Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

By The Planetary Society

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

Space exploration, astronomy and planetary science. (Weekly)

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Apollo 11 and the Woman Who...

07.17.2019

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 Earth. Fifty years later, she sits down with Mat Kaplan for a look ...

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science episodes:

07.17.2019 Apollo 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 Earth. Fifty years later, she sits down with Mat Kaplan for a look ...
07.10.2019 We’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 “Zibi” Turtle helps us celebrate. Troy Hudson tells us about the ongoing effort to rescue the Mole on Mars ...
07.05.2019 Space 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 decade's worth of fervent activity in which the United States marshaled resources and manpower at ...
07.03.2019 LightSail 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. You’ll join the thrilling launch, meet LightSail team members and leaders ...
06.26.2019 The 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 images reveal much more of this beautiful world, its rings and its ...
06.19.2019 Flight 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 propelled by the light of the Sun. Society Chief Operating Officer ...
06.12.2019 Quasars 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 distance.” While there’s no doubt it is real, could something even more mysterious be hiding ...
06.07.2019 Space 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 States to the Moon? Soviet space historian Dr. Asif ...
06.05.2019 Starchaser: 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. But that’s just the start of a discussion that explores solar astronomy, art and science, the history of ...
05.29.2019 Sharing 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 Red Planet. Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan leads the inspiring and entertaining ...
05.22.2019 Talking 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 vital stepping stone to Mars. Join us for a wide-ranging ...
05.17.2019 BONUS: 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 at a time. On his new podcast, Science Rules!, he tackles ...
05.15.2019 A 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 talked to attendees at the Cubesat Developers Workshop, including the creator of the ...
05.08.2019 Planetary 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 Society partnered in an exciting PDC public event at the University of ...
05.03.2019 Space 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 effort to send humans to the Moon and then on to Mars. Political divisions and a budget-busting ...
05.01.2019 The 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 them support life, and she’s doing this by exploring their skies. Curiosity, ...
04.24.2019 Lucy 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 Trojan asteroids that orbit ahead of and behind Jupiter. The mission team, include Hal ...
04.17.2019 The 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 Mission Director Yoav Landsman is back with an inspiring and revealing look ...
04.10.2019 Celebrating 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 and Story Musgrave. Host Mat Kaplan talked with both under the wing of space ...
04.05.2019 Space 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 the Trump Administration proposed a half-billion dollar cut to the space agency. Is the ...
04.03.2019 Ice 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 about these mysterious, blue worlds. Planetary Society Digital Editor Jason Davis ...
03.27.2019 Dunes, 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 Sarah and her team simulate decidedly un-Earthlike atmospheres and more. Emily Lakdawalla has returned from this ...
03.20.2019 Bill 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 are joined by four young space scientists and engineers in front of hundreds of ...
03.13.2019 Boosters, 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 Canada’s Space Advisory Board. She reviews the nation’s new space policy. Planetary ...
03.06.2019 China 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 helps us explore the nation’s ambitious near and long-term plans. Emily Lakdawalla says ...
03.01.2019 Space 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 decisions. We look at four major topics: early efforts at commercializing space, the survival crisis for ...
02.27.2019 An 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 talks with SpaceIL Senior Systems Engineer Yoav Landsman, while MaryLiz Bender hears from ...
02.20.2019 A 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 Scientist Abigail Fraeman came to Planetary Society headquarters for an extended and emotional conversation with ...
02.13.2019 Watching 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 imaged by the DSHARP team using the ALMA radio telescope in Chile. The diversity of these proto-solar systems is ...
02.06.2019 The 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 Near Earth Object that is speeding toward fiery Armageddon on Earth. Nancy ...
02.01.2019 Space 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 contrast, was in the midst of an extended shutdown. Some observers expect China's ...
01.30.2019 Where 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 exciting field according to University of Washington Research Associate Michael Wong. Mike reviews the current thinking ...
01.23.2019 Asteroid 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, and to preview the excitement that is still to come, including the probe’s descent to the ...
01.18.2019 Space 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 representative Lee Stone discusses the missed paychecks, loss of science, and lasting negative consequences to the public ...
01.16.2019 Flying 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 exactly this. Principal Investigator Elizabeth “Zibi” Turtle shares her enthusiasm. Emily Lakdawalla reports on Chang’e ...
01.09.2019 New 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 and even a rock and roll star as we dive deep into this triumph ...
01.02.2019 A 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 come from mission scientist Vicky Hamilton. She has also written about the topic in ...
12.26.2018 Countdown 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 mysterious and exciting as Pluto? We’ll hear from the mission’s Principal Investigator, ...
12.19.2018 Earthrise! 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 troubled nation reason for hope and pride. Author Robert Kurson has ...
12.12.2018 At 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 his time at the space agency and where we’re headed on ...
12.07.2018 Space 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 Howells, who serves on the Canadian Space Advisory Board, joins the podcast to talk ...
12.05.2018 Last 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 talk with the Planetary Society’s Jason Davis about this mission that will ...
11.28.2018 A 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 and Emily Lakdawalla at the Jet Propulsion Lab. Then we’ll hold our breath ...
11.21.2018 We 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 past life. The selection process took five years, and Briony Horgan of Purdue ...
11.16.2018 Space 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 Democratic takeover of the House assured, and several longtime space advocates turned ...
11.14.2018 Moon 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 May is also mad about stereoscopic imagery. He worked with this week’s guest, Astronomy ...
11.07.2018 Where 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 on these puzzles with their new Planetary Simulator, possibly edging toward the natural ...
10.31.2018 Celebrating 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, William Borucki. Then catch the thoughts of Planetary Society editors and commentators Jason Davis and Emily ...
10.24.2018 Sailing 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 long, light-propelled journey to a near Earth asteroid. Principal Investigator Les ...
10.17.2018 Back 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 Project Scientist for 8 years, and was Deputy Project Scientist for the previous 13. You’ll also get the ...

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:

Apollo 11 and the Woman Who Helped Get It Home

We’re Sending a Flying Machine to Titan

Space Policy Edition: Why Apollo Happened (with Roger Launius)

LightSail Takes Flight!

The News From Saturn-With Linda Spilker

Flight by Light: A LightSail 2 Mission Preview

Quasars and Quanta: Exploring Einstein’s Quantum Riddle

Space Policy Edition: The Soviet Moonshot (with Asif Siddiqi)

Starchaser: Extraordinary Astronomer Jay Pasachoff

Sharing a Passion for Mars at the Humans to Mars Summit

Talking with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine

BONUS: Introducing Science Rules! with Bill Nye

A Last Visit With LightSail 2 at the Cubesat Developers Workshop

Planetary Radio Live Defends Planet Earth!

Space Policy Edition: Lessons From the Moonshot That Never Was-With Mark Albrecht

The Skies of Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes

Lucy in the Sky With Asteroids

The Triumph of a Failed Moon Landing

Celebrating Yuri’s Night with Legendary Astronaut Story Musgrave

Space Policy Edition: T-minus Five Years and Counting

Ice Worlds, Landing on the Moon and Blasting an Asteroid

Dunes, Walnut Shells, Alien Impostors and Other Worlds: A Visit with Sarah Hörst

Bill Nye and Planetary Radio Live at Extreme STEAM

Boosters, Breakthroughs and Budgets: Canada and the US Look Toward Space

China on the Final Frontier

Space Policy Edition: When a (Space) Cowboy Came to Washington

An Israeli Lander Launches Toward the Moon

A Fond Farewell to Spirit and Opportunity

Watching the Births of Solar Systems

The DART Mission: Learning How to Swat Dangerous Asteroids

Space Policy Edition: Should the U.S. be in a space race with China?

Where Do We Come From? The Origin of Life

Asteroid Bennu’s Visitor From Earth

Space Policy Edition: Shutdown

Flying the Skies of Saturn’s Moon Titan

New Horizons Flyby: Join the Celebration!

A Mission to Earth: OSIRIS-REx

Countdown to Ultima: Alan Stern and New Horizons

Earthrise! The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8

At the Space Settlement Summit With Former NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden

Space Policy Edition: Canada's Uncertain Future in Space (with Kate Howells)

Last Week, Mars. This week, An Asteroid Called Bennu.

A Great Day for Space Explorers: The Landing of InSight

We Know Where the 2020 Rover Will Look for Martian Life

Space Policy Edition: After the Midterms—Looking Ahead with Marcia Smith

Moon Mission 3D from Queen Guitarist Brian May and David Eicher

Where Do We Come From? – Exploring the Origins of Life Lab

Celebrating Kepler

Sailing to an Asteroid on the Light of the Sun

Back to Saturn for Brand New Cassini Science

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