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We have a very special episode for you this week. Roger Christian is an Academy Award-winning art director for the very first Star Wars movie: A New Hope. He was later nominated for an Oscar for his work on Alien. He directed second unit on Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, The Sender, and Nostradamus. He was also the director of the movie Battlefield Earth. There has been so much false information about the movie over the years that he wanted an opportunity to discuss the facts of the movie, and as Roger puts it to put the truth out there.

Lance Bush, President and CEO of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education discusses the Challenger disaster and continuing the Challenger crew's educational mission. Also discussed is the role of science fiction as an inspiration for getting humankind into space.

(l to r) Brig. Gen. Donna D. Shipton, Vice Commander, Space & Missile Systems Center, Lt. Gen. John Thompson, Commander, Space & Missile Systems Center, Emily and John Goodwin, Honorary Commanders Space & Missile Systems Center at the Ft. MacArthur Centennial Celebration. — Opening ceremony by Colonel Ann Igl, Commander, 61st Air Base Group. — Interview with Lt. Gen. Thompson on the role of Space & Missile Systems Center — The history of Ft MacArthur by museum guide, Francisco Lacey — At the Gold Star Pavillion, Ken Sturgill talks about what "Service before Self" really means

The biggest challenge for travel to Mars is not the technology its that the human body is not designed for being in space. Dr. Haimoff talks about what happens to the body In zero gravity. He discussing anti-aging, known today as "health span." Dr. Haimoff received his Ph.D. in Biology from Cambridge University’s Pembroke College in the U.K., where he studied in the famed footsteps of scientists like Stephen Hawking, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton. Dr. Haimoff pioneered the development of several specific computer software programs used for biological scientific analyses of a wide variety of animals and human behavior, back in the days when mainframe computers used punch-cards. Dr. Haimoff can be found at www.globalscience.biz

Diego Martinez is not your typical science teacher. He chose a career in teaching science to inspire young minds to learn and he has successfully used science fiction to do this. He is now a SEEC (Space Exploration Educators Conference) crew educator and has gone on to receive the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. To educators listening, Diego recommends taking your love for science fiction to the students to engender a purpose to learn science. Among his achievements: * He has been a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison since 2008 and Space Center Houston Space Educator Expedition Crew (SEEC) member since 2017. * He collaborated with 2013 Alan Shepard Award recipient Daniel Newmyer on T.E.S.L.A. 1.0 (Teaching Extraordinary Students Lessons in Aerospace). * He built TeslaAerospace.org website, with the goal of making STEM-related careers, such as avionics, drone piloting and flight, accessible to a wider population. The site features free, self-paced learning guides designed to be studied by anyone. * He mentored hundreds of students in their scientific research projects for state, national and international science fairs, resulting in one gold medal and dozens of silver and bronze medals at the international level. * He created a school-wide educational party for SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch. * He founded, with wife Gail, the “Lindbergh Challenge,” a nationwide aerospace challenge with student-built flight simulators and a challenge for students to fly them for 33.5 hours while learning about historic aviators, doing STEM lessons and logging simulation hours. Museums and schools across the country have pledged to participate with his team this May. * He arranged for a “Top Gun” student pilot from the Lindbergh Challenge in 2015 to take a flight lesson, and now more than 50 students have received initial flight lessons, leading to possible aerospace careers. The initial lessons were funded with the award money received when he won Colorado Lockheed Martin Science Teacher of the Year in 2015. * He developed Apollo Program workshops at Delphian School in partnership with Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon. These workshops were designed as a model for educators to engage the public with lunar samples and other historical artifacts representing the history of spaceflight. * He contributed to the success of Delphian School’s public solar eclipse event in 2017, with more than 600 attending. The event featured a NASA planetary scientist as guest speaker, the Oregon High-Powered Rocketry Club, “Moon Vault” viewings with lunar samples and many other STEM engagement opportunities. * He is involved in Robotics Club, RC Car Club, the Association of Songwriters Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Science Fiction Fridays and has helped arrange a private tour of SpaceX for his students.

JPL's mission is unmanned exploration of the solar system. Robert Hogg has been an engineer with JPL for over two decades and is now the surface-phase lead engineer for the Mars 2020 mission. We discuss the remote science system - hi-res color imager, a laser to vaporize materials and a spectrometer to analyze material, the helicopter being sent to Mars. We also discuss anticipated problems and their resolution. If you remember spiderbots, we even talk about that!

International bestselling author Larry Niven discusses the evolution of the Ringworld and how it was developed with help from scientists, educators, and fans. He discusses genetically engineering luck. He also gives his recommended first reads for any type of reader.

Dr. Haimoff brings his unique perspective as a multiple award-winning documentarian on how science fiction was directly responsible for getting us to the stars. He discusses mining Helium on the moon to use in fusion reactors to replace our power grid as a source of energy. He has interviewed astronauts, Frank Borman, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, as well as NASA officials as well as authors such as Ray Bradbury. Learn more about Dr. Haimoff at www.GlobalScience.biz

Preston Dennett has written over a dozen books on UFOs and has now just released his latest, "Schoolyard UFO Encounters." Originally a skeptic, Preston did his own research and is now very open with what he has learned.

Science fiction is the language of possibility and has evolved to today where the nerds have won. Science fiction has evolved thanks to its authors like Anne McCaffrey who passed her baton to her son Todd, who has continued writing in the Pern universe and now works with the Winner Twins creating new worlds of tomorrow.

From technical writer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to NYT bestselling author, Kevin J. Anderson talks about the relationship between science fiction and the science it evolves. Enjoy this inaugural episode of the To the Stars Podcast. Learn more about Kevin J. Anderson at www.wordfire.com.