Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

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 astounding. Principal investigator Sean Andrews will tell us how the pictures were created, and why they are surprising and delighting astronomers. Senior editor Emily Lakdawalla is literally looking back on objects around our own solar system. She tells us how backlit images reveal their secrets. The rubber asteroids have returned! You can win one in this week’s space trivia contest. Learn more about this week’s guest and topics at:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2019/0213-2019-sean-andrews-dsharp-protoplanetary.html 

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 growing space capability and lunar ambitions to trigger a new space race. Not Dr. Roger Handberg, Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida. He discusses how the current geopolitical situation differs from the Cold War standoff between two superpowers, and how we shouldn't expect dollars to flow back to the U.S. space program as a consequence of China's space successes. Cooperation, or even friendly competition, is a much more likely outcome than a new space race. More resources to explore this month’s topics are at http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2019/space-policy-edition-34.html

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 surface for collection of a pristine sample. Want one of five  Blu-ray copies of First Man, the movie about Neil Armstrong? Consider entering this week’s What’s Up space trivia contest that also offers Dante Lauretta’s two great board games about space exploration and astronomy. Learn more at:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2019/0123-2019-dante-lauretta-osiris-rex.html

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 4, China’s pioneering lander and rover on the far side of the Moon.  Bruce and Mat answer a question that had no answer till New Horizons flew by Ultima Thule days ago. That’s part of this week’s What’s Up. Learn more at:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2019/0116-2019-elizabeth-turtle-dragonfly-clipper.html

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 The Planetary Report. Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye helps us ring in the new year, while Bruce Betts leads the first What’s Up of 2019 with exciting news about the night sky. Learn more at:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2019/0102-2019-vicky-hamilton-osiris-rex.html

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 written Rocket Men as a tribute to--and chronicle of—the mission and the people who made it happen. The new edition of The Planetary Report is now available to all, according to Senior editor Emily Lakdawalla.  Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts also celebrates Apollo 8 in this week’s What’s Up.  Learn more at:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/1219-2018-robert-kurson-apollo-8.html

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 about the challenges facing Canada's future in space and how the nation needs to do a better job of communicating the benefits of space exploration to its citizens. Casey and Mat also look at the latest machinations of the U.S. congress, which has yet to fund NASA for 2019 and is rapidly running out of time to do so. More resources to explore this month’s topics are at http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/space-policy-edition-32.html

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 as the spacecraft hurtles down through the Martian atmosphere in its seven minutes of terror, climaxing in a glorious touchdown on the Red Planet. This is a very special episode. Learn more at:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/1128-2018-insight-landing-event.html

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 out, change is certainly coming.  Dealing with the nation’s huge deficit also threatens NASA’s budget.  Planetary Society Chief Advocate Casey Dreier welcomes back space policy expert Marcia Smith for an insider’s look at the aftermath and what may be ahead. More resources to explore this month’s topics are at http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/space-policy-edition-31.html

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 creation of self-replicating molecules. Bruce Betts’ new book, Astronomy for Kids, is just one of the prizes offered in this week’s What’s Up space trivia contest. Learn more at: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/1107-2018-pudritz-rheinstadter-origins.html

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 Johnson shares his excitement about this interplanetary cubesat. Emily Lakdawalla reports in from southern France following the successful start of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury.  Don’t know a primorial from a primordial? No worries.  Bruce Betts will throw both into the soup as he ladles out a new space trivia contest. Learn more at: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/1024-2018-les-johnson-nea-scout.html 

Celebrating 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 McCarthy is an astronomer and a leader of the Giant Magellan Telescope project. He returns with a report on the instrument’s status, followed by a fascinating tour of the GMT facility. The MASCOT spacecraft has successfully completed its brief mission at asteroid Ryugu. Emily Lakdawalla provides an overview. And the space trivia contest has returned to What’s Up. See pics of our GMT visit and learn much more at: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/1010-2018-patrick-mccarthy-gmt.html

John 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 SpaceX.  Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye reports in from this year’s International Astronautical Congress in German, while Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla wraps up a working tour of New Zealand.  Then join Bruce and Mat for this week’s What’s Up.  Learn and hear more at: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/1003-2018-john-logsdon-outer-space-exploration-book.html 

Return to Fiery Mercury With BepiColombo

Elsa Montagnon is Spacecraft Operations Manager for the European/Japanese mission leaving for our solar system’s innermost planet very soon. She joins us to talk about the long journey ahead. Elsa also has the cover article in the brand new edition of The Planetary Report, the Planetary Society’s once exclusive magazine that is now available to everyone online, according to its editor, Emily Lakdawalla.  Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye is happy for a very happy Elon Musk. The leader of SpaceX just introduced his paying customer for a trip around the moon in 2023. All this, and What’s Up! Learn and hear more at: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0919-2018-elsa-montagnon-bepicolombo.html 

Space Policy Edition: Did NASA Ace its Midterms? With Special Guest Louise Prockter

We talk with planetary scientist and Lunar and Planetary Institute Director Louise Prockter, who co-led creation of a new report evaluating the performance of NASA's planetary science division. This comes five years after the release of the influential decadal survey. Given the massive budget cuts over the past few years, how did NASA do? Where do these reports come from and who puts them together? Why are they important? All will be answered in this month’s SPE!  We also look into the report-within-a-report on the status of the robotic Mars Exploration Program, and find some recommendations that appear to have been inspired by a 2017 Planetary Society report. More resources to explore this month’s topics are http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/space-policy-edition-29.html

Space, Rockets, and a Senatorial Encounter in Huntsville, Alabama

Host Mat Kaplan begins a two-episode visit to Huntsville and the Marshall Space Flight Center, recorded this week at the US Space and Rocket Center with astronaut Don Thomas, 94-year-old Apollo engineer Alex McCool, and Alabama Senator Doug Jones.  Bruce Betts sets us on a search for the nearest black hole in this week’s What’s Up space trivia contest. Learn and hear more at: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0829-2018-huntsville-doug-jones.html

Giving Mysterious Venus the Love (and Science) She Deserves

We have so much to learn about Venus, says JPL scientist Sue Smrekar.  What we learn will help us understand our own world and Mars.  Sue joins us this week to make a great case for a new Venus orbiter. The Parker Solar Probe has begun its exciting journey to “touch the Sun.” Our MaryLiz Bender talks with mission leaders before and after the launch. Bruce Betts and Mat Kaplan have two great space trivia contests to wrap up right after they take us on another What’s Up tour of the solar system and back through the history of space exploration.  Learn more at:   http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0815-2018-sue-smrekar-venus-parker-solar-probe-launch.html

Space Policy Edition: Destination…Mars? Contradictions and Principles

The Senate just held a hearing on NASA's efforts to send humans to...Mars? A week later, the same committee advanced legislation to extend the life of the International Space Station to 2030, six years beyond the current end-date and two years beyond the current hardware safety ratings. Does that extension undermine efforts to get to Mars? What about the Moon? Casey and Jason also introduce The Planetary Society's new principles for human spaceflight, which provide a framework by which the organization will evaluate plans for human exploration.  More resources to explore this month’s topics are http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/space-policy-edition-28.html

Hayabusa2 Reaches a Dark Diamond in Space

Japan’s Hayabusa2 is just 6 kilometers from asteroid Ryugu as it prepares to snatch samples of the space rock for return to Earth.  ISAS/JAXA Director General and former Hayabusa Mission Project Manager Hitoshi Kuninaka joins us for a conversation about the spacecraft and what’s ahead.  Then we hear from Hansjörg Dittus of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) about the German/French lander called MASCOT that was carried to Ryugu by Hayabusa2. Emily Lakdawalla is the new editor of the Planetary Society’s distinguished magazine, The Planetary Report.  Bruce Betts explains how to get the most out of a lunar eclipse and the closest Mars has come to Earth for many years.  We also give you an extra week to enter the space trivia contest! Learn more at:   http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0725-2018-kuninaka-dittus-hayabusa2.html

Something Old and Something New: Exciting Research on the International Space Station

Sextants have helped sailors find their way across oceans for centuries. Now one is onboard the International Space Station so that astronauts can learn to find their way across the solar system even if other technologies fail. Reaching the ISS on the same supply mission was the Cold Atom Lab.  It may achieve the lowest temperatures in the universe, helping to unlock cosmic secrets.  Every naked eye planet is visible!  Bruce Betts will tell you where to look in What’s Up.  Learn more about all our topics and hear extended interviews:   http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0711-2018-sextant-and-cold-atom-lab-on-iss.html

Dwarf Planet Ceres Thrills as a Dying Visitor Closes In

Ceres is the queen of the asteroid belt.  Her first Earthly visitor is nearing its last days in spectacular style.  Dawn Mission Director and Chief Engineer Marc Rayman returns with stunning images taken from just 35 kilometers or 22 miles above the dwarf planet, and a preview of the spacecraft’s last days.  Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts has a summer guide to the night sky, looks back in space exploration history and delivers another Random Space Fact.  He and Mat Kaplan also have a new space trivia question for listeners.  Learn more about all our topics this week:   http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0704-2018-marc-rayman-dawn-ceres.html

Kathryn Sullivan, Space Dentistry and More at the International Space Development Conference

Freeman Dyson wasn’t the only space star at the ISDC.  Mat talks with former astronaut and NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, leaders of the Cassini mission, innovative students and an expert on dental care in space.  Keep flossing!  Planetary Society Director of Space Policy Casey Dreier has the latest budget info from Washington and tells us about Space Policy Directive-3. Bruce and Mat have picked the name for the supermassive black hole that lurks at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.  Who has won?  Learn more about all our topics this week:   http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0620-2018-isdc.html

It’s Rocket Science: Testing PlanetVac in the Mojave Desert

Join Mat Kaplan in California’s Mojave Desert for special coverage of not one but two rocket flights and a real world test of PlanetVac, the innovative, radically simple way to collect surface samples from other worlds.  PlanetVac replaced one foot of a Masten Space Systems Xodiac rocket for back-to-back hops across a test site.  We also talk with Masten CEO Sean Mahoney. Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts also made the trip.  He’ll also open a super massive contest for PlanRad listeners in our What’s Up segment.  See images and video of the PlanetVac Xodiac flight test and learn more here:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0606-planetvac-xodiac-test.html

A Sacred Place: The National Air and Space Museum with Ellen Stofan

Planetary geologist Ellen Stofan has just become Director of the most popular museum in the United States.  The NASM protects and shares the greatest collection of space and aviation treasures on Earth. Mat Kaplan talks with the former NASA Chief Scientist about her new job and how the museum serves to inspire and inform millions each year.  Senior editor Emily Lakdawalla prepares us for an exciting encounter between Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft and asteroid Ryugu.  Harry Potter fans, rejoice!  Bruce Betts corrects his correction of an astronomical observation by Harry and his classmates. We also offer another signed copy of Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto. Learn more about this week’s topics and see images here:  http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0530-ellen-stofan-nasm.html

Why Mars? We’ve Got the Answers

The great adventure awaits! Mat Kaplan hosts an entertaining panel discussion at the 2018 Humans to Mars Summit in Washington DC.  Eight guests provide their diverse and inspiring reasons for humans to visit the Red Planet.  Bruce Betts later joins Mat to explore the Demon Star.  Learn more about this week’s topic and see images here: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0516-h2m-why-mars-panel.htmlGuests include: Filmmaker Nicholas Agnew, creator of Seat 25Consultant Jeff Bingham, former NASA Associate Administrator for Legislative AffairsJim Garvin, Chief Scientist, Goddard Space Flight CenterJanet Ivey, Emmy award-winning creator of Janet’s Planet“Astronaut Abby” Abigail HarrisonKeri Kukral, Raw Science and the Raw Science Film FestivalSaralyn Mark, MD, iGiant founder and presidentArtemis Westenberg, Explore Mars president, director and co-founder