Here are some photos from past performances at schools, commercial venues, and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in DC:

My TV show, “Space Quest with Dr. Jim” won Silver Award in the People’s Tellys for 2020! Here are the winners and a description of the Telly Awards. You can watch all six episodes of the show here.

SpaceX is testing the Starship SN4 (Serial Number 4) vehicle, using the Raptor rocket engine based on methane fuel. Starship will be launched by the Super Heavy Booster, then be able to fly back on its own from the moon or Mars.

Space Quest with Dr. Jim

Jim has developed a new live-action TV show for cable and YouTube based on the songs from the albums “To Follow Apollo” and “A Race in Space.” The show uses music and robots to entertain and teach about space exploration, and starts off with the history of the Apollo moon landings. The music is a mix of live performances and animated videos.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) may someday build just one large rocket, rather than their current rockets of different sizes. This could be very economical if the vehicle is fully reusable, which could happen when SpaceX finishes developing their new Raptor rocket engine based on methane fuel.

Here’s an article on the new SpaceX rocket:

http://spacenews.com/musk-offers-more-technical-details-on-bfr-system/

Every country that has ever explored space has sent robotic probes first. The robots have become more sophisticated over time, so now they can make their own decisions without having to wait for instructions from Earth by radio. The robots are built to withstand extreme temperatures and hard radiation environments and still get the job done.  (more…)

NASA’s Cassini mission to the planet Saturn has ended, but people will be going over the data for many years. Cassini was a plutonium-powered robotic spacecraft that orbited Saturn and visited many of its moons.

People will go over data from the Huygens Probe as well. In 2005, a small battery-powered probe was released from the Cassini spacecraft and fell to the surface of the moon Titan. It discovered liquid on the surface, which was not water even though it looks very similar. It’s actually liquid methane that rains into lakes and rivers. It’s so cold on Titan that water ice looks like rocks scattered on the surface.