Aspiring Martians

Hope you're prepared for a conversation that is as honest as it is powerful.In this week's episode, Joe sits down with Lina Borozdina where she shares what brought her to space aboard Virgin Galactic, but this discussion goes far beyond the mechanics of spaceflight. Together, they explore the emotional reality of chasing a space dream in public and the resilience required to keep going in the face of dismissive, hurtful, and often cruel commentary from those who would rather see that dream disappear.The conversation also touches on Lina’s deep commitment to inspiring the next generation of kids, the responsibility that comes with visibility, and the quiet strength demonstrated by women who refuse to make themselves smaller, even when the world asks them to.It’s a vulnerable, moving conversation about courage, representation, and choosing to dream anyway.This episode marks the final personal story of Season One of Aspiring Martians — a season dedicated to exploring the deeply human stories behind people with a very real dream of living on Mars someday. Stay tuned for next week's final episode of Season 1 with an all new Everyday Mars episode you won't want to miss!~A huge thank you to Lina for joining me today and sharing her story, to Nick Thorburn for the amazing theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the incredible graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for letting me talk about Mars far more often than is probably reasonable.

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Dr. Kshitij Mall, an assistant professor at the University of South Alabama and director of the BRAHMAND Lab whose work sits at the cutting edge of propulsion, plasma-assisted flows, and extreme-environment engineering.Kshitij is one of the minds behind Mission ShakthiSAT, a low-cost lunar transfer and micro-lander and program dedicated to empowering thousands of girls around the globe to develop their interest in space. His work asks a big question: what if space exploration didn’t require billion-dollar budgets to matter?Joe and Kshitij talk about what it means to be an aspiring Martian while still firmly rooted on Earth, his inspiration along the way, and why education and inclusion are just as important as rockets when it comes to building our future off-world.~A huge thank you to Kshitij for joining me today and sharing his incredible story and ambition, to Nick Thorburn for our stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the beautiful graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for always supporting this journey—even when my curiosity drifts toward doomed moons.

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Dr. Adriana Marais: theoretical physicist, astrobiologist, disruptor, explorer, and one of the most compelling voices shaping the future of human settlement beyond Earth.Adriana’s scientific background spans quantum effects in biology, the origins of life’s building blocks in space, and award-winning work in quantum biology. She’s a Director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa and the Head of Science for Africa2Moon, Africa’s first lunar mission — a first-of-its-kind radio telescope headed for the south pole aboard China’s Chang’e-8 mission.She’s also the founder of Proudly Human, leading the ambitious Off-World Project, which tests autonomous, resilient living systems in the harshest environments on Earth — deserts, icefields, remote regions — as analogs for future off-world communities. Her work has been featured in CNN’s Africa’s Space Race, AOL’s Citizen Mars, Before Mars, and hundreds of talks across all seven continents. She was recently honored as “Most Disruptive” at the Women in Tech Global Awards in Paris.Joe and Adriana dive into quantum biology, off-world economics, resilience, the philosophy of exploration, Africa’s growing influence in space, and why extreme Earth environments may hold the key to not just surviving, but thriving on Mars.~A huge thank you to Adriana for joining me today and sharing her unique perspective, to Nick Thorburn for our stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the beautiful graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for always supporting this mission!

This week on Aspiring Martians, Joe sits down with Keisha Schahaff, a trailblazer whose journey has inspired millions across the Caribbean and beyond. Keisha made history as the first Caribbean woman in space, flying aboard Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 02 mission, where she and her daughter became the first mother-daughter duo to reach space together.Keisha talks about what her flight gave her: the shift in perspective, the overwhelming emotion of seeing Earth from above, and the sense of possibility that stayed with her long after she touched down. She shares how the experience strengthened her connection to her home in Antigua and Barbuda, and why that moment of weightlessness ignited something even bigger: a dream of living on Mars someday.Joe and Keisha discuss identity, courage, community, and what it means to carve a path for people who have never seen themselves represented in space. It’s a conversation full of warmth, joy, and that rare kind of hope that makes you believe new worlds aren’t just reachable — they’re inevitable.~A huge thank you to Keisha for joining me today and sharing her incredible and powerful story, to Nick Thorburn for our stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the beautiful graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the Facebook group, and to my family for always supporting this mission — even when I start cheering for dust devils.

This November — the month of elections here in the USA — we’re taking the spirit of civic engagement off-world.In this Everyday Mars special, Joe talks with Dr. Kelly Weinersmith, an author, researcher, and one of the sharpest, funniest minds thinking about the future of space settlement. Kelly and her husband Zach wrote A City on Mars, a book that takes a wildly entertaining, deeply researched look at the realities of living off-planet. It covers everything from lunar land claims to cosmic law enforcement to the political structures that might keep a Mars colony from descending into either chaos or paperwork.And yes — there is an entire section on governing on Mars.Together, Joe and Kelly dig into the government models that might emerge on the Red Planet, which ones might fall apart instantly, what history already warns us about, and why the earliest decisions could shape Martian society for generations. It’s thoughtful, funny, and surprisingly grounding. Exactly the kind of episode that reminds you that space is not just about rockets, but about people.~~A huge thank you to Kelly for joining me today and sharing their hilarious and thought-provoking insights. And if you haven’t already, grab a copy of their book A City on Mars: https://www.acityonmars.com/Thanks as always to Nick Thorburn for our stellar theme music, to Ceci Giglio for the beautiful graphics, to RDan, Leila, Inka, and Carl for admining the FB group, and to my family for always supporting this mission — even when dinner talk drifts into real estate opportunities on a far away moon."Frontier Culture: The Roots and Persistence of “Rugged Individualism” in the United States: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w23997/w23997.pdfFrontier Settlement and the Spatial Variation of Civic Institutions: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/76f8393b-7f33-4433-a7e0-de204bec7ab5Off-Earth by Erika Nesvold: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047548/off-earth/