Shows / Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science
Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you…
Episodes
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: The Pentagon's UFO Report, Featuring Sarah Scoles
The Pentagon finally released its hotly-anticipated briefing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. As expected, it provided little new information, saying only…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceFinding Life by Looking for Complexity
University of Glasgow chemist Lee Cronin and his collaborators have developed a new way to detect life. Their "assembly theory" could give us a reliable method…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe Pearly Clouds of Mars
Want to see wild colors on Mars? Look up! Planetary scientist Mark Lemmon studies planetary atmospheres at the Space Science Institute. He marvels at the…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceAmateur Astronomers Saving the World
The Planetary Society has awarded more than 60 Shoemaker near-Earth object grants to astronomers around the world, enabling them to discover, track, and…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceExperimental Cosmologist Brian Keating
How did the universe begin? Why do galaxies look the way the do? Can we see the vanishingly dim light of undiscovered worlds in the Kuiper Belt? These are some…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: NASA's 2022 Budget Request Says "Yes"
President Joe Biden's new budget proposal for NASA is very good, supporting nearly every major Planetary Society priority. It would fund science at record…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceMighty Jupiter Revealed
Scott Bolton leads the Juno mission that has been orbiting and revealing Jupiter for five years. NASA has granted an extension that will keep the spacecraft…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe New Great Space Observatories
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine will soon issue the Astro2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. It will rank four major…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceIngenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager MiMi Aung
The tiny Mars Helicopter Ingenuity has flown into our hearts. Project manager MiMi Aung and her team may have made it look easy, but Aung explains why it was…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceDefenders of Earth on Planetary Radio
The 2021 Planetary Defense Conference brought together the leading scientists, policymakers and other experts who are working to protect our planet from…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: How Starship at the Moon Brings NASA Closer to Mars
In a surprise move, NASA chose SpaceX's Starship as the sole winner of its 3 billion-dollar human lunar lander development contract. Within days, Blue Origin…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceAuthor Andy Weir and Project Hail Mary
It is always such fun to welcome back Andy Weir. The author of The Martian and Artemis has just published his most entertaining and inventive novel yet…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Conversation with Kyoto Prize Recipient James Gunn
There is no Nobel prize for astronomy, so the Kyoto Prize for Astronomy and Astrophysics may be the highest international recognition an astronomer can…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceIs ‘Oumuamua a Piece of a Pluto-Like Planet? And Ingenuity’s First Flight on Mars
We begin with a thrilling recap of the successful first flight of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. Then we meet two researchers who have come up with…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe High Frontier: A New Documentary About Gerard K. O’Neill
Physicist and space pioneer Gerard K. O’Neil gathered a community of followers as he led planning for vast, magnificent human settlements in space…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe First Space Shuttle Pilot: Bob Crippen on the 40th Anniversary of STS-1
Pilot Bob Crippen and Commander John Young became the first astronauts to fly a Space Shuttle into orbit on April 12, 1981. Crippen tells host Mat Kaplan about…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Biden Names His NASA Administrator
Bill Nelson, former Senator from Florida, congressional astronaut, and father of the Space Launch System, will likely be NASA's next administrator. Casey…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceNASA’s TESS Exoplanet Mission Finds Over 2,000 Possible New Worlds
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) team has just announced more than 2,200 new exoplanet candidates. Natalia Guerrero of the Massachusetts…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe Perseverance Rover and a Great First Month on Mars
Deputy project scientists Katie Stack Morgan and Ken Williford are living on Mars time and living for Mars. We get an update from them on the work of the Mars…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceReturn From Ryugu: The Hayabusa2 Leader on His Mission’s Success
Hayabusa2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda and his team learned a lot from Hayabusa1, Japan’s troubled-though-successful mission that returned a sample from…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceInSight’s Mole: A Martian Science Odyssey
Troy Hudson and a brilliant international team created a device that would hammer its way below the surface of Mars. Mars had other ideas. The Jet Propulsion…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: SpaceX's Early, Desperate Days (with Eric Berger)
The SpaceX of today reuses rockets and launches people into space. But 15 years ago, the future of the company was in doubt as its Falcon 1 rocket repeatedly…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpinoffs: How NASA Technologies Benefit Life on Earth
Cleaning up water pollution, inventing inexpensive ventilators for hospitals, turning waste plastic into sidewalks, and making baby formula more…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceTouchdown! The Sights and Sounds of Perseverance on Mars
The Mars 2020 rover is on Mars. We have collected the most thrilling moments from the landing and the revelations that followed, including the first sounds…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and SciencePlanetfest ’21: To Mars and Back Again
The Planetary Society’s Planetfest ’21 celebrated Mars and the newest visitors to the Red Planet. Mat Kaplan shares some of his Planetfest…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe Big Book of Mars: Our Obsession with the Red Planet
Mars has commanded our attention and stimulated our imaginations for millenia. Now, as 3 more spacecraft arrive, we talk with author Marc Hartzman about his…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: The Big Picture on U.S. Science Funding
Matt Hourihan is perhaps the world's most knowledgeable expert in how the U.S. government funds basic science and development activities. He joins the show to…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Cosmic Odyssey: Decades of Discovery at the Palomar Observatory
Astronomer Linda Schweizer spent countless hours interviewing the explorers who revolutionized astronomy through observations made at California’s…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science‘Oumuamua: Avi Loeb says it may have been artificial
Could the first object shown to have originated outside our solar system be a light sail built by an alien civilization? That’s the very controversial…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science7 More Minutes of Terror: Perseverance Arrives at Mars
The 2020 Mars Rover will reach the Red Planet on February 18th after many months in the relative quiet of space. It will then undergo a true trial by fire as…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: A Mob at the U.S. Capitol
This is not your normal episode of the Space Policy Edition, but these are not normal times. The centuries-old U.S. tradition of the peaceful transfer of power…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Symphony for 7 Moons
Composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg has created The Moons Symphony. You’ll hear excerpts from each of its 7 movements. They are inspired by and evoke 7 of our solar…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSolar Cruiser: A Giant Sail Prepares for Space
It is many times larger than any previous solar sail, and it will pave the way for even bigger spacecraft propelled by light. Solar Cruiser principal…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and SciencePlanetary Society All-Stars Review 2020 Space Milestones
Chief Scientist Bruce Betts, Editorial Director Jason Davis, Chief Advocate and Senior Space Policy Advisor Casey Dreier, and Communications Strategy and…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceAstronaut Stephanie Wilson Might Walk on the Moon
Engineer and astronaut Stephanie Wilson was a toddler when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin visited the Moon. She may someday almost literally walk in their…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWhat Do You Need to Make Martian Oxygen? MOXIE!
Mike Hecht is in charge of the MOXIE experiment on NASA’s Perseverance rover, arriving on Mars in February. The tiny device will test our ability to turn the…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWelcoming a New Leader, and China on the Final Frontier
Carl Sagan was first in the job. Now it has been handed to Caltech planetary scientist Bethany Ehlmann. We’ll talk with the Planetary Society’s new president…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Operation Moonglow and the Global Impact of Apollo
Apollo was seen as a triumph of, not for, all mankind, argues Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony, author of the new book Operation Moonglow: A Political History of…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceObservatory Director Francisco Córdova on the Devastating Loss of Arecibo
The 900-ton instrument platform suspended high above the giant Arecibo dish crashed downward in the early morning hours of December 1st. Host Mat Kaplan had…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceMore Moon Water and an Update from Venus on Our 18th Anniversary!
We celebrate 18 years of Planetary Radio with two great features and 10 personal questions for host Mat Kaplan from Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceRevealing Mars From Above, and Crew Dragon is Go!
Jeffrey Plaut and Richard Zurek are the project scientists for two of the most successful and long-lived Mars missions. Their orbiters, Mars Odyssey and the…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: NASA's Post-Election Landscape
The United States' 2020 elections are over. What do the results mean for NASA in the years ahead? To help answer that question, we welcome back Brendan Curry…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Rogue World Wanders as PlanetVac Heads for the Moon and Mars
In a jam-packed episode, we’ll talk to a discoverer of a distant, lonely planet that wanders the galaxy, and then turn to plans to send a radically-simple…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Return to Asteroid Mining, and Digging Into Space Ethics with Joel Sercel
At least two ambitious, smart asteroid mining companies have gone bust. Joel Sercel makes the case that his new effort comes at a much better time, and with a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Deep Dive into Asteroid Bennu With Dante Lauretta
We are joined by the leader of the OSIRIS-REx mission that sampled an asteroid last week. Dante reveals just how brilliantly successful the encounter was, and…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWe Have Sampled an Asteroid! And the Search for Life Above Venus
OSIRIS-REx has done it! We have special coverage of the spacecraft’s successful collection of a sample from asteroid Bennu. Then we talk with Jane Greaves…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceBeyond Earth’s Edge: A Celebrity Space Poetry Jam!
Beyond Earth’s Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight is the new and outstanding collection of poems edited by Julie Swarstad Johnson and Christopher Cokinos. They’ll…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceProtectors of Earth! (and Other Worlds)
Protecting worlds like Earth and Mars from microscopic invaders carried by human and robot visitors was just one of the scores of topics covered at this year’s…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Divining Biden's Space Policy with Jeff Foust
A month before the U.S. election Joe Biden's campaign has yet to state its goals for space and NASA. We asked Jeff Foust, one of the best space reporters in…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceExploring the Cosmos With Heidi Hammel and AURA
AURA, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, is the organization that oversees operation of many of our world’s most powerful telescopes…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Fond Farewell: Solar System Specialist Emily Lakdawalla
Emily Lakdawalla was on the very first episode of Planetary Radio, and has been heard on hundreds since then. The planetary evangelist returns for a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceHave We Found Evidence of Life on Venus?
An international team has detected phosphine gas in the clouds above Venus. Naturally-produced phosphine on Earth is created by anaerobic bacteria. We’ll…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: The Moon-to-Mars Strategy, with Dr. Scott Pace
How spacefaring nations prioritize funding can be just as important, if not more so, than the capabilities of the commercial sector, says Dr. Mary Lynne…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Planetary Mystery is Solved, and it’s Bill Nye’s Anniversary!
JPL’s Marc Rayman, former Dawn mission director, reveals the secrets of those bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres. First though we celebrate Bill Nye’s 10th…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe Sirens of Mars Call to Us
Georgetown University planetary scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson has written a beautiful book that chronicles our long quest for life on the Red Planet. That…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceKatie Mack and The End of Everything
Known as Astrokatie to her 370 thousand Twitter followers, astrophysicist and cosmologist Katie Mack has written a funny, fantastic guide to the end of the…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceMake Room! Worlds May Crowd Some Habitable Zones
Newly-published research led by Stephen Kane finds room for as many as 6 habitable zone planets around some stars. Why then is Earth on its own? The UC…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceAnother Ray Gun Heads for Mars. We Hear It Working.
First there was ChemCam on Mars rover Curiosity. Now, SuperCam is on its way to the Red Planet aboard Perseverance. We’ll talk with principal investigator…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Why the SLS is a National Asset, and Why That Matters
How spacefaring nations prioritize funding can be just as important, if not more so, than the capabilities of the commercial sector, says Dr. Mary Lynne…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceCrew Dragon Triumphant, and a Planetary Society Founder Remembers
Astronaut and former SpaceX director of space operations Garrett Reisman returns to help us celebrate and appreciate the just-completed first crewed mission by…