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)

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7 More Minutes of Terror: P...

01.20.2021

JPL engineer Gregory Villar prepares us for the perilous descent and landing of the 2020 Mars rover on February 18th.

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science episodes:

01.20.2021 7 More Minutes of Terror: Perseverance Arrives at Mars JPL engineer Gregory Villar prepares us for the perilous descent and landing of the 2020 Mars rover on February 18th.
01.15.2021 Space Policy Edition: A Mob at the U.S. Capitol Casey Drier and our special guest, former National Space Council chief of staff Jared Zambrano-Stout, consider the troubling events at the U.S. Capitol in this special episode.
01.13.2021 A Symphony for 7 Moons Composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg is joined by Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker and retired astronaut Nicole Stott as she shares excerpts from The Moons Symphony.
01.06.2021 Solar Cruiser: A Giant Sail Prepares for Space NASA has given the green light to Principal Investigator Les Johnson and his team for construction of a solar sail that dwarfs all that have come before.
12.30.2020 Planetary Society All-Stars Review 2020 Space Milestones In spite of everything, 2020 was a good year for space exploration according to five of The Planetary Society’s experts.
12.23.2020 Astronaut Stephanie Wilson Might Walk on the Moon 18 astronauts on the Artemis Team have a shot at walking on the Moon, and Stephanie Wilson is one of them.
12.16.2020 What Do You Need to Make Martian Oxygen? MOXIE! Making oxygen from the Martian atmosphere will be essential if humans are ever to visit and work on the Red Planet, and the MOXIE experiment will soon show us how.
12.09.2020 Welcoming a New Leader, and China on the Final Frontier Bill Nye helps us welcome the Planetary Society’s new president who also leads a new Moon mission, while China’s lunar sample return spacecraft is headed home.
12.04.2020 Space Policy Edition: Operation Moonglow and the Global Impact of Apollo Space historian Teasel Muir-Harmony argues in her fascinating new book that the Apollo lunar program was promoted as a triumph of, not for, all mankind.
12.02.2020 Observatory Director Francisco Córdova on the Devastating Loss of Arecibo Host Mat Kaplan talked with the Arecibo Observatory director just hours before the giant radio telescope came crashing down.
11.25.2020 More Moon Water and an Update from Venus on Our 18th Anniversary! Astronomer Jane Greaves returns with an update on the phosphine gas floating above Venus, before Casey Honnibal takes us through her team’s discovery of water right out under the Sun on Earth’s Moon.
11.18.2020 Revealing Mars From Above, and Crew Dragon is Go! Two pioneering Mars orbiters are still doing great work above the Red Planet, while the first operational Crew Dragon spaceship has delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station.
11.13.2020 Space Policy Edition: NASA's Post-Election Landscape With the United States election over, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan welcome back Planetary Society Chief of D.C. Operations Brendan Curry for a review of what may be in store for the U.S. space program.
11.11.2020 A Rogue World Wanders as PlanetVac Heads for the Moon and Mars A distant, lonely planet has been discovered as it wanders the galaxy, while Bill Nye helps us celebrate selection of a radically-simple sample collection system for trips to the Moon and Mars’ moon Phobos.
11.04.2020 A Return to Asteroid Mining, and Digging Into Space Ethics with Joel Sercel Joel Sercel believes we are entering an era in which asteroid mining and other commercial development of space are imminent, but he’s concerned about how we will avoid the mistakes of past eras of human expansion.
10.28.2020 A Deep Dive into Asteroid Bennu With Dante Lauretta The leader of the OSIRIS REx asteroid sample return mission shares more details of last week’s encounter in an exclusive interview, while we also learn about the proposed mission to look for life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
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.

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:

7 More Minutes of Terror: Perseverance Arrives at Mars

Space Policy Edition: A Mob at the U.S. Capitol

A Symphony for 7 Moons

Solar Cruiser: A Giant Sail Prepares for Space

Planetary Society All-Stars Review 2020 Space Milestones

Astronaut Stephanie Wilson Might Walk on the Moon

What Do You Need to Make Martian Oxygen? MOXIE!

Welcoming a New Leader, and China on the Final Frontier

Space Policy Edition: Operation Moonglow and the Global Impact of Apollo

Observatory Director Francisco Córdova on the Devastating Loss of Arecibo

More Moon Water and an Update from Venus on Our 18th Anniversary!

Revealing Mars From Above, and Crew Dragon is Go!

Space Policy Edition: NASA's Post-Election Landscape

A Rogue World Wanders as PlanetVac Heads for the Moon and Mars

A Return to Asteroid Mining, and Digging Into Space Ethics with Joel Sercel

A Deep Dive into Asteroid Bennu With Dante Lauretta

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

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