Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

By The Planetary Society

Technology

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

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 Mat Kaplan and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy, Bruce Betts, and Emily Lakdawalla as they dive deep into the latest space news. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for the space trivia contest, an episode guide, and much more.

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LAST EPISODE

Worlds of snow and ice

01.26.2022

New research shows that the giant plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus may not be coming from the warm ocean deep below the icy surface.

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science episodes:

01.26.2022 Worlds of snow and ice New research shows that the giant plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus may not be coming from the warm ocean deep below the icy surface.
01.19.2022 Curiosity rolls on: Mars Science Laboratory project scientist Ashwin Vasavada The Curiosity rover’s lead researcher reviews the latest findings and images from Mars’ Gale Crater.
01.12.2022 We have touched the Sun: The Parker Solar Probe’s triumph A spacecraft has penetrated the Sun’s corona for the first time, revealing unprecedented data and capturing a mind-blowing video.
01.07.2022 Space Policy Edition: What We're Watching in 2022 Planetary Society chief of D.C. operations Brendan Curry returns for a look ahead at what to expect in 2022.
01.05.2022 Return to the Moon: Spacesuits and preparing for splashdown in the Pacific Building the next spacesuit for Moon walkers, and a shipboard update on how the Artemis 1 Orion capsule will be recovered from the Pacific Ocean.
12.29.2021 A good year for space: Planetary Society all-stars review 2021 Seven Planetary Society experts and enthusiasts celebrate 2021’s many space science and exploration milestones.
12.22.2021 Discovering Mars with Jim Bell and William Sheehan “Discovering Mars” is the new chronicle of humanity’s long relationship with the Red Planet, assembled by space historian William Sheehan and Mars explorer Jim Bell.
12.15.2021 JWST is ready for launch and amazing science Three astronomers share what they hope the James Webb Space Telescope will reveal about our universe after its launch this month.
12.08.2021 A conversation with the director of “Don’t Look Up” Director Adam McKay and planetary defense expert Amy Mainzer join us for a conversation about the film and the science behind it.
12.03.2021 Space Policy Edition: Astronomy Goes Big, with Heidi Hammel Veteran astronomer Heidi Hammel discusses how the new astrophysics decadal survey lays the groundwork for decades of exciting science.
12.01.2021 Discovering life elsewhere: How can we be sure? NASA’s Jim Green and Mary Voytek want the science community to develop tools that will help us evaluate potential evidence of life beyond Earth.
11.24.2021 Into the anthropocosmos with Ariel Ekblaw Into the Anthropocosmos is MIT Space Exploration Initiative director Ariel Ekblaw’s collection of innovations that will improve life in space and on Earth.
11.17.2021 The DART asteroid impact mission begins, with Nancy Chabot The DART mission begins its journey that will end when it smashes into an asteroid, demonstrating how we might save Earth from a devastating impact.
11.10.2021 Spacecraft communications and navigation with Badri Younes Spacecraft need a navigation and communication infrastructure to carry out their missions. Learn how NASA does it and what’s in store for the future.
11.05.2021 Space Policy Edition: We're entering a new era of planetary defense (with Lindley Johnson) The head of NASA’s planetary defense program discusses how the DART mission represents a new era for defending our planet from dangerous asteroids.
11.03.2021 Sarah Al Amiri and the new UAE mission to the asteroid belt The head of the United Arab Emirates space agency announces a new mission to explore seven asteroids.
10.27.2021 Sally Ride: Revisiting our 2005 conversation A first-ever encore of our wonderful conversation with the first American woman in space.
10.20.2021 Amazing Technology at the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium Here’s our sampling of the leading edge research presented by NIAC Fellows at NASA’s 2021 virtual gathering.
10.13.2021 Leaders of the Lucy asteroid mission Principal investigator Hal Levison and colleagues prepare us for the launch of NASA’s Lucy spacecraft in an exclusive interview.
10.06.2021 Why didn’t Dawn land on dwarf planet Ceres? The ion engine-powered Dawn spacecraft will orbit Ceres for many years. Could it have touched down on the surface of the dwarf planet?
10.01.2021 Space Policy Edition: NASA's Congressional Logjam Brandon Curry, The Planetary Society’s chief of Washington operations, helps us untangle the fast-changing and complex machinations underway in the US capitol. What does it mean for NASA?
09.29.2021 Mars Beckons: The 2021 Humans to Mars Summit Highlights of the annual gathering of leaders and experts who are building toward humans walking on the Red Planet.
09.22.2021 The Wonderful: a new documentary about the International Space Station Director Clare Lewins and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman discuss the new documentary “The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station.”
09.15.2021 The Case for a Return to Enceladus Flying a spacecraft through geysers spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus might reveal the building blocks of life or even life itself.
09.08.2021 An ESCAPADE to Mars, on the cheap Can NASA send robotic explorers to Mars for a tiny fraction of what most missions cost?
09.03.2021 Space Policy Edition: The cultural rituals of space advocacy, with Linda Billings Space outreach expert and social scientist Linda Billings talks with host Casey Dreier about the language space advocates use to share their message.
09.01.2021 Liquid Water Under the Martian Polar Ice? Maybe Not New research indicates that what appeared to be liquid water hiding under Mars’ polar ice may actually be a form of clay.
08.25.2021 Europa Clipper Sails Toward Launch Mission system manager Al Cangahuala says the robotic explorer of Jupiter’s ocean moon is making steady progress toward a 2024 launch.
08.18.2021 Cassini, Voyager and beyond with Linda Spilker Cassini mission project scientist returns with new science from ocean moon Enceladus and anniversaries to celebrate with the Voyager mission.
08.11.2021 How Perseverance drives itself around Mars The Perseverance rover’s chief robotics engineer takes us for a spin across Mars.
08.06.2021 Space Policy Edition: Mars via the Nuclear Option NASA’s Bhavya Lal returns to explain the challenges and big advantages of nuclear propulsion in space.
08.04.2021 Alan Stern Says It’s Time for Suborbital Science Planetary scientist and New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern says great science will ride on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin’s New Shepard.
07.28.2021 Andy Chaikin on Apollo 15 and the lessons of Apollo Space historian and author of A Man on the Moon Andy Chaikin returns as we celebrate Apollo 15’s 50th anniversary.
07.21.2021 Amy Mainzer and a New Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope NASA has approved development of the NEO Surveyor space telescope. Project lead Amy Mainzer will share her hopes for this vital planetary defense tool.
07.14.2021 We’re Going Back to Venus Leaders of the DAVINCI and VERITAS missions tell us what their spacecraft will reveal about the planet that is so much like Earth and yet so terribly different.
07.07.2021 Visiting the James Webb Space Telescope Host Mat Kaplan visits the James Webb Space Telescope in California to see the observatory before it launches and speak with project leaders.
07.02.2021 Space Policy Edition: The Pentagon's UFO Report, Featuring Sarah Scoles The Pentagon has released its assessment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Casey Dreier and science journalist Sarah Scoles talk about what’s behind the renewed interest in UFOs and Sarah’s book, They are Already Here.
06.30.2021 Finding Life by Looking for Complexity University of Glasgow chemist Lee Cronin believes he and his collaborators have found a way to recognize life as we know it and as we don’t know it.
06.23.2021 The Pearly Clouds of Mars Atmospheric scientist Mark Lemmon discusses the beautiful clouds on Mars imaged by NASA's Curiosity rover.
06.16.2021 Amateur Astronomers Saving the World Planetary Society grants have enabled amateur astronomers to discover and track asteroids that cross Earth’s path. We’ll meet two of them.
06.09.2021 Experimental Cosmologist Brian Keating A fascinating conversation with Brian Keating, director of the Simons Observatory that will search for our cosmic origins from a mountaintop in Chile’s Atacama region.
06.04.2021 Space Policy Edition: NASA's 2022 Budget Request Says "Yes" The White House’s proposed 2022 NASA budget is almost entirely great news, as is the announcement that two complementary orbiters will explore Venus.
06.02.2021 Mighty Jupiter Revealed The Juno mission will continue its exploration of Jupiter till 2025, thanks to a four-year extension granted by NASA. Principal investigator Scott Bolton brings us up to date.
05.26.2021 The New Great Space Observatories The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine will soon issue the Astro2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. It will rank four major proposals for exciting, expensive new space-based telescopes. Astrophysicist Grant Tremblay joins us to explain why all four ...
05.19.2021 Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager MiMi Aung The tiny Mars Helicopter Ingenuity has flown into our hearts. Project manager MiMi Aung and her team may have made it look easy, but Aung explains why it was anything but. Bruce Betts has tips for viewing the upcoming total ...
05.12.2021 Defenders of Earth on Planetary Radio The 2021 Planetary Defense Conference brought together the leading scientists, policymakers and other experts who are working to protect our planet from near-Earth objects (NEOs). The Planetary Society welcomed six of these heroes to a special virtual gathering in late ...
05.07.2021 Space Policy Edition: How Starship at the Moon Brings NASA Closer to Mars In a surprise move, NASA chose SpaceX's Starship as the sole winner of its 3 billion-dollar human lunar lander development contract. Within days, Blue Origin and Dynetics filed official protests, forcing NASA to delay the award. Casey and Mat discuss ...
05.05.2021 Author Andy Weir and Project Hail Mary It is always such fun to welcome back Andy Weir. The author of The Martian and Artemis has just published his most entertaining and inventive novel yet. Project Hail Mary gives an unlikely protagonist the job of saving humanity. Andy ...
04.28.2021 A Conversation with Kyoto Prize Recipient James Gunn There is no Nobel prize for astronomy, so the Kyoto Prize for Astronomy and Astrophysics may be the highest international recognition an astronomer can receive. Princeton University professor of astronomy Jim Gunn is the most recent recipient. Jim recently joined ...
04.21.2021 Is ‘Oumuamua a Piece of a Pluto-Like Planet? And Ingenuity’s First Flight on Mars We begin with a thrilling recap of the successful first flight of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. Then we meet two researchers who have come up with a fascinating explanation for the first interstellar object discovered as it passed through ...

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