On Episode 232 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by Chelsea Gohd, former writer for NASA/JPL and now with Space.com, to talk about the recent large data dump from the Artemis II mission.
What was included? Why is this new data important? What observations were made, and what discoveries might result from them? What kind of annotations and notes did the astronauts include that make these observations uniquely valuable?
And finally, we talk about Artemis III - what is the mission profile and what are the stakes for SpaceX and Blue Origin?
This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?
Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.
HBO and HBO Max's "Lanterns" served up its big cliffhanger finale on Oct. 4, 2026, and we’ve been slowly digesting thoughts on what the creative direction and ultimate legacy of this debut season were.
While by no means a perfect experiment in trying to shake up the aging superhero genre, there are enough worthy elements to consider this sci-fi mystery show an evolutionary step towards the next generation of comic-based storytelling.
After the emerald-tinted dust has settled, there are many lingering questions about where this acclaimed series from creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King might be headed and where the twists and turns might lead for a sophomore season should it be greenlit (get it?) for a triumphant return.
Warning: Major Spoilers For "Lanterns" Season 1 Ahead!
"Lanterns" redefines what is possible with episodic superhero TV shows (Image credit: HBO MAX)
One of "Lanterns"' standout achievements is revealing the true costs of superheroism by deconstructing its DNA and examining the ugly guts of it all.
It dives into the fear, trauma, and seduction that drive humans to take up the serious business of protecting the universe and doling out justice against both Earth-bound evil and intergalactic threats. "Lanterns" also explores mental health issues and PTSD that are the inevitable byproducts of a life of unimaginable violence. The compelling series achieves a provocative dissection of it all with rare confidence without the overindulgence of distracting CGI tossed in for sheer spectacle.
It might not have been exactly the Green Lantern TV series fans wanted, but it was the show we got, and kinda the show we needed. Sure, for a series about a noble order of intergalactic space cops, we were treated to very little cosmic action, and instead we're given a grounded slow-burn police procedural à la "True Detective."
As I said before, it's not perfect, but we shouldn’t dismiss "Lanterns" for its mild shortcomings when it gets so much right. We're willing a second season into existence, and with an average of 20 million global viewers and solid reviews, HBO/HBO Max would be very wise to bring it back.
Whether a second season shifts into the heavens to rocket off on an outer space trajectory for a follow-up season is yet to be seen. For now, though, the Lanterns season one finale has left us with plenty of questions to ponder.
Is Hal Jordan really dead?
Kyle Chandler stars as Hal Jordan in "Lanterns" (Image credit: HBO MAX)
"Lanterns"' season finale revealed that Kerry, in an unhinged moment of maternal panic trying to protect her mutant son, Noah, had put a bullet in Hal's head. RIP to the original Green Lantern... or is it?
Kyle Chandler was a fantastic choice to play Hal Jordan, and he brought a charismatic gravitas and twisted sense of humor to the storied comic character. His sudden death in Rushville, frozen in the bleachers of the high school football stadium, certainly looked final, but this is the wild topsy-turvy universe of superheroes, so anything is possible.
And don’t forget that the newly-freed Thaal Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) told the AI “Halogram” and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart on Antaan's dead planet that the magical green ring could be used to restore Hal’s life. But Sinestro is a sly, slippery foe and is never to be trusted!
Online speculation has proposed that Hal Jordan might be revived and enter the series as Parallax, the living embodiment of fear, but that’s not likely according to the series creators. What’s more probable is that we either see Chandler's Hal Jordan revived, or he'll just turn up in occasional flashbacks or Halogram pop-in scenes.
John Stewart goes rogue?
John Stewart prepares to power up his ring with Sinestro's yellow lamp! (Image credit: HBO MAX)
With his unsanctioned lantern battery now in hand to power his ring, Stewart has become an independent contractor protecting Earth for Guy Gardner’s (Nathan Fillion) Sector 2814.
Fortified with the Sinestro-forged yellow charging unit deemed illegal by the Guardians and the broader members of the Green Lantern Corps., this unattached Lantern is now free to make sure Noah doesn’t turn to the dark side and lean into his evil Manhunter programming.
Will Stewart be seduced into the path of corruption by using Sinestro’s emotionally tainted battery, or steel himself against ill influences and continue to blaze his own trail as Earth's sole protector for the time being?
As a gold-toothed Gardner tells Stewart, "When I take this bull**** up back to Oa, they’re gonna send an army to put you down." This sounds like the perfect setup for an eventful "Lanterns" season 2 where the Lantern Corps come to take Jordan in, dead or alive. It’ll be interesting to see which of the infamous space cops they eventually send. This ain't over!
Noah Macon the Manhunter
Shea Pritchard co-stars as Noah Macon in "Lanterns" (Image credit: HBO MAX)
Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) and the dorky Billy Macon’s (Jason Ritter) immaculately conceived son, Noah, is outed as a Human-Manhunter hybrid that came into being after Kerry’s initial encounter with Manhunter Zoe years ago.
He might be one helluva gunslinging high school quarterback now, but that pales in comparison to what he could become using his frightful shapeshifting Manhunter genes inherited from his grandmother.
With his new Nebraska collegiate ball cap and now headed off to university, the sleeper agent has some vital decisions to make way beyond declaring a major. His desire will be to wipe out the Green Lanterns and the Guardians, but Earthly domination might come first unless he pledges to subdue his instincts and lead a normal life. And is Noah really the last Manhunter, or are there legions more ready to activate?
Sinestro's fate?
Ulrich Thomsen makes for a fantastic Sinestro in "Lanterns" (Image credit: HBO MAX)
Spazkaban (or Space Azkaban), the notorious cosmic penitentiary controlled by the Guardians, lost one of its most lethal inhabitants in the crimson-skinned Sinestro when Noah (Shea Pritchard), the nascent Manhunter, broke him out of jail to craft him a yellow fear-based lantern.
This persuasive villain was last seen wrapped in chains in the season finale, "Dirt and Stars," being dunked in the waters of madness by Stewart on the poison planet after a portal hop, before trying to coerce Halogram to deliver the prized ring for Jordan's resurrection.
Avid comic fans know Sinestro once commanded his own intergalactic corp that fed upon the addictive yellow glare of fear instead of the emerald light’s will-imposed power.
Will he unite with Noah to take down the manipulative Guardians of the Universe and their legion of space-bound enforcers, the Green Lanterns? Will Noah break bad or go good? And is it possible for Sinestro to forge another yellow lantern and a custom companion ring to escape captivity? As Sinestro explains, "If harnessed correctly, fear can be the most powerful force in the universe."
Shards of "Lanterns" will invariably bleed over into James Gunn's "Superman" sequel, "Man of Tomorrow," which soars to theaters on July 9, 2027, so there’s still a lot of life left in DC Studios' DCU.
All 8 episodes of "Lanterns" season 1 are available on HBO and HBO Max.
The eighth episode of Apple TV's "Dark Matter" season 2 has just dropped, and we're all on the edge of our seats trying to guess how the strange saga of Jason (Joel Edgerton) and Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) Dessen is going to finish up. Not even fans of the books know, as this superb adaptation of NYT bestselling author Blake Crouch's 2016 novel broke out of its source material for season 2.
For Edgerton and Connelly, "Dark Matter" has been a whirlwind project as their characters search for a safe alternate universe while being pursued by a multiplicity of Jasons. The physical rigors and emotional toll of shooting the show and presenting its nuanced storytelling often proved difficult.
"There's two exhaustions that I’ve found in movie work," Edgerton tells Space. "It's either mental exhaustion from going to dark emotional places in your brain or complex dialogue stuff. Then there's the physical challenges, like for doing a fight scene. One of the weirdest ones on 'Dark Matter' was doing a gravity scene where we’re dangling on wires inside The Box. There's something deeply exhausting about it and a bit humiliating. You feel like a human teabag."
Joel Edgerton and Dayo Okeniyi star in Apple TV's "Dark Matter" season 2 (Image credit: Apple TV)
Connelly was also a part of that tough sequence and reflects on Edgerton’s tireless fortitude.
"Joel's schedule on this show is really brutal," she notes. "He's in almost all of it. This season is better, but season 1 was crazy for him. It’s surprising; sometimes the things that are most difficult are the ones you don’t anticipate. That's more exhausting at the end of the day after trying to get something to work that you didn’t think would be tricky. I like the days that are tiring because you feel drained because you’ve explored a lot in a scene. That's a nice feeling."
For Edgerton, the simplest thing to remember is that when practicing your craft, always make sure that you go home each day feeling satisfied with what you shot.
"There's nothing worse than going home and thinking that you didn’t get the best out of yourself," he reveals. "As they say, as actors we're not digging trenches. It's not hard physical labor; it's a different kind of thing. Until actually I shot a movie where I had to dig a trench."
Working with Blake Crouch on the series and its unnerving portrait of a marriage strewn across the infinite multiverse has produced new insights into their own lives.
"I find there’s something to be learned from each experience as an actor," notes Edgerton. "Each story takes you through something, whether you like to think it or not.
"You either learn a skill or meet an actor that you admire, and they teach you something inspired by their presence. We were tasked with helping Blake build the disintegration of a marriage, and it's the opposite of what you’re hoping for in real life. That each day you hope you're turning up contributing in a positive way to your relationship rather than engineering its demise. It makes you think about how you can be a better person in life. And there's always room for improvement."
Jennifer Connelly and Joel Edgerton are treating fans to an extraordinary trip in "Dark Matter" season 2 (Image credit: Apple TV)
Likewise, Connelly sees a sort of emotional mirroring effect to be absorbed that extends beyond "Dark Matter's" detailed sets, dizzying locations, and sound stages.
"I think Daniela, at a point when Jason is going down paths, and they're struggling, recognizes that sometimes it's hard to distinguish what is really the other person and what we’re bringing to our perception of them," she adds.
"She has things in her history that bias her vision, and she takes herself off on a journey to reconcile those things and try to take responsibility for healing. And that's a good lesson to remember in relationships in general. Being on top of one's own part of the dynamic. Sometimes things we see in each other are really things within ourselves."
"Dark Matter" season 2 airs each Friday exclusively on Apple TV, with the season finale (and perhaps the series end if not renewed) arriving on Oct. 30, 2026.
Fall has officially arrived, and as autumn leaves blaze in vivid colors, there is no better time to plunge into the imaginative world of New York Times best-selling author Matt Dinniman's "Dungeon Crawler Carl", the wildly addictive science fantasy book series that's taking the world by storm.
Even if you haven't read them, you've probably seen folks carrying these books, emblazoned with their loud, neon-colored covers, at your neighborhood coffee house. You'll see it even more in the future, too, as a streaming adaptation of the novels is coming to Peacock, with Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door and co-showrunners Eric Heisserer and Chris Yost at the helm.
The eighth book in the series, "A Parade of Horribles," dropped in May of 2026 and continues the story of Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s precocious pussy cat named Princess Donut as they try to navigate the dangerously daunting levels of a lethal doomsday dungeon for an intergalactic television show deciding the fate of humanity and the planet Earth.
All eight covers for the "Dungeon Crawler Carl" sci-fi fantasy book series (Image credit: Penguin Random House)
Think Douglas Adams's "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" meets "The Running Man" and "Ready Player One" in the "Dungeons & Dragons" RPG realm, and you've got a pretty good idea of the stylistic narrative you'll soon discover when you dare to enter Dinniman's slightly demented literary world.
"The genesis is that I’ve been writing my whole life, and I have a thousand story ideas," Dinniman tells Space on the origins of his sci-fi sensation. "I’ve kept a running list of ideas since childhood, and this one had been on there for some time. The line in my list for this particular one was 'Alien' game show.'"
With over 14 million copies of the "Dungeon Crawler Carl" series sold to date, spooky season is the ideal jumping-on moment so you can share your favorite sadistic dungeon level kill next time you're at a cool cocktail party or fun family function!
Peacock is bringing Matt Dinniman's sensational series to streaming! (Image credit: Peacock)
"The success is a whole other question. I think I just happened to hit the right story at the right time," admits Dinniman. "It's about a man pushing back against impossible odds. The antagonist isn't just a single person or entity, but an entire system designed to crush any life out of him, all for the entertainment of the masses. That sort of story seems to really be resonating right now. Plus there's a talking cat in it."
Dinniman has described the most recently-released sequel as "the Carl and Donut version of Mariokart—only deadlier," with the cruel dungeon architects tightening their brutal grip. As the current king of LitRPG titles in circulation, "Dungeon Crawler Carl" is the next best thing to a living video game.
"Luckily I’m still in love with this story, and I am in love with writing it," he admits. "It hasn’t gotten old yet. The end is in sight, and I’m more sad than anything that it'll eventually be over."
"Dungeon Crawler Carl's" mastermind author Matt Dinniman (Image credit: Tony Dinniman)
An episodic series adaptation seems like a no-brainer, and Peacock has wisely tapped into the considerable talents of both Heisserer ("Arrival," "Bird Box") and Yost ("Thor: The Dark World," "Thor: Ragnarok") for this ambitious TV project.
"Both Chris and Eric have a great amount of experience in Hollywood, but more importantly, both have read the books and like them," Dinniman notes. "Chris is a mega fan, and Eric knows more about gaming than any adult probably should. That's a great combination."
Dinniman also confirmed to us that he's serving as co-executive producer on the show, and will be involved throughout the production.
"The most important thing to preserve, I think, is the tone, which will also be the most challenging," states Dinniman. "Thankfully, the team that's been assembled is up to the challenge, and I can't wait for the world to see how it turns out."
With eight books released so far (and another two to come), you've got plenty of reading to do before the Peacock show and/or the next book lands. You can find the Dungeon Crawler Carl book series in your local bookstores and on Amazon. It's also available via Kindle e-readers and as an audiobook.
The truth is once again out there, as Disney & Hulu confirmed today that they have picked up a new "The X-Files" show for a full season.
Described as a "reimagining" of the classic series, the project comes from Ryan Coogler, the acclaimed writer and director of "Creed", "Black Panther", and "Sinners", and will star Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel.
The show's premise will sound very familiar to fans of the original, as it centers on "two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents who form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena."
"I've loved 'The X-Files' for a long time, so getting the chance to write and direct the pilot has meant a great deal to me," said Coogler. "What Chris Carter created is special, and we wanted to honor everything that made the original series connect with so many people while also finding our own way into that world."
Coogler wrote, directed, and executive produced the pilot for this new show, which impressed executives over at Hulu enough to give the show the greenlight. He's certainly got the pedigree when it comes to "spooky", as "Sinners" was a modern horror masterpiece, winning the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the 2025 Academy Awards. The X-Files is one of the greatest sci-fi shows of all time, and we can't wait to see what a modern take on the classic formula looks like.
(Image credit: Getty Images (Gilbert Flores))
Alongside the leads, the cast will include Amy Madigan, Ben Foster, Devery Jacobs, Lochlyn Munro, Tantoo Cardinal, Joel D. Montgrand, Sofia Grace Clifton, and Hollywood legend Steve Buscemi (an inspired casting choice for any show, but especially here. He looks like a man who's seen the truth).
Both Coogler and Hulu are being coy about how this new series will fit into the continuity of the original show. It's being described as a reimagining, but they've stopped short of calling it a reboot, which could leave the door open for Mulder and Scully to return in some capacity.
The original creator of "The X-Files", Chris Carter, is also on board as an executive producer, which is great news for fans who are hoping this new incarnation keeps the spirit of the original alive.
There is no confirmed release date yet, but Ryan Coogler's The X-Files project will launch exclusively on Hulu (US) & Disney+ (UK).
Nostalgia is a hell of a thing, especially when it comes to sci-fi. For "Star Trek" fans wanting to mark the franchise's 60th anniversary this year, a geeky pilgrimage to upstate New York should be on the cards. Why? Because alongside the splendid autumnal colors, they can steer over to Ticonderoga to behold the newly installed Galileo shuttlecraft.
After a complete two-year restoration projectin 2012 headed up by superfan and collector Adam Schneider, this iconic fictional spacecraft, seen by millions in seven episodes over three seasons of "Star Trek: The Original Series," was recently relocated from its former home at theJohnson Space Center Museum in Houston, Texas.
It's now on permanent loan to James Cawley and his Star Trek Original Series Set Tour in historic downtown Ticonderoga, New York, where it joins a family of painstakingly detailed sets based on the official "Star Trek" blueprints.
The Galileo's cozy new home with a cool starfield backdrop! (Image credit: James Cawley/Star Trek Tour)
'Galileo is still the property of Space Center, and it was on display there since 2013," Schneider tells Space. "It went to USS Intrepid for the 50th anniversary of 'Star Trek,' displayed under the Enterprise Space Shuttle. You had the Enterprise with Enterprise's little shuttle Galileo adjacent, which was an extraordinary picture. It went back to Space Center, but it takes up an enormous amount of room, and they took it off display after 8 years."
It seemed a shame to have the shuttle out of sight, so Schneider got to work finding a new home for the shuttle. "Since I was on the board, I tried to figure out a place where it could be aimed", recounts Schneider. "The Star Trek Tour made the most sense, so I worked with Space Center to relocate it, and it arrived a couple of years ago."
Hoping to give the restored relic its own private docking bay due to its enormity, faithful fans raised hundreds of thousands of dollars via a Kickstarter campaign led by Brian Mix and David Harvey, and built a beautiful building addition for Galileo to be safely ensconced in.
(Image credit: Star Trek Tour)
"My wife Leslie and I had been tending over the Galileo for a number of years, and it's now successfully displayed there in New York for all to see," Schneider adds. "It's an extraordinary thing to see person if you have not. It's not the size of a chair, it’s the size of a bus. It looks gorgeous in its new space, and if you’re a space aficionado or Star Trek aficionado, that’s even more reason to get involved with this thing."
Opening weekend for the general public at Star Trek Tours to see the newest member of the museum was Sept. 18-20, 2026, and the Galileo was the star attraction. Branded Trekonderoga Weekend, the unveiling ceremony was attended by Assemblymen Dan Stec and Dan Simpson, and 'Trek' luminaries George Takei, Jonathan Frakes, and Brent Spiner.
Does anyone think the Galileo shuttlecraft might have been the inspiration for Tesla's Cybertruck?! (Image credit: Adam Schneider/Star Trek Tour)
"We're certainly thrilled that we were able to work with Adam and NASA to get it here permanently," Cawley tells Space. "Then to get it on display properly and share it with all the fans and make sure that it's on exhibit for many years to come. We’re just outside of the village of Lake George, so we’re part of the greater Lake George tourism region.
"You've seen it on television, and now you’re the caretaker of it. What an honor to be able to do that. It’s the simplicity of the Galileo that makes it so unique. It's Matt Jefferies' whole design ethic for the original series. Less is more. It catches your eye in a specific way. It has a blocky-type silhouette and actually it really complements the Enterprise because you really see the shape difference. Everything has that mid-century modern aesthetic. It's just timeless."
Adam and Leslie Schneider pose beside the gleaming Galileo shuttle (Image credit: Adam Schneider/Star Trek Tour)
For Cawley, being custodian and host of the screen-used Galileo is like a dream. This 23-foot-long mock-up was part of the USS Enterprise's basic design and was rescued from demolition some 14 years ago when Schneider purchased it at a 2012 memorabilia auction for $61,000.
"We had a great rousing opening weekend with it, and business has been very steady into October with people asking about it. It's going to be a big cornerstone to the tour. I think people are becoming aware that it’s here and they’re making a pilgrimage to come because of it."
For more prices, hours, and more information on the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, New York, visit them at https://startrektour.com or call 518-503-5497. You can also see the Galileo in action in Star Trek: The Original Series on Paramount+.
NEW YORK — Set your phasers to back-to-school, space fans. Star Trek is going back to Starfleet Academy for season 2, and we finally have a release date.
The sophomore season of "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" will warp back to the small screen in March 2027 when the limited series returns for its final season on Paramount+. The series, which follows a class of cadets balancing Starfleet classes, space adventures (and yes, some love) in the 32nd century, will return with its full cast and even add new faces, showrunners announced at a panel at New York Comic Con 2026 on Saturday (Oct. 10).
"Season one is about letting go of who you were in the past to start again at Starfleet Academy," executive producer and co-showrunner Noga Landau said in the Star Trek panel. "Season two is about thinking that you knew who you were, only to realize that as you grow older, your life is going to go in directions you didn't expect, and you're going to have to shift your perception of yourself. So it's really about sophomore year, right?"
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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will be available to watch on Paramount+. You can also watch almost every other Star Trek show and movie on there, too, while you wait.View Deal
Holly Hunter returns as academy chancellor Nahla Ake, a long-lived half-Lanthanite, who will have to face a familiar face in her estranged father, Nyk Ake, portrayed by Bill Nighy (Living, About Time) in season two.
"He plays my full lanthanide father, who has basically, if he wants, can achieve immortality," Hunter said, dropping a big preview about her character in season two. "He plays my dad, and I play me ... and my twin, my twin sister. Very fun."
Also joining this year's Starfleet Academy class is Rosemarie DeWitt (Untamed, The Staircase) as Laytha Sadal, the First Lady of Betazed (and mother of Academy cadet Tarima).
Bill Nighy on Starfleet Academy Season 2 as Nyk Ake, father of the chancellor Nahla Ake.Michael Gibson/Paramount+Rosemarie DeWitt (right) on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as the First Lady of Betazed.Michael Gibson/Paramount+
"We have had such a blast," Hunter said of working with the entire cast of Starfleet Academy. "It was a tremendous honor and learning experience for me to do the show for two seasons, and I just really am excited about the second season because there's so much more intimacy that we just comfortably felt with each other over those 10 episodes."
In season one, Starfleet Academy brought back Trek's favorite Emergency Medical Hologram, The Doctor (Robert Picardo), then gave the 800-year-old Star Trek: Voyager physician a daughter in the photonic Sam (Kerrice Brooks) and a Klingon medical student, Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané), to train.
We basically did Top Gun in space ..."
showrunner Alex Kurtzman
"His future existence is forever changed. Nothing will ever be the same for the character," Picardo said in the panel. "The shock of that, and how that changed the character, [...] informs all of season two. My primary relationships are now with my daughter and of course with Jay-Den, as I'm mentoring him as a future physician, and we have some terrific scenes together as well."
Executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman promised more space action in season two of Starfleet Academy and showed an exclusive teaser clip of Academy cadets Caleb (Sandro Rosta), Genesis (Bella Shepard) and Sam as they race to recover data from a crashed spaceship on their first away mission. But the best, Kurtzman said, is yet to come when the show's cadets meet up with Nova Squadron, the elite flight team at Starfleet Academy.
"The Nova Squadron episode is amazing on a lot of different levels," Kurtzman said. "We basically did Top Gun in space. "What's available to us now technologically allowed us to go to a place that I don't think we've ever gone to on television before. Certainly not in Star Trek."
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will return to TV in March 2027 on the Paramount+ streaming platform.
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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will be available to watch on Paramount+. You can also watch almost every other Star Trek show and movie on there, too, while you wait.View Deal
"The Space Gal" is blasting off onto her next adventure to promote STEM education with out-of-this-world content.
Science communicator and citizen astronaut Emily Calandrelli, better known to millions of social media followers as "The Space Gal," is bringing her real-world spaceflight experience to the Marvel universe. Calandrelli is lending her voice to an upcoming episode of Disney Jr.'s animated series, "Marvel's Iron Man and his Awesome Friends."
She is stepping into the role of a character called Astronaut Amy in the episode "The Iron Friends in Space," offering another opportunity for Calandrelli to share her enthusiasm for space with younger audiences.
Astronaut Amy meets characters on "Marvel's Iron Man and his Awesome Friends." (Image credit: Disney)
Calandrelli is an engineer, author and television host whose career has focused on making complex scientific concepts engaging and accessible. Growing from her online presence as @TheSpaceGal, Calandrelli has produced numerous educational videos, books and television appearances, including a role on the Netflix "Bill Nye the Science Guy" revival series, "Bill Nye Saves the World."
In a preview clip provided exclusively to Space.com by Disney, Calandrelli's character is welcomed by Tony Stark, Riri Williams, Amadeus Cho and Vision as they explore a moon-themed museum display. The exhibit features a holographic model of the moon and other space-themed artifacts, providing a backdrop for Astronaut Amy to share information about space and lunar exploration.
The show follows younger versions of Stark and others from Marvel's familiar superhero roster, as they navigate conflicts that are scaled down from the franchise's world-ending blockbuster emergencies to more age-appropriate problem-solving and teamwork-building storylines.
Calandrelli's cameo puts her alongside characters already rich in their storylines with backgrounds in science and technology, like Stark and Williams, known by their alter egos Iron Man and Ironheart, both of whose superhero identities revolve around the mastery of sophisticated technology and engineering. And while Astronaut Amy and her super co-stars live in Marvel's fictional universe, Calandrelli's inclusion in the episode creates the opportunity to introduce some real-life scientific concepts.
Her appearance also comes as Disney prepares to expand the animated series to include a larger ensemble. Beginning next summer, the show will evolve into "Marvel's Avengers: Mightiest Friends", and bring additional characters into the fold, including Captain America, Hulk, Black Panther, Black Widow and Thor, according to Disney. For Calandrelli, the role represents another extension of a career dedicated to making space exploration relatable and exciting for the next generation.
In November 2024, Calandrelli became the 100th woman to reach space when she launched aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on the company's NS-28 suborbital mission. The flight carried her above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, and gave her several minutes of weightlessness before the capsule and its crew returned to Earth.
Calandrelli isn't the first real-life astronaut to lend her voice to the Marvel universe. Former NASA astronaut and the first Black woman in space Mae Jemison guest-starred in Disney's "Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur" in March 2023. Jemison voiced a fictional app called Skipster, created by the show's young superhero and scientific prodigy, Lunella Lafayette. Another space traveler, citizen astronaut Kellie Gerardi, also just announced over the weekend (Oct. 12) her cast credit in the upcoming movie "Hexed", from Disney's Animation Studios.
Viewers can catch the upcoming episode of "Marvel's Iron Man and his Awesome Friends," titled, "The Iron Friends in Space," during its Disney Jr. premiere on Oct. 14 or streaming on Disney+ beginning Oct. 28.
"Tomb Raider" celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. While many remember the iconic T-Rex or locking Winston the Butler in the freezer, many forget about the UFO in 1998’s "Tomb Raider III"; a mysterious alien craft that worked a lot like Doctor Who’s TARDIS.
Coming off the back of the hugely successful "Tomb Raider 2", developer Core Design had big plans for the third entry, including kayaking, those iconic London levels, and, of course, a level featuring a UFO in Area 51. Although it looked small on the outside, the UFO featured multiple floors for players to explore as they searched for a vital artifact, all as enemies swarmed in.
Now, I'm something of a Tomb Raider historian, and my upcoming book — "The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000" (available from October 30) — goes into detail about the making of "Tomb Raider III", "Tomb Raider IV", and other games in the series during those three years. While writing the book, I spoke to level designer Richard Morton about how the physics-defying UFO was made and how shows like "The X-Files" inspired him and the team.
The Lone Gunwoman
(Image credit: Core Design / Eidos Interactive)
When you start "Tomb Raider III", you find Lara in India, stumbling across one of four artifacts. After completing India, you can choose between London, South Pacific, and Nevada to collect the other artifacts before reaching the final section in Antarctica.
Richard Morton was one of the designers for "Tomb Raider III", who took on South Pacific and some of Nevada, a location that Neal Boyd had already begun work on before he moved to "Project Eden". Eventually, Lara would find herself in Area 51, with the final part of the level taking place in a UFO that houses the artifact she seeks.
“Area 51 was a bit of a team effort,” reveals Morton. “The part where the rocket launches, Neal did a lot of that stuff. So much of that level is his work, as well as some of the other routes. Andy Sandham helped in finishing off that level, too. And then the bit with the UFO, that was mine.”
Of course, a level called Area 51 needed aliens. In the late 1990s, UFOs were everywhere, ranging from TV shows like The X-Files to countless documentaries on whether aliens were real.
“We knew Area 51 had to have aliens in it in some form. And we did put some down on operating tables – we were all influenced by films and shows like 'The X-Files' and 'Independence Day', which were around at the time of TR3.”
You’d run past the UFO at certain points in between toggling switches, collecting keys, and even launching a rocket. Eventually, you’d unlock a door, letting you in to reveal an impossibly large interior. But all wasn’t as it seemed, and the journey to get here was fraught with challenges.
“I was working quite late one evening, and it wasn't a UFO to start with. I was working on the level and suddenly wondered what would happen if I had three rooms next to each other, with the room in the middle that was only the width of the portal,” explains Morton. “Then I’d link that to a separate room that was only visible inside the portal. I then somehow managed to build this impossible room that was surrounded by eight rooms – the only way I could get it to work. And it did, but it worked horizontally – it was just like Valve's 'Portal', but nine years before.”
AI programmer Tom Scutt, who had joined the team to improve the artificial intelligence for the enemies, worked with Morton to see how a portal could work in the level.
“Tom loved it, but I think he started doing some tests around it – this was just a portal in a room to see if it could be used. Soon after, he explained to me that enemies wouldn't work with it without being heavily reworked, because of how the navigation worked with the enemies,” Morton explains. “So if Lara went through a portal to 'another world', for example, the enemies wouldn't know; they'd just stay in the same room. So all in all, they basically said that they loved it, but you can't do it - and yet I kept trying.”
The truth is in there
(Image credit: Core Design / Eidos Interactive)
With Area 51 taking shape and the portal idea becoming viable, Morton realized that the two could become one, resulting in the UFO. “The next night, I decided to build a UFO, which we'd already built within the level in this rough shape in one of the hangars at the end of the level.”
That night, Morton cracked it, meaning the inside of the UFO could now be far bigger. “I built a ladder going up from the entrance, which went straight up through the tiny UFO model, which was only three by three blocks, with a one-block hole going up into it. So I remade the same trick from the night before, only vertically, and it worked!”
Still, despite getting the trick to work, more had to be done to ensure no bugs would emerge during this final section of the level.
“Once you got inside the UFO, I think we had to do a tiny bit of fiddling around, just to make the enemies warp inside the UFO. But they'd only try to attack you when you were in the UFO. I think we triggered them once you got in there and de-triggered them once you came out, just to stop them from firing at you when you weren't in there, just to keep that illusion of this TARDIS UFO going.”
Programmer Martin Gibbins, who had previously warned that the UFO would break everything, was won over by it. “Despite the UFO being Richard's idea, that was a testament to Gavin Rummery's ridiculous portal system. It had a single-block doorway into what was effectively a room. That was the clip window for the rest of the world, so you could do whatever you'd like inside of it. He got it working, and I thought it was great.”
For its time, it was an amazing feat on PlayStation and PC. With this being the third mainline "Tomb Raider" game, some players felt that the series was getting stale. But it was moments like the UFO and discovering it was far bigger than many initially thought that stuck with players, and still does to this day.
(Image credit: Core Design / Eidos Interactive)
Unfortunately, another moment like the UFO would not happen in subsequent games, with the pressure of making the Thanksgiving deadline looming over the team. But Morton reveals that the team did speak about what could have alternatively happened at the end of the level.
"I think we talked about having a portal room that took you to another area that could have been either another location on Earth or another location across the galaxy. But obviously, we just didn't have time to do anything like that. It would have been awesome, though.”
However, after Morton spent two evenings trying to get the UFO to work and some on the team worried that it would break the game, it became a big highlight of "Tomb Raider III".
“When I showed the team the UFO, they were basically trembling, thinking, 'What have you done now!?' And we found out that it did work, and they ended up loving it. Looking back, I couldn't believe that I'd pulled it off, to be honest. I couldn't believe that the engine didn't just crash the game every time the camera looked into that portal. It didn't crash, and I thought, ‘Wow, that's awesome,’ at the time.”
The impossible geometry of the "Tomb Raider III" UFO is indeed an impressive spectacle, even almost 30 years later. If you’re interested in seeing how the TARDIS/UFO works, you can play "Tomb Raider III"via the Remastered collection, available on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 1/2, iOS, Android, and PC via Steam.
If you want to know more about "Tomb Raider 3" and its enigmatic UFO, "The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000" is available from October 30 via Pen and Sword, Amazon, and other retailers.
We’ve had a lot of good Alien video games in recent years, but nothing has quite matched the highs and authenticity of 2014’s Alien: Isolation. It took a decade of players clamouring for a sequel, but in late 2024, our prayers were answered when developer Creative Assembly dropped a trailer announcing Alien: Isolation 2.
Now, we’re slowly learning about what developer Creative Assembly has in store for us. Scary teasers and comments from creative director Al Hope suggest we're looking at a bigger, more ambitious survival horror game beyond an obvious visual glow-up. Our hands-on preview at Gamescom 2026 also confirmed the protagonist isn’t Amanda Ripley, which instantly raises a number of questions.
Ahead of Alien: Isolation 2’s arrival, there are plenty of Alien movies and games to go through – plus Alien: Earth’s stellar first season. Now's also a great time to play through the original Alien: Isolation again, to prepare yourself for the horrors that await us with the sequel.
Now, enough yacking. It's time to get on the express elevator to hell and find out everything that we know about Alien: Isolation 2 so far.
When is Alien: Isolation 2 coming out?
(Image credit: The Creative Assembly)
Alien: Isolation 2 doesn't have a confirmed release window yet.
Despite the impressive in-game teaser and gameplay demos, Sega and Creative Assembly still haven’t talked about a potential release window. Though many outlets are running with a 2027 target as possible, the truth is the powers that be aren’t ready to commit yet.
When we know more, you'll know more.
What platforms will Alien: Isolation 2 be on?
(Image credit: The Creative Assembly)
Alien: Isolation 2 is launching on PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Though it’s unclear if the game will release before next-gen consoles arrive, the current plan is to target current-gen machines and, of course, PC through Steam.
Given the high-fidelity visuals, a Nintendo Switch 2 version might come as a shock, but looking at the excellent third-party ports the hybrid handheld has received so far, we’re confident the developers can deliver a thrilling experience on it as well.
Alien: Isolation 2 trailers
After the aforementioned teasers, Sega and Creative Assembly finally unveiled Alien: Isolation 2 with the first-ever in-game footage in summer 2026. Watch its ‘Last Chance’ reveal trailer below:
When does Alien: Isolation 2 take place in the timeline?
(Image credit: The Creative Assembly)
Alien: Isolation 2 is confirmed to happen a few months after the events of the first game. Amanda Ripley’s battle against a Xenomorph infestation aboard the Sevastopol Station took place roughly 15 years after the events of the original 1979 movie, which places both games closer to Alien: Romulus in the canon timeline.
This time around, however, there are two big differences: Amanda Ripley isn’t the protagonist anymore, and, instead of a space station, we’ll have to survive on a rainy colony planet.
Deeper plot details are a secret for now, but we know the planet’s name is LV-921. There, a Weyland-Yutani employee named Blake and her colleagues come across a crashed part of the doomed Sevastopol station, which was destroyed by Ripley in an attempt to exterminate the aliens at the end of the first game.
The prologue demo we played at Gamescom didn’t offer much more context, but Blake is an administrative employee who’s just arrived at the colony and wants to prove she fits her new role. As you can imagine, that quickly gets her in trouble. A Xenomorph had crash-landed on the planet already, so maybe it’s up to her to finish the job that the previous Alien: Isolation protagonist started...
What type of game is Alien: Isolation 2?
(Image credit: The Creative Assembly)
Like its predecessor, Alien: Isolation 2 is a single-player, first-person survival horror game.
The gameplay loop of the original is preserved. This means you'll have limited access to weaponry and survival tools, and you'll face sneaky (and relentless) Xenomorphs that dynamically adapt to player progress and movement through each level. You’re not meant to kill the aliens, but rather to avoid and escape them.
Through patience, stealth, and smart use of supplies for crafting, survival is achievable, but this isn’t a bug hunt with the Colonial Marines. To quote Ash in the original movie, “I can’t lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies.”
Does Alien: Isolation 2 have a multiplayer mode?
(Image credit: The Creative Assembly)
Alien: Isolation 2 is a single-player survival horror game like the original. At the time of writing, no plans for a co-op or multiplayer mode of any kind have been shared.
At this point, it’s unclear what the whole Alien: Isolation 2 package will look like — and we wouldn’t rule out an extra, mission-based Survivor Mode like the original’s — but it seems Creative Assembly isn’t chasing co-op trends with the sequel in any way. This is a cinematic, high-intensity solo adventure.
Is there a public Alien: Isolation 2 demo?
Though attendees had access to the second Alien: Isolation 2 demo at Gamescom, no wider public demo has been released.
This could change in the future and as the game nears release, but without a launch window in sight, don’t hold your breath. It’ll be a while before most players can get their hands on the long-awaited sci-fi survival horror sequel.
