Roid Rage Mining Runs on a Hand-Crank Engine
Mar 5, 2026
They debate a major Artemis reshuffle and whether NASA is finally more transparent. A secret year-old Lunar Trailblazer failure and delayed disclosure get roasted. The conversation tears into mining as a stubborn ‘hand-crank’ industry that cannot scale for the energy transition. They mock an absurd asteroid-mining market forecast and unpack rare-earth supply pressures hitting aerospace and chips.
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Jared Pulled Back NASA's Veil
- Jared Isaacman publicly owned program problems and communicated directly, which the hosts praised.
- Matt contrasts this transparency with past NASA opacity and credits Jared for removing PR veils and sparking broader discussion.
Spell Out The Work To Recruit Top Engineers
- Be explicit about mission work when recruiting technical talent into government roles.
- Matt criticizes the NASA Force tweet for lacking clarity on what software engineers would actually build, making hiring elite talent difficult.
Question Wild Asteroid Mining Market Numbers
- Market reports on asteroid mining can wildly overstate near-term revenue.
- The hosts mocked ResearchAndMarkets' $2.05B 2025 figure as unsupported, highlighting skepticism needed for market forecasts.