David Williams is a Research Professor at the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University who has worked on a number of NASA’s Robotic Missions and is currently an investigator with NASA’s Psyche mission. The Psyche Mission is an orbiter mission that aims to learn about the origins of planetary cores by exploring the metallic 16-Psyche Asteroid.
“Science is a way of thinking that can provide information for making good public policy. It is not something that should be used or denied or distorted to confirm a particular political idea.”
As a representative of NASA’s Psyche mission, David discusses the importance of the Psyche asteroid and how it could provide answers to some of the biggest questions of our universe, like how the Earth itself formed. Konner and David talk about some of the specific science and engineering of this mission, as well as how metallic asteroids like Psyche could be holding untold riches.
David also discusses the broader importance of space exploration and the very human question of why we explore. Lastly, the guys chat about the current status of science and how it is often distorted by politicians as a means of pushing certain ideologies.
LINK FOR PSYCHE SLIDES: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uCSkTzht_1wba6LflmpjPOeX_C_sPX6b/view?usp=sharing