASA support, and Matt Kaplan interviews David Eicher about Moon Mission 3D, a richly illustrated stereoscopic history of human spaceflight coauthored with Brian May. The show closes with Bruce Betts’ night-sky update and trivia on lunar and solar records.

Main Topics: SpaceIL’s lunar lander mission: Jason Davis explains the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL’s small lunar spacecraft, its delayed but imminent launch, planned landing in the Sea of Serenity, hop maneuver, and science payloads. NASA support and lunar infrastructure: NASA is contributing DSN communications time, a magnetometer partnership, and a retroreflector to support current operations and future lunar navigation infrastructure. Moon Mission 3D and the art of stereoscopy: David Eicher describes the book’s 3D Apollo and broader space-history images, emphasizing Brian May’s long-standing stereoscopic expertise and the book’s visual impact. Apollo/Soviet space history through a dual lens: The book combines U.S. and Soviet perspectives, covering Yuri Gagarin, Sputnik, Korolev, Gemini, Apollo, and later robotic missions, with political, technical, and human context. Human risk and sacrifice in spaceflight: The conversation highlights dangerous missions, fatalities, cramped capsules, Apollo 1, Apollo 13, and memorialization of lost astronauts and cosmonauts. Night sky update and trivia: Bruce Betts gives a concise observing guide, recounts space-history milestones, answers the prior trivia question, and poses a new one about Zond 5.

Key Arguments: SpaceIL is continuing despite no prize money because the team had already invested years of work and wants to inspire STEM interest, especially in Israel. The lander is intentionally small and simple, but it still performs the key X Prize tasks: lunar landing, high-definition imaging, and a 500-meter hop. NASA’s involvement reflects a forward-looking strategy for increased lunar traffic, using DSN support and retroreflectors to aid future navigation and ranging. Moon Mission 3D stands out from other Apollo books because its stereoscopic imagery creates a strong sense of depth and presence on the lunar surface. Brian May’s stereoscopic expertise and the team’s archival work turned thousands of NASA images into a carefully curated 3D history of human and robotic spaceflight. The book’s broader message is that future human exploration, especially to Mars, will require international cooperation rather than Cold War-style competition.

Data Points: SpaceIL launch timing: early 2019 - Jason Davis says the mission was delayed from the end of the year because of a SpaceX flight delay. Moon mission size: a couple meters wide - Description of SpaceIL’s lander as a compact spacecraft with four legs and top-mounted solar panels. Landing site: Sea of Serenity - Planned lunar landing location for SpaceIL. Mission duration to Moon: 2 months - SpaceIL will raise its orbit gradually before lunar capture and landing. Hop distance after landing: 500 meters - Second phase of SpaceIL mission to satisfy Google Lunar X Prize requirements. Apollo book image count: 150 stereo images - Eicher says most images in Moon Mission 3D are stereoscopic. Book text length: 50,000 words - Eicher characterizes the book as a solid but not exhaustive history. Starmus origin: around 2010 - Eicher references the festival where he met Brian May and the collaboration formed. Brian May PhD completion: 2008 - May returned to finish his astrophysics PhD after his music career took off. Old record holder for solar approach/speed: Helios 2 - Bruce Betts trivia answer before Parker Solar Probe broke the records. Zond 5 lunar flyby: September 1968 - Bruce Betts cites Zond 5 as the first spacecraft to orbit/fly around the Moon and return to Earth. Apollo 12 landing date: 1969 - This Week in Space History segment. Lunakhod 1 lunar rover date: about a year later - Betts notes the Soviet rover became the first wheeled vehicle on the Moon. Previous prize value: $30 million - Referenced as the original Google Lunar X Prize purse, though no money remains behind it now.

Pivotal Quotes: "It'll actually try to make a hop. It'll lift off using the same engine it used to land, travel 500 meters." — Jason Davis: Explaining the SpaceIL lander’s post-landing demonstration to meet X Prize-style goals. "Moon Mission 3D is a stunner." — Matt Kaplan: Kaplan’s overall assessment of the book after seeing the stereoscopic images. "the closest you get to being on the moon" — Charlie Duke (quoted by David Eicher): Describing the realism and depth of the stereo lunar images.

Implications: The episode suggests lunar exploration is entering a new era of small, international, partly commercial missions, while 3D archival storytelling can renew public interest in space history and future exploration goals.