Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

By The Planetary Society

Technology

What's Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science about?

Space exploration, astronomy and planetary science. (Weekly)

4.8

827 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

We Have Sampled an Asteroid...

10.21.2020

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft appears to have collected its first sample from asteroid Bennu, while a team led by Jane Greaves has discovered what could be evidence of life in the clouds of Venus.

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science episodes:

10.21.2020 We Have Sampled an Asteroid! And the Search for Life Above Venus The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft appears to have collected its first sample from asteroid Bennu, while a team led by Jane Greaves has discovered what could be evidence of life in the clouds of Venus.
10.14.2020 Beyond Earth’s Edge: A Celebrity Space Poetry Jam! Creators of an outstanding new collection of poems about spaceflight and exploration join Mat Kaplan to talk about the book as Bill Nye and other notables read selections.
10.07.2020 Protectors of Earth! (and Other Worlds) NASA’s planetary protection officer joined Mat Kaplan’s Humans to Mars summit panel for a great conversation about protecting worlds throughout the solar system from what could be devastating contamination.
10.02.2020 Space Policy Edition: Divining Biden's Space Policy with Jeff Foust Where would a Biden Administration take US space policy and NASA? Casey Dreier and space journalist Jeff Foust synthesize a best guess based on the available evidence.
09.30.2020 Exploring the Cosmos With Heidi Hammel and AURA Astronomer and planetary scientist Heidi Hammel’s AURA shines bright across our solar system and beyond.
09.23.2020 A Fond Farewell: Solar System Specialist Emily Lakdawalla Planetary Society Solar System Specialist Emily Lakdawalla makes a big announcement, and share stories from her long history with the organization.
09.16.2020 Have We Found Evidence of Life on Venus? It could be a profound and historic discovery made on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor.
09.11.2020 Space Policy Edition: The Moon-to-Mars Strategy, with Dr. Scott Pace The National Space Council’s Scott Pace talks with Casey Dreier about the current administration’s sweeping new strategy that integrates all elements of space development and exploration.
09.09.2020 A Planetary Mystery is Solved, and it’s Bill Nye’s Anniversary! Former Dawn mission director Marc Rayman of JPL reveals the secrets of the bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres, and we celebrate his 10 years as Planetary Society CEO with Bill Nye.
09.02.2020 The Sirens of Mars Call to Us Georgetown University planetary scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson chronicles the long history of our fascination with Mars and the possibility of life there, culminating with Perseverance, the new rover now headed there.
08.26.2020 Katie Mack and The End of Everything How will the universe end? That’s the question explored by cosmologist Katie Mack in her very entertaining new book.
08.19.2020 Make Room! Worlds May Crowd Some Habitable Zones New research reveals why Earth is on its own in this solar system’s habitable zone where liquid surface water flows, but the same isn’t true across the galaxy.
08.12.2020 Another Ray Gun Heads for Mars. We Hear It Working. SuperCam principal investigator Roger Wiens shares how his new and improved laser-based spectrometer will help look for past life in Jezero Crater, while its microphone lets us listen to the Red Planet.
08.07.2020 Space Policy Edition: Why the SLS is a National Asset, and Why That Matters The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration’s Mary Lynne Dittmar talks with Casey Dreier about how and why spacefaring nations prioritize funding for space development and exploration.
08.05.2020 Crew Dragon Triumphant, and a Planetary Society Founder Remembers Splashdown! An astronaut and former leader of Dragon capsule development at SpaceX is back to celebrate the spacecraft’s successful mission, as a Planetary Society co-founder looks back.
07.29.2020 Hope Leads the Way to Mars Our special guests are the leaders of the Emirates Mars Mission whose Hope spacecraft is now headed for the Red Planet.
07.22.2020 A Mars Mission Begins, a Comet Exits, and the Future of Planetary Science The United Arab Emirates is headed for Mars as comet NEOWISE speeds back to the outer reaches of the solar system, and three white papers address the future of planetary science and defense.
07.15.2020 3 Billion Years Ago: Was Mars Alive? Join a Perseverance mission deputy project scientist to learn how the rover will search for past life on the Red Planet.
07.08.2020 To Pluto and Beyond with Alan Stern Principal Investigator Alan Stern returns on the 5th anniversary of the New Horizons encounter with Pluto to tell us about the wealth of knowledge the spacecraft is still sending home from across the solar system.
07.03.2020 Space Policy Edition: A Trillion-Dollar Space Economy? How big is the space economy, and how big might it grow? Space policy expert Dr. Bhavya Lal brings the numbers down to Earth in a great conversation with Casey Dreier.
07.01.2020 Jim Bell Sends New Eyes to Mars The leader of the Mastcam-Z team talks about how the best cameras ever on the surface of Mars will help us explore a region that could once have supported life.
06.24.2020 China on the Final Frontier China has big plans for a space station, exploration of the Moon and Mars, and possibly a mission that will follow Voyager beyond the edge of the solar system.
06.17.2020 LightSail 2: A Year of Solar Sailing Sail on! Leaders of the LightSail 2 mission join 50,000 supporters in celebration of a year in space.
06.10.2020 Staying Alive in Space Are we learning how to keep men and women alive on a 3-year round trip to Mars?
06.05.2020 Space Policy Edition: NASA’s Gamble Pays Off The safe arrival of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon at the International Space Station is a huge success for NASA and policymakers who gambled years ago on the value of commercial partnerships for the agency.
06.03.2020 Crew Dragon Thrills While Mars Chills After a special message we present highlights of the successful arrival at the International Space Station of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, followed by a visit to chilly Mars with planetary scientist Edgard Rivera-Valentin.
05.27.2020 Celebrating 30 Years of Hubble with Astronaut John Grunsfeld Astrophysicist and former astronaut John “Hubble Repairman” Grunsfeld looks back over three decades of beautiful science and inspiration delivered by the Hubble Space Telescope.
05.20.2020 Crew Dragon Deep Dive with Astronaut Garrett Reisman Former astronaut Garrett Reisman helped lead development of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that is about to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.
05.13.2020 Looking for Life in Alien Oceans JPL scientist Kevin Hand is endlessly fascinated by the possibility of life in the hidden oceans of the outer solar system’s moons, and now he has written a great book about the quest to discover it.
05.06.2020 The Crew Dragon Countdown Begins, With Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver American astronauts are about to fly from Florida to the International Space Station for the first time in nine years, thanks to the commercial space development initiative advocated for years by Lori Garver.
05.01.2020 Space Policy Edition: Our Moral Obligation to Explore Space Philosopher James Schwartz shares his thoughts about the ethics of space exploration and settlement.
04.29.2020 Life on Mars: Joining the Quest with Penny Boston and Jim Green The search for life on Mars is at a critical stage. What will come next if we find it?
04.22.2020 The Royal Astronomical Society at 200 Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society and the life of the late astronomer Margaret Burbidge.
04.15.2020 NASA Administrator James Bridenstine Returns The U.S. space agency’s leader describes how NASA is responding to the pandemic crisis as it works to keep projects and missions on track.
04.08.2020 The Slime Mold and the Universe One of Earth’s lowliest creatures has inspired and guided a team of scientists toward an improved model for the distribution of galaxies and dark matter across the cosmos.
04.03.2020 Space Policy Edition: Our Equinox Space Policy Briefing Join The Planetary Society’s policy team, including Bill Nye, for highlights of a members-only live briefing that shared our analysis of how the coronavirus pandemic may affect space exploration.
04.01.2020 The Next 10 Years: Continuing our Solar System Tour Our look ahead at the near-future of solar system exploration continues with Mars, the giant outer worlds, and the smaller bodies that can be found throughout the neighborhood.
03.25.2020 The Next 10 Years…An Introduction to the Decadal Survey Six scientists give us a preview of where planetary science may be taken in the next 10 years by a new NASA decadal survey.
03.18.2020 Building Our Future on Mars Civil engineer Peter Carrato believes we know how to use what’s available on Mars to build the human structures that will be needed by the first explorers.
03.11.2020 The Return of Cosmos and Ann Druyan Cosmos has returned under the steady hand of Ann Druyan. We’ll talk with her about the third season of the television series and her companion book.
03.06.2020 Space Policy Edition: NASA's 2021 Budget Request Brings Billions NASA’s fiscal year 2021 budget request contains lots of good news along with a few disappointments. How will Congress weigh in?
03.04.2020 African Eyes Look to the Cosmos The founder of Astronomers Without Borders brings the organization’s leader in Nigeria to the Planetary Radio microphones.
02.26.2020 The Search for 100 Earths The search for worlds like our own is underway, but the challenges are enormous according to astronomers Debra Fischer and Joe Llama.
02.19.2020 Life=Matter+Information: Paul Davies and the Demon in the Machine Physicist and author Paul Davies returns to talk about his new book that explores the defining role information plays in life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere.
02.12.2020 Another Goldilocks World and the Space Telescope That Discovered It Another near Earth-sized planet has been found in the habitable zone around a distant star, discovered by a powerful space telescope named TESS.
02.07.2020 Space Policy Edition: Is the Moon a Stepping-Stone or a Cornerstone for Mars? (with Laura Seward Forczyk) Casey and his guest discuss a bill working its way through the US House of Representatives that challenges the Artemis plan adopted by NASA for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
02.05.2020 A Great Space Observatory Goes Dark: The Legacy of Spitzer Leaders of the just-ended Spitzer Space Telescope mission help us celebrate sixteen years of discoveries about our solar system, exoplanets and galaxies nearly as old as the universe itself.
01.29.2020 Mighty Jupiter Revealed Juno mission principal investigator Scott Bolton provides an enticing taste of the Jupiter orbiter’s mind-bending discoveries.
01.22.2020 The Coming Descent to Asteroid Bennu OSIRIS-REx mission leader Dante Lauretta takes us to mysterious asteroid Bennu where a first sample collection site has been selected.
01.15.2020 The MILO Institute: Opening the Solar System for Exploration by All Planetary scientist Jim Bell and space entrepreneur Lon Levin are founders of a new non-profit that aims to make robotic space exploration much more achievable by institutions around the world.

Older episodes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

What's Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science episodes:

We Have Sampled an Asteroid! And the Search for Life Above Venus

Beyond Earth’s Edge: A Celebrity Space Poetry Jam!

Protectors of Earth! (and Other Worlds)

Space Policy Edition: Divining Biden's Space Policy with Jeff Foust

Exploring the Cosmos With Heidi Hammel and AURA

A Fond Farewell: Solar System Specialist Emily Lakdawalla

Have We Found Evidence of Life on Venus?

Space Policy Edition: The Moon-to-Mars Strategy, with Dr. Scott Pace

A Planetary Mystery is Solved, and it’s Bill Nye’s Anniversary!

The Sirens of Mars Call to Us

Katie Mack and The End of Everything

Make Room! Worlds May Crowd Some Habitable Zones

Another Ray Gun Heads for Mars. We Hear It Working.

Space Policy Edition: Why the SLS is a National Asset, and Why That Matters

Crew Dragon Triumphant, and a Planetary Society Founder Remembers

Hope Leads the Way to Mars

A Mars Mission Begins, a Comet Exits, and the Future of Planetary Science

3 Billion Years Ago: Was Mars Alive?

To Pluto and Beyond with Alan Stern

Space Policy Edition: A Trillion-Dollar Space Economy?

Jim Bell Sends New Eyes to Mars

China on the Final Frontier

LightSail 2: A Year of Solar Sailing

Staying Alive in Space

Space Policy Edition: NASA’s Gamble Pays Off

Crew Dragon Thrills While Mars Chills

Celebrating 30 Years of Hubble with Astronaut John Grunsfeld

Crew Dragon Deep Dive with Astronaut Garrett Reisman

Looking for Life in Alien Oceans

The Crew Dragon Countdown Begins, With Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver

Space Policy Edition: Our Moral Obligation to Explore Space

Life on Mars: Joining the Quest with Penny Boston and Jim Green

The Royal Astronomical Society at 200

NASA Administrator James Bridenstine Returns

The Slime Mold and the Universe

Space Policy Edition: Our Equinox Space Policy Briefing

The Next 10 Years: Continuing our Solar System Tour

The Next 10 Years…An Introduction to the Decadal Survey

Building Our Future on Mars

The Return of Cosmos and Ann Druyan

Space Policy Edition: NASA's 2021 Budget Request Brings Billions

African Eyes Look to the Cosmos

The Search for 100 Earths

Life=Matter+Information: Paul Davies and the Demon in the Machine

Another Goldilocks World and the Space Telescope That Discovered It

Space Policy Edition: Is the Moon a Stepping-Stone or a Cornerstone for Mars? (with Laura Seward Forczyk)

A Great Space Observatory Goes Dark: The Legacy of Spitzer

Mighty Jupiter Revealed

The Coming Descent to Asteroid Bennu

The MILO Institute: Opening the Solar System for Exploration by All

Other shows like Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science: