The Discussion:

• Our practical astronomy gathering is back – join us in Wales on 2-5th October
• Jen is contributing to Andy Oppenheimer’s book Stars of Orion
• Submit your support for Lego to create a clockwork solar system
• Watch Jen’s free online exoplanet talk for the Open University Space Society
• Emails from our good friends:
  • Casey Ash in Thailand, about the perennial issue of satellite constellations
  • Conor Brian from Texas about the first Martian settlers

The News:

• Ongoing problems with the James Webb Space Telescope as it nears launch.
• The first NASA Artemis moon mission suffers a setback
• The International Space Station’s new module is now functional
• Inspiration4 - the first civilian mission to space
• Commercial rocket companies Astra & Firefly put on the firework show
• NASA’s Perseverance rover collects its first Mars samples for a return to Earth

The news discussion: Is commercial spaceflight just a billionaires’ plaything?

Moons of the Solar System: Our show segment exploring the discovery, exploration and our knowledge of the solar system’s moons. This month we reach the last major solar system body to have moons: Pluto.