Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

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. Stick around for his conversation with Ann Druyan, creative director for the Golden Record carried by the probes. Mat and Bruce Betts reunite for this week’s What’s Up and space trivia contest. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planet...

Humanity is on the cusp of attempting permanent settlement on other worlds. But who gets to go? How will we govern ourselves or enforce laws off Earth? How can you have property rights, labor rights, or even individual rights when the very air you breathe is limited and potentially controlled by your employer? Dr. Erika Nesvold, astrophysicist and author of the new book “Off-Earth: Ethical Questio...

In this week’s episode, Director of Canadensys West Peter Visscher fills us in on the upcoming Canadian lunar rover. Visscher has been working on the rover for years. Bruce Betts also returns to the show for another installment of What's Up. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2023-canadian-lunar-rover-peter-visscher See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Exciting updates to the plans to return samples from Mars to Earth are underway. Meenakshi Wadhwa, principal scientist for Mars Sample Return at NASA JPL, shares what we have learned from our studies of Martian meteorites and fills us in on the upcoming Mars Sample Return missions. Stick around for our review of the night sky and a look back at this week in space history in What’s Up with Bruce Be...

A new volunteer science project to search for alien technosignatures has launched! Jean-Luc Margot and Megan Li from UCLA join us to share the exciting debut of their Planetary Society STEP Grant-funded SETI project on Zooniverse. Our public education specialist Kate Howells reflects on the tenth anniversary of the Chelyabinsk Meteor Event, and don’t miss your chance to win a comfy Planetary Socie...

Mars expert Tanya Harrison shares the details on some of the newest discoveries about Mars’ history, including the discovery of an impact crater thought to be linked to a megatsunami in Mars’ ancient ocean and the discovery of opals, a water-rich gem, in Gale Crater. Stick around for What’s Up as we let you know what to look for this week in the night sky. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.o...

For the first time in history, the White House laid out a national policy for science and technology in the vast expanse of cislunar space. This policy is not just for NASA — it's an all-of-government approach to establish the infrastructure and capabilities to enable a multitude of national and private actors to reach for the Moon and its environs. Dr. Matt Daniels of the White House's Office of...

The James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed the discovery of its first exoplanet. Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, one of the leads on the team that made the detection, joins us to discuss the details. We share info on the Juno mission to Jupiter's next flybys of Io, let you know how to spot the "green comet" visiting our part of the Solar System, and provide insights on the night sky in What's Up. Discover...

Dive into the latest discoveries about Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Europa, and Io with Scott Bolton, the principal investigator for NASA’s Juno mission. We share analysis of the data collected by the spacecraft and look forward to upcoming exploratory missions to Jupiter’s moons from ESA and NASA. Stick around for this week’s What’s Up and our space trivia contest. Discover more: at https://www.plan...

Jason Achilles, a musician who partnered with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help put one of the first microphones on Mars, shares his journey and the joy of listening to the sounds of Mars. We also highlight an upcoming opportunity to view comet 2022 E3 (ZTF). Stick around for more on the night sky and our space trivia contest with What’s Up. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/plane...

Jeremy Graeber, the assistant launch director at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, joins us to recount his experience on the night of Artemis I’s historic launch. We celebrate the success of the mission and share a short segment about The Planetary Society’s new Space Life Goals list. Bruce Betts pops in to share more about this week in space history and what to keep an eye out for in the night sky...

After the delay of the Psyche mission, an independent review board faulted management and workforce problems at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as one of the causes. This month we feature the JPL Director, Dr. Laurie Leshin, to discuss what the lab is doing in response to these critiques, how NASA can compete with the private sector for top talent, and why our society needs to improve the diversi...

New host Sarah Al-Ahmed bids a fond farewell to Mat Kaplan, Planetary Radio’s former host, with a heartwarming compilation of messages from fans, followed by a special interview with Mat about his two decades as creator and producer of the show. Be sure to catch Sarah and Bruce Betts in this week’s What’s Up as they share a special gaming-themed trivia question. Discover more at https://www.planet...

It’s Mat Kaplan’s last episode as host of Planetary Radio. He has gathered several of his colleagues to celebrate an outstanding year across the Solar System and beyond. New host Sarah Al-Ahmed sticks around to join Bruce Betts and Mat for her first What’s Up appearance, including listeners’ suggestions for what Mat should take on next! Discover more at  https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2...

Host Mat Kaplan returned to Naval Base San Diego to greet the return of the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft aboard the USS Portland. Stay with us for a collage of entertaining excerpts of 10 of the very best Planetary Radio episodes produced over the last two decades. Incoming host Sarah Al-Ahmed points to a new article about the JWST’s stunning infrared image of Neptune. Don’t miss Mat serenading Bruc...

A rollicking conversation with two of the most entertaining, most creative Planetary Radio guests across our 20-year history about the role of creativity in space and life. Andy Weir’s “The Martian” and “Project Hail Mary” have been New York Times number one bestsellers. Rob Manning oversees all engineering operations at the Jet Propulsion Lab, and knows as much as any human being about how to lan...

John Grunsfeld didn’t just ride the Space Shuttle into orbit five times. He accumulated two-and-a-half days of spacewalk time as he worked on the Hubble Space Telescope. The former NASA associate administrator returns to Planetary Radio for a very personal conversation with Mat Kaplan. We’ll also attend a screening of the great new documentary, “Goodnight Oppy” about the Mars Exploration Rovers. S...

NASA supports nearly 340,000 jobs spread throughout every state in the union, generates billions of dollars of tax revenue, and invests in critical high-tech, high-skilled workers. But how do we know this? A new report, prepared by a team at the University of Illinois Chicago and sponsored by NASA's Chief Economist, provides the sound economic analysis behind understanding the immense benefit of t...

Join our celebration with Planetary Society chief executive officer Bill Nye, Society co-founder Louis Friedman, and chief operating officer Jennifer Vaughn. Incoming Planetary Radio host Sarah Al-Ahmed calls our attention to several of the Society’s biggest accomplishments in 2022, and Bruce Betts shares not-so-random space facts about our public radio show and podcast. Discover more at  https://...

It has been on host Mat Kaplan’s bucket list for years. Join him for a tour of the cavernous Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab at the University of Arizona, where the mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope or GMT are being spun into reality. Want your own GMT? You might win a model kit when Bruce Betts delivers this week’s What’s Up space trivia quiz. Stumped by what to get that space nerd in your lif...

She has been heard on Planetary Radio more than any other guest. Linda Spilker returns in her new role as the Voyager project scientist, following the legendary Ed Stone’s half-century in that job. Linda provides an update on the interstellar journey. The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 may be only hours from the end of its very successful mission. LightSail Program Manager Bruce Betts makes a spe...

Next year a new class of elected officials will enter Congress and usher in changes to the political focus and leadership of key space and science committees. Dr. Bethany Johns, the deputy director of Public Policy for the American Astronomical Society, joins the show to discuss how her organization is preparing for the change, what issues they intend to focus on, and how the scientific community...

November 9 would have been our co-founder Carl Sagan’s 88th birthday. His professional and life partner, Ann Druyan, returns with a love story — the love between two people that encompassed the Cosmos and had to be shared. Sarah Al-Ahmed will tell us about two missions to Venus. Sarah, too, was inspired by Dr. Sagan. The theme continues with Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts in this we...

While we wait for the result of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, enjoy this special bonus episode of Space Policy Edition featuring The Planetary Society's Chief Advocate and CEO answering dozens of space policy questions submitted by our members. These twice-annual policy briefings are moderated by Mat Kaplan, and are an exclusive benefit for Planetary Society members. Want to submit question...

The success of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test was just one more step toward protecting our world from wayward asteroids and comets. NASA Planetary Defense Officer Lindley Johnson, and Kelly Fast, the agency’s near-Earth object observation program manager, return to our show for a discussion of where we go from here. Sarah Al-Ahmed will tell us about an article that locates the water on and u...