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Proceeded.
Three, two, one.
Attention.
Good morning, grown-ups.
Oh, man.
I must have fallen asleep.
Let me just pause this video here.
Coming!
Opening the door?
Hey, Mindy.
Hey, Rozzy.
What are you doing here?
Well, I just wanted to make sure you're all ready for our hike tomorrow morning.
Oh.
Yeah, the hike.
Yeah, I'm definitely not remembering that for the first time right now.
Uh, Mindy?
Yeah?
Is that a piece of popcorn stuck to your face?
Uh, what?
Right there.
Huh?
Oh.
Mmm, yeah, that's popcorn all right.
Sorry, I must have fallen asleep in my bowl of popcorn while I was watching all those Emily Calandrelli videos.
Emily who?
Emily Calandrelli, the space gal.
Oh, I'm not familiar.
Oh, she's the best, Guy Raz.
You'd love her.
She's fun and science-y and smart and I'm pretty sure we'd be best friends if we ever met in real life.
Sounds like you're a big fan, Mindy.
Oh, you could call me a wind farm, Guy Raz.
Huh?
Because I'm such a big fan!
Uh-huh.
Anyway...
I've been binging all her videos all day.
You want to come in and watch a couple?
The next one's all about humans on Mars.
Well, as interesting as that sounds, Mindy, I think I should probably get some sleep.
We have to be up bright and early tomorrow morning, remember?
For what?
Why?
For the hike.
Oh, right.
The hike.
Yeah, totally.
Didn't forget that.
Don't forget, Mindy.
I won't, Kairos.
Just one more video and then it's Off to bed, I promise.
Okay, Mindy.
Well, I'll see you in the morning.
Bye.
Okay, just one more Emily Calandrelli video and then I'm really going to bed.
And play.
Three hours later.
Stay curious and keep exploring.
I'll see you next time.
Okay.
Just one more video.
Then it's definitely time for bed.
Okay.
And play.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on another planet?
Well, that's exactly what some scientists are trying to do.
NASA has plans to send human beings to the red planet as soon as the 2030s.
So, How are they planning on doing all this?
Well, it's not going to be easy.
The furthest human beings have ever traveled is to the moon, which is 238900 miles or 384400 kilometers away from Earth.
Mars, on the other hand, can be anywhere from 34 to 250 million miles away from Earth, depending on where it is in its lap around the sun.
That's about 200 times longer.
Wow, that's some big numbers.
That must be a long way away.
NASA is planning on heading back to the moon in the next few years with a space mission called Artemis.
After that, They hoped to set up a base on the moon in which they could launch missions to Mars and eventually set up a long-term research station there where scientists could study the red planets up close.
Wow.
A Mars research station.
Like a laboratory of bad ideas in space.
That would be a dream.
A dream. in the middle of the desert.
But I don't remember falling asleep in a desert.
Huh?
What's that in the distance?
Is that a person?
That's not a person.
It's an astronaut.
Hey, wait up.
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run.
Hey, hey, you.
Excuse me?
Hi, sorry.
Silly question, but where am I?
Where are you?
You're on Mars.
Mars?
But I don't even have a spacesuit on.
If I'm on Mars, how am I outside and breathing?
Maybe it's because all of this is a dream?
Ah, now that you mention it, I was up pretty late watching Emily Calandrelli videos.
Wait, have you ever heard of Emily Calandrelli?
Emily the Space Gal?
She's amazing.
I've watched all of her videos.
You know what?
That reminds me, I never introduced myself.
Let me take off my visor.
My name's Emily Calandrelli, commander of the Artemis Research Station.
Get out of here.
What?
I am like your biggest fan ever times a million.
My name's Mindy.
So good to meet you.
Mindy, again, this is all in your head.
I'm not actually real.
I guess a figment of your imagination.
Well, it is still a thrill to meet the figment of my imagination.
That's you, Emily.
This is going to be so fun.
Can you show me around your Martian laboratory of bad ideas?
You mean the research station?
Sure.
Whatever you want to call it.
Of course.
I'd love to.
Come on.
Follow me.
I'll give you the grand tour.
Hey, I do that too.
Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
Whoa.
Is that big dome-looking tent thing your lab?
Our lab, our home, our play area.
Well, everything.
Wow.
Opening the airlock.
Come on, Mindy.
Step inside.
Oh, don't mind if I do.
Stepping inside.
All right.
Closing the airlock.
That means it's done and I can take off this big bulky space suit.
That's better now.
Welcome to the Artemis Mars Research Base.
Wow, this place is bonker balls.
It's not much, but it's home.
At least for the next year and a half.
We're about halfway through our three year mission.
Whoa, you're going to be living in this tent for three whole years?
Not exactly.
Our stay here on Mars is for about 18 months.
While we're here, we're going to be learning all we can about Mars before heading back to Earth and being replaced by the next crew of astronauts.
Uh-huh.
Okay.
So if you're only here for 18 months, which is, let me see, carry the one, I don't know one and a half years, then how is this a three-year mission?
That's because of the travel time.
It takes a while to get here from Earth, you know?
Whoa, so half of this Mars mission is just traveling to and from Earth?
It didn't take me nearly as long to get here in my dream.
That's right.
But it's not just me here.
I have a whole crew with me to help learn about this little red planet.
Speaking of which, here comes our chief science officer now.
Emily, have you seen my portable spectrometer?
I thought I left it in the lab, but I can't find it anywhere.
Guy Razzi!
Excuse me?
Guy Raz, it's me, Mindy.
Who?
Mindy, your next-door neighbor, your best friend.
We share a movie flicks account.
Ah.
I'm sorry.
I think you must have me confused with someone else.
I'm the chief science officer.
I'm a geologist, and my closest neighbor is currently 93 million miles away.
Okay.
Sure you are, Guy Raz.
I'll play along.
So, Mr. Geologist Chief Science Officer, What exactly are you working on at the moment?
Well, at the moment, I'm working on trying to find my portable spectrometer.
A portable spectrometer?
You mean one of those little tiny gizmos you use to analyze dirt?
Exactly.
I use it to analyze the Martian dirt samples we get from outside.
And using the light from the machine, I'm able to tell what sort of minerals are in the soil.
And that's important because Well, we're hoping that some of these minerals in the soil can tell us more about the past here on Mars.
We already know that there used to be liquid water here on Mars because of what we've already found in the Martian soil.
And my hope is that one day we'll also find signs of life, too.
Life?
On Mars?
Didn't someone write a song about that?
David Bowie?
Nah, that's not it.
Well, anyway, I better keep looking.
I definitely had it when I went to the sleep chambers earlier.
I'm going to go check there.
It was nice meeting you.
I already know you.
No, I don't think you do.
Shall we continue the tour?
Oh, yes.
Absolutely, yes.
10,000%.
Great.
Just through here is the kitchen.
Are you hungry?
Almost always.
Great.
Then follow me.
Right behind you, Emily Calandrelli.
You can just call me Emily.
I prefer Emily Calandrelli.
Suit yourself.
The kitchen is right through here.
Ooh, I love what you've done with the place.
So much stainless steel.
Well, it makes everything easy to clean up, which is super important when you live and work in a scientific laboratory.
Yeah, I bet.
And equally as important when you have a station cook that's as messy as ours.
What?
Who are you calling messy?
Thomas Fingerling?
Is that you?
Well, I don't think so.
This is our station cook and resident biologist.
Aha, I see.
Very pleased to meet you, young lady.
Biologist?
You mean a scientist that works with plants and stuff?
Yep, that's me.
Little old green thumb.
Most of the food we eat here are prepackaged meals from Earth, frozen and vacuum sealed.
We have about double the amount that we need for our mission.
Well, that food is basically microwave TV dinners.
If you want some real food around here, you gotta grow it yourself.
Like, uh, like these here.
So far, I've been able to grow lettuce, spinach, potatoes, soybeans, and carrots.
Cool.
Our head biologist here grows all our supplementary food in the station's greenhouse just across the hall.
That's right.
But if you brought all the frozen TV dinners you could ever possibly need with you, then why grow even more food?
Well, there's a couple of reasons.
To start, it's always a good idea to have a backup food supply.
And sometimes a fellow just wants a turnip, you know?
Oh, that's a good turn up.
The plants also help recycle the carbon dioxide within the station.
Ah, because plants breathe in carbon dioxide, or CO2, and breathe out oxygen.
That's right.
And us humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out CO2.
So you're sort of helping each other out.
Exactly.
But maybe the most important reason for growing food here is for the future.
What do you mean?
Well, we're the first explorers here on Mars.
But if all goes according to plan, in the future we'll have entire colonies of people living here on the Red Planet.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of people.
And I guess you can't be ordering takeout from Earth every time someone gets hungry.
Exactly.
So in the long term, it's essential for us to learn how to farm on Mars.
Oh, Mars Farm.
New band name.
Called it.
Uh, what?
I said I called it.
Come on.
Let's head over to the gym.
I think our station technician is there, and I need her to take a look at my communicator.
I can't seem to get it to work.
You all a gym?
Fancy.
Do you also have a spa?
A sauna?
Please say you have a sauna.
Please say you have a sauna.
I could totally go for a steam right now.
No spa and sauna, unfortunately.
But the gym is a super important part of our life here on Mars.
We have to exercise for a minimum of two hours a day.
What?
That's a lot of working out.
Trying to get swole for when you get back to Earth?
What?
You know, big buff. trying to get them gains?
Um, no.
But then why would you work out so much?
That's a lot of exercise.
The main reason is because Mars only has 38 of Earth's gravity, meaning we're about 38 lighter here than we would be on Earth.
And without constant exercise, well, our bones and our muscles, they can get really weak.
Huh.
I guess I do feel a little lighter.
Let me see how high I can jump.
Oh, yeah.
Mars Mindy is definitely lighter than Earth Mindy.
Astronauts in the International Space Station that orbits the Earth, they have the same problem.
They also have to keep up a rigorous exercise routine on board in order to keep those muscles strong for when they return back to Earth's gravity.
What in the 1,000?
Oh, yeah.
Mindy?
This is our station technician.
Oh, I know who this is.
Grandma G-Force!
Hugs!
No.
This is our station technician.
She calls herself Zero G-Force.
Zero G-Force, huh?
Yep, that's me.
She can fix anything around the station with just a flick of the wrist.
A flick of the wrist?
Yes.
Let me show you.
Zero G-Force?
Well, that's my name.
I was wondering if you could take a look at my communicator.
It's been acting up recently.
Look, all I get is static.
I haven't been able to reach mission control for hours.
Well, space gal, let me take a quick look-see.
Hmm.
Oh, yeah, there's your problem.
I see it all right.
Okay, everybody stand back.
Uh, what is happening?
Just watch.
Well, that ought to do it.
Here you go, Mandy.
Give it a try.
Give it a try?
You just karate chopped it into oblivion.
Who's the technician here?
Why don't you give it a try, space girl?
Let's see.
Artemis Research Station, come in.
Do you read me?
This is mission control.
Told you.
I fixed it.
Come in, Artemis Research Station.
This is an emergency.
This sounds like it's serious.
I'll say.
Come in.
Hello.
Is this thing on?
This is Mission Control.
Dennis?
Mission Control, this is Artemis Research Base.
Go ahead.
Finally.
I've been trying to reach you for hours.
Yeah, sorry.
We had a communication issue.
Dennis?
Is that you?
Dennis?
No.
This is Houston.
Mission Control.
Uh, no, just ignore him.
What's the emergency?
You've got a dust storm headed your way, Commander Emily.
Oh, how bad is it?
60 mile per hour winds, or as I like to call them, 100 kilometer per hour winds.
And how long till it gets here?
That's why I've been trying to reach you.
It's almost there.
The windstorm should be hitting the station any minute now.
Oh, nice.
Thanks, Mission Control.
You're welcome.
Bye.
A dust storm?
60 mile per hour winds?
Is that bad?
Let's head back to the control hub and find out.
Come on, follow me.
Run, run, run, run.
Okay.
Okay, let's have a look at this radar.
Ah, yes, there it is.
What, that big, giant blob?
That's the dust storm?
Yes, and this little dot on the screen right here is us.
Whoa, that dust storm must be huge.
It's a big one, all right.
And I think it's about to reach us.
Look!
It should be hitting the station in five, four, three, two, one.
And that's it.
Wait, that's it?
Yep, that's it.
But nothing happened.
Yeah.
But I thought there was going to be like 60 mile per hour winds or something.
I thought this whole tent space station was going to be blown away.
Well, I suppose that's one of the advantages of living here on Mars.
The weather here, it's pretty mild.
Wait, what?
Well, the atmosphere here on Mars is only about 1 as dense as the atmosphere on Earth, so So the winds aren't as strong here.
Exactly.
A 60-mile-per-hour gust of wind here on Mars feels about the same as a light breeze back on Earth.
Well, seems like that would have been good information to know before I started freaking out.
Sorry, Mindy.
Hey, what's that beeping?
What beeping?
That alarm.
Don't you hear it?
It sort of sounds like a doorbell. red door.
Mindy, you're not even dressed yet.
Dressed?
For what?
See, I told you she'd forget.
What are you all doing here?
It's hiking day, Mindy.
The best day of the year.
And look, I made trail mix.
It's 90% little chocolate candies and 10% trail.
What?
You weren't answering the door, Mindy.
We were starting to get worried.
I wasn't.
Huh.
You know, I was having the most wonderful dream.
Really?
Was I in it?
Yeah.
You were there?
Hooray!
You all were.
Oh.
And you were there, Thomas Fingerling?
And you were there, Grandma G-Force?
And Emily was there?
Emily?
Yeah.
Emily Calandrelli.
Emily who-landra-whaty?
Emily Calandrelli, the space gal from YouTube?
She was giving me a tour of the research station on Mars.
And you, Guy Raz, you were a science officer.
And Thomas Fingerling, you were a cook who grew his own food there.
Oh, neat.
And Grandma G-Force, you karate chopped things around the station to fix them.
Yeah, sounds like me.
Dennis, I never saw you, but you were on the radio from Mission Control.
Wow, I was on the radio?
Was it like a podcast?
And then...
Emily Calandrelli was the station commander.
Well, I've never heard of her.
Oh, she's the best.
Here, take a look.
Let me just bring her up here.
Mindy, we're meant to be going for a hike.
I want to watch Space Gal first.
Anyone want any trail mix?
Oh, me, me, me, me.
Don't mind if I do.
I just want all the chocolate bars.
But what about the hike?
Don't worry, Guy Raz.
We've still got plenty of time to go on the hike.
Just one more episode emily calendrelli video and play wow in the world, we'll be right back.
Grown-ups, this message is for you.
Hey grown-ups mindy, here from wow in the world, the number one podcast for curious kids and their grown-ups, that's you, And we are so excited to bring the wows of the world to your home with our brand new wow in the world stem toys from Wondery Kids and Thames and Cosmos.
Channel your inner astronomer with our wow in the world telescope kit.
Or zoom in on the tiny wows of nature with our wow in the world microscope and biology kit.
You can even tinker like real scientists with our 100 experiments that wow kits.
And with every Wow in the World STEM toy, you unlock access to exclusive audio content from me and my buddy, Guy Raz.
There are so many ways to wow.
So whether you're shopping for a kid who loves science or one who doesn't just yet, our Wow in the World STEM toys are the perfect gift for your curious kids.
Grownups, visit Tinkercast.com slash toys to shop the wow now.
That's it.
Back to the show.
My wow in my world is that the tallest horse in the world is seven feet and two inches tall, or 12 chins.
I love your show.
And also, can you say hi to Dennis?
Hi!
Grandma G-Force.
Harley.
And the sleigh cat for me.
Hi, my name is Daniela.
I'm from New Jersey and I'm 10 years old.
My law in the world is that polar bears' skin isn't actually white.
It's like a purplish black.
Say hi to Reggie, Dennis, Grandma G-Force, and Grandma G-Force's enemy.
Excuse me? two ataras lose their tails when predators try to get them.
Hi, Mindy and Gary Laws.
My name is Naza and I'm 10 years old.
I listen to your podcast every night.
And my well in the world is that there are volcanoes on Mars.
Also, say hi to Grandma G-Force.
Oh, yeah.
Thomas Fingerling.
Neat.
And Dan is for me.
Hi there.
Bye.
Love your show.
Hi.
My name is Zoe and I live and I'm five.
And my wow in the world is that lizards lick their eyeballs to clean them.
Hello, my name is Clyde and I live in Fairbanks, Alaska.
My wow in the world is that the koala trees can grow up to be 250 feet tall and 300 feet tall.
Say hi to Reggie, Thomas Finkling, Oh, that's cool, dude.
Vedic Man, be Dennis, Dennis, and Grandma G-Force.
Jordan, I am from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
My wow in the world is that pigeons are very intelligent and can learn basic math and abstract rules about numbers.
Wow, Reggie, you're really smart.
Bye.
End of messages.
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Thanks for listening to this episode of wow in the world.
If you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call our wow hotline at 1-888-7-WOW-WOW for a chance to be featured at the end of the show or an upcoming episode of Two.
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And while you're at it, why don't you head over to Apple Podcasts and tell us what wows you about our show by leaving a review?
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You can also shop our Wow Shop, get tickets for upcoming live events, find our books and learn about all the other amazing podcasts from Tinkercast.
Once again, that's Tinkercast.com.
Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kelken with contributions from me, Guy Raz.
Original sound design and music editing is done by Tyler Thole, with help from our senior production director, Jed Anderson.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis Thomas Fingerling, Reggie and many of the other silly characters you hear on our show.
Jessica Bode keeps our facts straight as our fact checker and Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by three-time Grammy nominees, the Pop-Ups.
Find them at thepopups.com.
Special thanks to our team, including Kit Ballinger, Rebecca Caban, Dr Natasha Crandall, Kenny Curtis, Kristen Yang, Thuy Mac, Erica Medina, Henry Moskal, Jodi Nussbaum, Ali Paksima, Linda Rothenberg, Steph Sosa, Anna Zagorski and all of the other tinkerers at Tinkercast HQ.
Grownups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Wow in the World.
And our email address is hello.
Thanks for listening.
Find episodes of Wow in the World every Monday, Two What's in a Wow every Friday, and We Wow on the Weekends with Dennis every Saturday and Sunday, right here in the Wow in the World podcast feed.
Until then, keep on wowing!
Wow in the World was made by Tinkercast and sent to you by Wondery.
