Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Fans of Venus were saddened in late 2022 to learn that one of NASA's upcoming Venus missions, VERITAS, was defunded, but with the help of space advocates, the mission is now back on. Darby Dyar, the deputy principal investigator for VERITAS, returns triumphantly to Planetary Radio to share the story. We also take a look at the new U.S. House of Representatives budget request for NASA and how it will impact programs like Artemis and Mars Sample Return with Casey Dreier, our chief of space policy. We'll close out our show with Olympic cheer as Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, shares a new random space fact in What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-victory-for-veritas

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We celebrate the second anniversary of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) science operations with Christine Chen, associate astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute. She describes the observatory's newest beautiful image, a close-up of two interacting galaxies called the Penguin and the Egg. Then, she tells us more about her team's recent findings in the Beta Pictoris system, where clearing dust indicates a recent and powerful asteroid collision. We also go back to the early solar system with Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, discussing the massive collisions that shaped our place in space in What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-penguin-egg-and-asteroid

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The Planetary Society introduces the newest member of its board of directors this week on Planetary Radio. Newton Campbell Jr., the director of the Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE) Consortium, discusses his career journey, AI in space, and Australia's first lunar rover, the Roo-ver. But first, we go to Washington D.C., U.S.A., where our director of government relations, Jack Kiraly, recently held a briefing for Congressional staffers. Jack discusses the event and the efforts to boost funding for NASA in the coming fiscal year. Then, Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of The Planetary Society, shares a new galactic space fact in What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-meet-roo-ver 

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Every major NASA center built after the agency’s inception is located in the American South. Why? Dr. Brian Odom, NASA’s chief historian, joins the show to explore the relationship between NASA and the South, how politics and geography led to this focus, and why NASA’s expansion during the Apollo era was likened to a second reconstruction of a previously rural and underdeveloped region of the United States.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-nasa-and-the-american-south

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Scientists have discovered over 5,500 exoplanets, but they’re just getting started. We dive into the stunning variety of exoplanets beyond our Solar System with Jessie Christiansen, the project scientist for the NASA Exoplanet Archive. But first, The Planetary Society's science editor, Asa Stahl, shares more about the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory, a cutting-edge space telescope designed to hunt for worlds that could harbor life. We also give an update on the International Space Station with our senior communications advisor, Mat Kaplan. Stick around for What's Up with Bruce Betts as we discuss the advances in exoplanet detection and share a new Random Space Fact.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/fifty-five-hundred-worlds-and-counting 

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Every year on June 30, the space community observes Asteroid Day, the anniversary of the Tunguska blast. Markus Payer, Asteroid Foundation Chair, joins us to talk about this year's Asteroid Day festivities. We also get an update on the results of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) with Terik Daly, a planetary scientist and the Planetary Impact Laboratory manager at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. He’ll tell us more about the aftermath of DART’s smashing encounter with asteroid Dimorphos. Then Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, discusses what The Planetary Society’s asteroid-hunting grant winners have been up and in What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-asteroid-bash-smash

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Our Sun is nearing the most active part of its solar cycle. This week, we explore recent solar activity and discoveries from NASA's Parker Solar Probe with Nour Rawafi, the mission's project scientist. But first, we honor the life and legacy of Ed Stone, the former director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the longtime project scientist of the Voyager mission. We close out our show with Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of The Planetary Society, in What's Up. 

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-parker-solar-probe

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Last week was a big one for commercial space. Our senior communications advisor, Mat Kaplan, discusses the first crewed Boeing Starliner test and SpaceX Starship launch. Then Asa Stahl, our science editor, lets you know how to observe the upcoming nova in Corona Borealis. RadioLab's Latif Nasser returns to Planetary Radio with a new public naming contest for a quasi-moon of Earth. Then, we dive into some naming conventions for space objects in What's Up with our chief scientist, Bruce Betts.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-nova-and-naming-contest

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Holy texts and salvation ideology. Saints and martyrs. True believers and apostates. This isn’t a religion — this is human spaceflight. So says Roger Launius, NASA’s former Chief Historian, in his 2013 paper Escaping Earth: Human Spaceflight as Religion. For the start of our ninth year of the Space Policy Edition, Dr. Launius joins the show to discuss the ways in which human spaceflight exhibits characteristics commonly seen in modern religions, how his thesis has evolved in the past decade with the rise of Elon Musk and his view of Mars as humanity’s salvation, and how exploring secular activities through a religious lens can be instructive in understanding their adherents and support.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-human-spaceflight-as-religion

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Astronomical and planetary science discoveries often unfold in strange and serendipitous ways. We discuss the delightfully unpredictable nature of space discoveries with Chris Lintott, author of the upcoming book "Accidental Astronomy: How Random Discoveries Shape the Science of Space." Then, Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, gives us a new way to think about the scale of our Solar System in What's Up. 

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-accidental-astronomy

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