How to Cook the Early Universe and Not Fry Your Spacecraft

"Have you ever wondered what the universe looked like just moments after the Big Bang? In this talk, we’ll take you on a journey through time—back to the first microseconds of the cosmos—using the most powerful scientific tools on Earth. By smashing atoms together at near-light speeds in giant particle accelerators, scientists are recreating the extreme conditions of the early universe. Discover how these high-energy collisions reveal the secrets of matter, energy, and the fundamental forces that shaped everything we see today.

As NASA’s Artemis spacecraft prepares to return humans to the Moon, it must first face the wrath of Zeus, with its lightning bolts tearing across the skies! These strikes unleash electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) so powerful they can be detected on the other side of the globe and pose serious risks to spacecraft electronics and space missions. In this talk, discover how scientists study the impact of the most intense EMPs on the Artemis spacecraft to design the best possible shielding and keep our next mission to the Moon safe, even in the stormiest skies.