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 ScienceNASA’s Red Planet Rick and Putting Humans on Mars
Rick Davis is the perfect person to co-lead NASA’s Mars Human Landing Sites Study. No one is more devoted to putting human bootprints on the Red Planet. He…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceReflections of Humanity in a Spacesuit for Moonwalkers
Host Mat Kaplan in a long and fascinating conversation with Nicholas de Monchaux, author of Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo. This great book is about much more…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and SciencePlanetary Radio Live at Science Museum Oklahoma
Join Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye and host Mat Kaplan as they visit Oklahoma City’s outstanding public science museum. You’ll meet University of Oklahoma…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and SciencePlanetary Radio Live with Bill Nye at Science Museum Oklahoma
Join Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye and host Mat Kaplan as they visit Oklahoma City’s outstanding public science museum. You’ll meet University of Oklahoma…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: The Home Front During Apollo (with Emily Margolis)
Did the public support Project Apollo? Dr. Emily Margolis joins the show to explore the domestic politics and cultural impact of the space age throughout the…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Helicopter for Mars and a Major LightSail Announcement
It will be the first flying machine on another world. Mars Helicopter Project Manager MiMi Aung shares her plans. There’s big news about The Planetary…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceReady to Sail! LightSail 2 Deploys its Silvery Wings
Join us as the little cubesat successfully unfurls its solar sail. You’ll hear from members of the LightSail 2 mission team on the morning of July 23, 2019…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceApollo 11 and the Woman Who Helped Get It Home
Poppy Northcutt was a pioneer—the first woman to work as an engineer in Apollo Mission Control. The program she helped to create got the astronauts back to…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWe’re Sending a Flying Machine to Titan
NASA has given the go-ahead for Dragonfly, a flying rotorcraft that will explore Saturn’s mysterious moon Titan. Mission Principal Investigator Elizabeth…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Why Apollo Happened (with Roger Launius)
Half a century has passed since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin imprinted humanity's first footsteps upon another world. Apollo 11 was the culmination of a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceLightSail Takes Flight!
A giant SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off in the early hours of June 25th. One week later, the LightSail 2 solar sail was released to begin its epic mission…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe News From Saturn-With Linda Spilker
It has been many months since the great Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere and fiery death. Yet the mission lives on as the reams of data and…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceFlight by Light: A LightSail 2 Mission Preview
The day is almost here. With the launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket, The Planetary Society will begin its mission to prove that a tiny, orbiting spacecraft can be…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceQuasars and Quanta: Exploring Einstein’s Quantum Riddle
Even though his own work led to it, Albert Einstein never cared for quantum mechanics concepts like entanglement, which he called “spooky action at a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: The Soviet Moonshot (with Asif Siddiqi)
The U.S. won the space race in July of 1969 with the success of Apollo 11. But was the Soviet Union even racing? How close were they to beating the United…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceStarchaser: Extraordinary Astronomer Jay Pasachoff
Jay Pasachoff visits Planetary Society headquarters for a conversation about the latest edition of his and Alex Filippenko’s monumental textbook The Cosmos…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSharing a Passion for Mars at the Humans to Mars Summit
This year’s Humans to Mars Summit in Washington DC once again ended with a panel of Martian all-stars talking about their hopes for a future that includes the…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceTalking with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
The former Oklahoma congressman and Navy aviator stepped into the leadership role barely a year ago. Now he wants to see humans back on the Moon by 2024 as a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceBONUS: Introducing Science Rules! with Bill Nye
Host Mat Kaplan has a special announcement to share about Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye. The Science Guy is on a mission to change the world— one phone call…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Last Visit With LightSail 2 at the Cubesat Developers Workshop
Mat Kaplan visits Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for a last, clean room visit with LightSail 2, the Planetary Society’s solar sailing cubesat. While there, Mat also…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and SciencePlanetary Radio Live Defends Planet Earth!
Leaders of the global effort to avoid a catastrophic Near Earth Object impact gathered at the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference. On the evening of May 1st, The…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Lessons From the Moonshot That Never Was-With Mark Albrecht
Thirty years ago, Dr. Mark Albrecht led the National Space Council when President George H.W. Bush announced the Space Exploration Initiative, an ambitious…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe Skies of Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes
There appear to be more mini-Neptunes (also known as Super Earths) across our galaxy than any other type of planet. Hannah Wakeford wants to learn if some of…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceLucy in the Sky With Asteroids
A rare alignment of planets and other objects will enable the solar-powered Lucy spacecraft to examine seven asteroids, six of which are among the thousands of…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe Triumph of a Failed Moon Landing
The Beresheet lunar lander failed in the last few kilometers of its descent to the Moon. Two days later we learned that its team would try again. Deputy…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceCelebrating Yuri’s Night with Legendary Astronaut Story Musgrave
The Los Angeles celebration of Yuri’s Night came six days early this year. It attracted hundreds of space party animals, along with celebrities like Bill Nye…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: T-minus Five Years and Counting
Can NASA return astronauts to the Moon by 2024? Vice President Mike Pence shocked the space community by announcing this ambitious new goal just weeks after…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceIce Worlds, Landing on the Moon and Blasting an Asteroid
When will we return to Uranus and Neptune? Planetary scientist Amy Simon explains why a mission to the so-called ice giants is a high priority as she tells us…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceDunes, Walnut Shells, Alien Impostors and Other Worlds: A Visit with Sarah Hörst
A very special, extended conversation with Johns Hopkins University planetary scientist Sarah Hörst is capped by a tour of her fascinating lab. That’s where…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceBill Nye and Planetary Radio Live at Extreme STEAM
Planetary Radio Live goes on stage at the first ever Fairplex Extreme STEAM Festival in Pomona, California. Host Mat Kaplan and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceBoosters, Breakthroughs and Budgets: Canada and the US Look Toward Space
The last few days have seen developments that will shape the space exploration plans of Canada and the USA. The Planetary Society’s Kate Howells is a member of…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceChina on the Final Frontier
With missions like Chang’e 4 on the far side of the Moon, China has firmly established itself as a leader in space exploration. Space journalist Andrew Jones…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: When a (Space) Cowboy Came to Washington
Historian John Logsdon discusses his new book, Ronald Reagan and the Space Frontier. It explores the legacy of the 40th president’s major space policy…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceAn Israeli Lander Launches Toward the Moon
Non-profit SpaceIL’s Beresheet is on its way to the Moon. Only China, the Soviet Union and the United States have safely landed there before. Host Mat Kaplan…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Fond Farewell to Spirit and Opportunity
The Mars Exploration Rover mission was declared complete on February 13, 2019. On the very next day, MER Project Manager John Callas and Deputy Project…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWatching the Births of Solar Systems
Radio telescopes are delivering stunning images that, in some cases, current optical telescopes can’t equal. Witness the 20 beautiful protoplanetary disks…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe DART Mission: Learning How to Swat Dangerous Asteroids
Why did the dinosaurs die? Because they didn’t have a space program! The upcoming DART mission will test our best thinking about how we may someday deflect a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Should the U.S. be in a space race with China?
China's space program notched an impressive "first" last month when its Chang'e 4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. The U.S. space program, in…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWhere Do We Come From? The Origin of Life
Astrobiology is the discipline that explores the origin of life in the universe, and whether life exists anywhere other than Earth. It’s an increasingly…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceAsteroid Bennu’s Visitor From Earth
Spacecraft OSIRIS REx is now orbiting a 260-meter asteroid named Bennu. Principal investigator Dante Lauretta returns to tell us what has already been learned…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Shutdown
In a government shutdown seemingly without end, we bring you two stories from individuals directly impacted by the crisis. NASA scientist and union…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceFlying the Skies of Saturn’s Moon Titan
Imagine soaring over what may be the solar system’s most Earth-like world, if you ignore the chill. If funded, the nuclear electric-powered Dragonfly will do…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceNew Horizons Flyby: Join the Celebration!
Join us at the Applied Physics Lab in Maryland for the New Horizons encounter with the most distant object ever visited. You’ll meet mission leaders, friends…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Mission to Earth: OSIRIS-REx
Why do so many spacecraft that are headed across our solar system turn their instruments back to Earth during flybys? OSIRIS-REx was no exception. The answers…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceCountdown to Ultima: Alan Stern and New Horizons
The New Horizons spacecraft will reach faraway Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 in the first minutes of 2019. Will the body informally known as Ultima Thule be as…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceEarthrise! The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8
This is the 50th anniversary of the most audacious space mission in history. Apollo 8 blazed a path for the first moon landing seven months later, and gave a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceAt the Space Settlement Summit With Former NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden
He led NASA for eight years, but not till he had flown on four Space Shuttle missions and enjoyed a long military career. Charlie Bolden talks with Mat about…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: Canada's Uncertain Future in Space (with Kate Howells)
Canada was the third country in history to launch a satellite into space, but now lags in its space ambitions, capability, and spending. What happened? Kate…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceLast Week, Mars. This week, An Asteroid Called Bennu.
The InSight lander has only just arrived on Mars. Now, OSIRIS REx has reached asteroid Bennu after traveling through deep space for a year and a half. We’ll…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceA Great Day for Space Explorers: The Landing of InSight
Join 1,000 anxious yet thrilled space fans at Caltech for our live InSight landing party. You’ll meet Mat Kaplan’s onstage experts and check in with Bill Nye…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWe Know Where the 2020 Rover Will Look for Martian Life
NASA announced on November 19th that the multi-billion dollar 2020 Mars rover will land in Jezero crater, where it will begin the search for the signature of…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: After the Midterms—Looking Ahead with Marcia Smith
The counting continues as we publish this month’s special episode, with a handful of seats in the US Senate and House still up for grabs. But with the…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceMoon Mission 3D from Queen Guitarist Brian May and David Eicher
You haven’t seen the best pictures from the Apollo era and other great space achievements till you’ve seen them in 3D. Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceWhere Do We Come From? – Exploring the Origins of Life Lab
They may be the most important questions in all of science: Where do we come from? Are we alone? Researchers Ralph Pudritz and Maikel Rheinstadter are working…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceCelebrating Kepler
The Kepler mission has ended. Listen to highlights of the October 30th media briefing that included the father of the fantastically successful planet finder…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSailing to an Asteroid on the Light of the Sun
LightSail 2 is not the only solar sail in the universe. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Lab are preparing to send NEA Scout on a…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceBack to Saturn for Brand New Cassini Science
Our most frequent guest returns with exciting, just-published research enabled by the 20-year mission’s enormous success. Linda Spilker has served as Cassini…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceCelebrating Astronomy Day with the Giant Magellan Telescope
Happy Astronomy Day, October 13, 2018! We salute humankind’s long history of stargazing by checking in on what will be our planet’s largest telescope. Patrick…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceSpace Policy Edition: How NASA Came to Be
Happy 60th, NASA. In celebration of the space agency’s birthday, we do the audio equivalent of pulling out NASA’s baby book and explore its origin story…
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceJohn Logsdon on the Dawn of the Space Age
The Dean of space policy, John Logsdon, returns with stories and a new book of original documents that shaped the US space program from the birth of NASA to…