Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

The second round awardees in a Planetary Society grant program will explore extreme life in super-salty lakes, and study how future Martians will grow their own food.

Shubham Kanodia, the lead on a paper about a so-called forbidden planet, TOI 5202 b, joins us to talk about this strange world and why it's upending our understanding of planetary formation.

In this week's episode of Planetary Radio, we're honoring the educators who inspire young, curious minds to explore the marvels of the Cosmos.

Darby Dyar, Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA's VERITAS mission to Venus, joins Planetary Radio to share the human story behind the spacecraft and make a case for saving the mission.

Eric Roesch, an environmental policy expert, joins Planetary Radio to discuss SpaceX's Starship, environmental regulations' role in commercial space travel, and responsible space exploration.

Planetary Radio creator Mat Kaplan shares a look behind the scenes at the 2023 Planetary Defense Conference in Vienna, Austria.

Join us as we celebrate the successful launch of the European Space Agency's Juice mission with project scientist Olivier Witasse.

Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, joins Planetary Radio to discuss his new book, “Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

Join us as we delve into the heart of LA's 2023 Yuri's Night party, a celebration commemorating Yuri Gagarin's pioneering 1961 voyage into space.

Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of a truly inspiring space mission - the United Arab Emirates' Hope probe, which has spent two amazing years orbiting Mars!

Robbie Herrick and Scott Hensley, the minds behind a new paper on recent potential volcanic activity on Venus, join Planetary Radio to discuss their discovery and what it means for the future of Venusian exploration.

Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the principal investigator for NASA’s Psyche mission to explore a metallic asteroid, joins Planetary Radio to share the mission’s status and look forward to the wonders that await when the spacecraft reaches its target.

Kim Arcand from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory joins Planetary Radio to share her team’s new album “Universal Harmonies.”

Planetary Radio’s creator Mat Kaplan guest hosts for this look back at the Jet Propulsion Lab’s celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Voyager mission.

Dr. Erika Nesvold, astrophysicist and author of the new book “Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space” explores the ethical challenges facing our species as it dips its toe into living beyond our home planet.

Director of Canadensys West Peter Visscher fills us in on the upcoming Canadian lunar rover. Visscher has been working on the rover for years.

Meenakshi Wadhwa, principal scientist for Mars Sample Return at NASA JPL, updates us on the missions that will bring bits of the red planet back to Earth.

A new volunteer SETI science project to search for alien technosignatures has launched! Two of its creators tell you how to sign up.

Mars expert Tanya Harrison shares the details on some of the newest discoveries about Mars’ history, including potential megatsunamis and the discovery of opals in Gale Crater.

Dr. Matt Daniels of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy joins the show to discuss the White House’s new cislunar space strategy, its ambitions, and implications for the future of lunar exploration and development.

We celebrate the James Webb Space Telescope's first confirmed exoplanet discovery this week on Planetary Radio. Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, one of the leads on the team that made the detection, joins us to discuss the details.

Dive into the latest discoveries about Jupiter’s moons, Ganymede, Europa, and Io, with Scott Bolton, the principal investigator for NASA’s Juno mission.

Jason Achilles, a musician who partnered with NASA’s JPL to help put one of the first microphones on Mars, shares his journey and the joy of listening to the sounds of the red planet.

Jeremy Graeber, the assistant launch director at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, joins Planetary Radio to recount his experience on the night of Artemis I’s historic launch.

Jet Propulsion Lab director Laurie Leshin joins the Planetary Society's Casey Dreier for a conversation about challenges faced by the famous lab and the entire aerospace industry.

New host Sarah Al-Ahmed bids a fond farewell to Mat Kaplan, Planetary Radio’s former host, in a special interview as Mat shares stories from his two decades as creator and producer of the show.

For his last episode as host, Mat Kaplan welcomes many of his Planetary Society colleagues for a review of a spectacular year of space exploration.

Host Mat Kaplan greets the Orion capsule that has just returned from the Moon, and then presents some of the best of Planetary Radio’s 20 years.

Outgoing Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan realizes a dream by getting Rob Manning and Andy Weir together for one of the most entertaining conversations in our show’s two decades.

Astrophysicist, former astronaut and NASA associate administrator John Grunsfeld on human exploration of space and the science we will do there.

What is NASA’s return on investment? NASA chief economist Alex MacDonald and University of Illinois Chicago professor Joshua Drucker provide revealing answers from a new economic impact report.

Join the Planetary Society’s CEO, its co-founder Louis Friedman and others as we mark Planetary Radio’s entry into its third decade.

Join us for a tour of the University of Arizona’s Mirror Lab where they use a giant, spinning oven filled with molten glass to create the primary mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Cassini Mission Project Scientist Linda Spilker has now taken on the same job for the Voyager Interstellar Mission.

Bethany Johns of the American Astronomical Society talks with Planetary Society Chief Advocate Casey Dreier about how changes in Washington after the midterm elections may affect support for science.

Celebrate Carl Sagan’s birthday with his longtime collaborator and life partner Ann Druyan.

A special Space Policy Edition featuring a recent policy and advocacy webcast that gave Planetary Society members the opportunity to query Chief Advocate Casey Dreier and Society CEO Bill Nye.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test was a brilliant success. The leaders of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office tell us what’s next in the quest to protect Earth.

20 years after its creation, Mat Kaplan is ready to introduce the great new host of Planetary Radio. We also join an assembly of astrophysicists as they toast each other and the cosmos.

Meet leaders of two of the most successful Earth-based searches for asteroids, including many that could threaten Earth.

Join us at the 2022 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium for a taste of projects that just might change the world.

How will nations react if (when?) humanity detects the presence of an alien intelligence or civilization? That’s the topic Planetary Society Chief Advocate Casey Dreier takes up with his guest, astrophysicist Jason Wright.

Director of SOFIA Science Mission Operations Margaret Meixner joins us to lament the end of the giant flying observatory and to celebrate its tremendous successes.

Listen as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft closes in on asteroid Dimorphos, followed by a triumphant conversation with DART Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot, and a visit with space image processor Judy Schmidt.

The DART spacecraft’s impact on asteroid moonlet Dimorphos is days away, so we’ll check in with Mission Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot as well as Simone Pirrotta, program manager for the LICIACube probe that will be watching the smackdown.

Leaders of several major, international space agencies talked with host Mat Kaplan during the first attempt to launch the Artemis 1 Moon mission.

Join Mat Kaplan and Planetary Society colleagues in Florida for the first attempt to launch the Space Launch System rocket on a mission to the Moon.

Former NASA Associate Administrator Mike Gold shepherded the Artemis Accords, a set of bilateral agreements for collaboration in human space exploration. Casey Dreier spoke with him in Florida as we awaited the launch of Artemis 1.

It’s a party for Voyager and the team of scientists, engineers and others who have followed it across our solar system. Then we’ll visit with Ann Druyan, creative director for the Voyager Golden Record.

Getting precious Mars rocks into Earthbound labs is an unprecedented challenge. We’ll hear how a lander, a rocket, a big solar-powered transfer vehicle and two helicopters will take on this challenge.

Delightful astronomer Jane Greaves is back with the latest evidence for phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus.

Scientists have found a menagerie of complex organic compounds on the comet visited by the Rosetta spacecraft that connect it with the birth of our solar system.

Former NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver returns for a deep conversation with Casey Dreier about her fight to turn the agency toward commercial partnerships and away from the expensive Constellation program.

Scientists need your help identifying clouds high above the surface of the red planet. The goal is figuring out where Mars’ water went.

Laurie Leshin has just become the tenth director of JPL and the first woman to run the fabled center for space science and robotic exploration.

The former director of NASA’s Planetary Science division, Jim Green, retired as the agency’s chief scientist in January. This episode opens with a special announcement from host Mat Kaplan.

NASA and its partners have revealed the first stunning images from the new space telescope. We’ll talk about them with Bill Nye and members of the JWST team.

Lori Garver went up against powerful forces inside and outside NASA to create the hugely successful commercial cargo and crew programs.

Space exploration historian Michael Neufeld traces the fascinating history of one of NASA’s most successful programs of planetary exploration.

A co-founder of the annual, worldwide event, and the leader of the European Space Agency’s planetary defense program mark the 114th anniversary of the Tunguska near-Earth asteroid disaster and the progress we’ve made toward avoiding another impact.

Celebrate the third anniversary of LightSail 2’s launch with Bill Nye and other leaders of The Planetary Society.

Psyche asteroid mission principal investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton returns with her excellent new memoir, “A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman.”

Mat Kaplan helped host the Humans to Mars Summit in Washington D.C., where much of the community that is working to get us to Mars gathered.

Professor Bethany Ehlmann served on the steering committee for the new planetary science and astrobiology decadal survey that will steer future exploration of the solar system.

Join us for Planetary Radio Live at Imperial College London!

We were there when the spacecraft ended 13 years of exploration and revelation at Saturn.

Britney Schmidt is preparing us for the day when a submarine will slip into the seas of an ocean world like Europa to search for life.

The Mars 2020 rover has rolled into an ancient river delta on the Red Planet. Will we find evidence of past life there?

International space policy and sustainability expert Mariel Borowitz explores with Casey Dreier how the war in Ukraine reaches beyond Earth in ways that are chilling and surprising.

Suit up for a clean room encounter with the Psyche spacecraft that will soon launch toward the asteroid belt.

Britain’s Astronomer Royal Martin Rees and science writer Don Goldsmith question the value of putting astronauts in harm’s way at great expense in their new book.

Thousands celebrated the 61st anniversary of the first human voyage into space. We’ll take you to the Los Angeles party under the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Fred Haise takes us on board the mission that almost didn’t make it home from the Moon and shares many other stories.

A healthy $26 billion has been proposed for NASA next year, but there are at least a couple of troubling factors we’ll discuss as Congress begins its review.

Leaders of the Neptune Odyssey study for the next planetary science and astrobiology decadal survey share their team’s exciting approach for an ice giant-orbiting spacecraft.

X-ray astronomy is vital to solving some of the universe’s biggest mysteries. Martin Weisskopf’s brand new space telescope has joined the effort.

A fascinating conversation with a space science and policy leader who is still hard at work in her 10th decade.

A special Planetary Radio presentation of the Voyager Golden Record produced by our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz.

The Planetary Society’s new Science and Technology Empowered by the Public (STEP) grant program will let citizens join the search for ET and enable astronomers to discover the nature of hundreds of near-Earth asteroids.

Water may have flowed on Mars for a billion more years than was previously thought, giving possible life an extra billion years to thrive.

Casey talks with experts about the 50th anniversary of the Pioneer 10 launch toward Jupiter and beyond, and why most outer planets missions since then have been so costly.

MIT’s Michelle Kunimoto heads the TESS Faint Star Search that has revealed over 1,600 of the more than 5,000 TESS-discovered exoplanet candidates in our galaxy.

Astrobiologist and author David Grinspoon shares his thoughts about the search for life, where we might find it and how planetary science works.

Meet three of the just-announced recipients of Planetary Society Gene Shoemaker NEO grants. They search the skies for asteroids and comets that could threaten our planet.

Johanna Vos watches the weather on brown dwarf worlds while her colleague, Sam Grunblatt, finds giant planets spiraling toward their doom.

Science historian Robert Smith describes how NASA's new flagship space observatory came to be.

JWST senior project scientist John Mather has been looking forward to the new space telescope’s first light for more than 30 years. He joins us with an exciting preview.

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.

The Curiosity rover’s lead researcher reviews the latest findings and images from Mars’ Gale Crater.

A spacecraft has penetrated the Sun’s corona for the first time, revealing unprecedented data and capturing a mind-blowing video.

Planetary Society chief of D.C. operations Brendan Curry returns for a look ahead at what to expect in 2022.

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.

Seven Planetary Society experts and enthusiasts celebrate 2021’s many space science and exploration milestones.

“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.

Three astronomers share what they hope the James Webb Space Telescope will reveal about our universe after its launch this month.

Director Adam McKay and planetary defense expert Amy Mainzer join us for a conversation about the film and the science behind it.

Veteran astronomer Heidi Hammel discusses how the new astrophysics decadal survey lays the groundwork for decades of exciting science.

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.