TWiS 201: Born to Explore - With Jay Gallentine

TWiS 201: Born to Explore - With Jay Gallentine

From This Week in Space (Audio) by TWiT

March 13, 2026 · 1h 11m · Episode 201

About this episode

Jay Gallentine discusses his book 'Born to Explore' and the legacy of John Casani at NASA.

When most people think about deep space exploration, management acumen is generally not the first thing they settle on—but without it, no robotic mission would ever succeed. This week we are joined by Jay Gallentine, author of multiple books on the robotic exploration of space. Each of these tomes is a somewhat of a masterpiece; a deep dive into a topic that few explore in such detail. His newest book, "Born to Explore," started off as a book about robots exploring Mars, but his interviews with former JPL manager John Casani was so compelling that he transformed it into a biography. John Casani is a legend at JPL and NASA, and his story reads like a combination of a spaceflight adventure, personal memoir, and a pirate's tale. You'll love the book, and you'll love hearing about it from Jay. Join us! Headlines: Artemis II Sets April 1st Launch Date Amid Technical Fixes NASA Discusses Risks and Media Reactions Around Artemis II Mission Breifing OIG Report Reveals Delays and Issues with Artemis Moon Landers NASA's Human Landing System Development Faces Setbacks Blue Origin and SpaceX Landers Compared for Progress and Outlook Starship's Next Launch and Orbital Refueling Plans Delayed…

People in this episode

Guest: Jay Gallentine

Topics covered

  • deep space exploration
  • robotic missions
  • NASA history
  • biography
  • space research
  • team-building tactics

Keywords

  • space exploration
  • robotics
  • Mars
  • JPL
  • NASA
  • biography
  • John Casani
  • Jay Gallentine

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA, JPL

Books & works: Born to Explore

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