Topic: Spacecraft

The Artemis II mission concluded with the Orion spacecraft splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after a 10-day, 695,000-mile journey around the far side of the moon. While NASA celebrated the mission as a record-breaking success for human spaceflight, skeptics on social media raised questions about the lack of discussion regarding radiation in the Van Allen belts. Further criticism focused on the quality of mission photography and technical glitches in the video feed.

Former intelligence officer David Grush formally blew the whistle on a secret U.S. government program that has allegedly recovered non-human spacecraft for decades. Grush claims the government possesses "quite a number" of exotic vehicles and has encountered dead pilots, though he admits he has not personally seen photos of the craft.

China successfully recovered an experimental spacecraft that completed a flight around the moon and returned to Earth. This mission serves as a test run for a planned unmanned lunar surface return trip in 2017. The hosts remark on the slow progress of lunar exploration compared to the technology available in modern smartphones.

Producer Jeffrey Tuhig creates "Don't Drone Me Bro" bracelets. The hosts also discuss a Kickstarter campaign for a "Pocket Spacecraft" mission to the moon, which involves launching thin wafers into space. They joke about the possibility of a "No Agenda Space Saucer" and the high cost of the project.