Could there be life under the icy surface of Europa? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic Chuck Nice explore interplanetary missions, asteroid mining, and other exciting launches with the Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Laurie Leshin. Learn about what the director of JPL gets to do and what goals she has for JPL projects in the future. We hear about plans to visit Jupiter’s moon Europa, to return a sample from Mars, explore an asteroid called Psyche, and a new Earth science project named SWOT: Surface Water and Ocean Topography. What are the challenges for a mission to Europa? Could there be life there? Find out about plans for our first Europa mission and what makes this moon of Jupiter so special. Will fusion play a role in space travel? How is NASA already using nuclear energy in space? We talk about reusable spaceships and how to get a sample back from Mars. Will we soon mine near-Earth asteroids? With so many missions to the moon, what makes Artemis special? What are new promising technologies in space travel? Could we use a space laser to get through the ice on Europa? All that, plus hear about many exciting projects that you might not know about… Thanks to our Patrons Statton Broxham, Ethan Codyre, Ron Lanier, Nathaniel England, and Roger Lee for supporting us this week. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free. About the prints that flank Neil in this video: "Black Swan” & "White Swan" limited edition serigraph prints by Coast Salish artist Jane Kwatleematt Marston. For more information about this artist and her work, visit Inuit Gallery of Vancouver. https://inuit.com/ Get the NEW Cosmic Queries book (5/5 ⭐s on Amazon!): https://amzn.to/3dYIEQF Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #neildegrassetyson 00:00 - Introduction: Laurie Leshin 2:00 - Projects at JPL 9:00 - Psyche, Mars Sample Return, Europa & SWOT 13:00 - Future of NASA commission 16:00 - Exploring Jupiter’s moon Europa 23:00 - Fusion, fission, and space travel 25:15 - Falcon Heavy and reusable spaceships 27:00 - Humans on Mars 32:50 - Asteroid mining 34:55 - Going back to the moon with Artemis 36:30 - New technology 37:46 - Space lasers 49:57 - Earth’s gravity effect on light 41:26 - Interstellar travel 44:25 - What JPL is working on