Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science
1,200 episodes - English - Latest episode: 21 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.2K ratingsPlanetary 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 Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. 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 an episode guide and much more.
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Episodes
AI, Space, and Humanity’s Future—A Conversation with David Brin
April 04, 2018 15:00 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBThe multi-award winning science fiction author, futurist and speaker returns to Planetary Radio for a wide-ranging conversation about robots and humans in space, empathetic artificial intelligences, how we can survive the Singularity and much more. Emily Lakdawalla recaps an astrobiology session at the just-completed Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. There’s a great new book from National Geographic Kids waiting for the winner of the new What’s Up space trivia contest. Learn more abo...
A Space Station Crashes to Earth
March 28, 2018 15:00 - 50 minutes - 45.8 MBBy the time you hear this week’s episode, China’s Tiangong-1 may have spectacularly re-entered our planet’s atmosphere, raining metal on an unpredictable location. The Aerospace Corporation’s Bill Ailor, an expert on space debris, tells us there’s little to worry about, but bigger challenges are ahead in low Earth orbit. Bruce Betts also has his mind on the small space station. Emily Lakdawalla is back from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference with much news to share. NASA finally has...
Stephen Hawking: Spaceflight Pioneer!
March 21, 2018 15:00 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBHe is known for his breakthrough physics and popularizing of science, but Dr. Hawking also wanted to fly in space. Erik Viirre led the medical team that helped Stephen experience weightlessness. He says the adventure helped open the possibility of spaceflight for many more people. Planetary Society co-founder Louis Friedman and Society CEO Bill Nye share their memories of the great physicist. Bruce Betts doesn’t let a bad cold get in the way of the What’s Up segment. Learn more about this...
Amateur Astronomers Work To Save Earth From Asteroids!
March 14, 2018 15:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBSeven astronomers have been selected to receive Shoemaker NEO (Near Earth Object) grants from the Planetary Society. They and their observatories span the planet. We’ll meet an American and an Australian. Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts provides an overview of the grant program and later returns for this week’s edition of What’s Up. The Planetary Society’s Kate Howells reports on the outlook for space funding in Canada’s newly-released federal budget. She and Society CEO Bill Nye also...
Visiting the Birthplace of PlanetVac
March 07, 2018 16:00 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MBSpace is hard. Sample collection and return is harder still. That’s why the radically-simplified PlanetVac system from Honeybee Robotics is so intriguing. Join Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts and host Mat Kaplan on a tour of Honeybee that includes a PlanetVac demo. Bruce returns for this week’s What’s Up jaunt around the night sky. Planetary Society Digital Editor Jason Davis share big news about the LightSail 2 solar sail and the next SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch. Learn more ...
Space Policy Edition #23 - Blitzing Congress: Planetary Society volunteers visit Capitol Hill
March 02, 2018 18:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBSociety members from 21 states descended on the U.S. capitol for a "blitz" of 178 meetings in two days. Casey and special guest Matt Renninger explain why that is such an important activity, and blitzers Leah and Stefanie Griffith share their story of coming to Washington to speak for space. More resources to explore this month’s topics are at http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/space-policy-edition-23-blitzing-congress.htmlLearn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Experience A Message From Earth - Inspired by the Voyager Golden Record
February 28, 2018 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45 MBIt has been 40 years since Carl Sagan and others shared the best of humanity with the stars. A new online multimedia project has been created as a 21st century homage to the Golden Record.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Eyes of a New Mars Rover: Mastcam-Z
February 21, 2018 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBMat Kaplan attended a meeting of the science team for the zoom lens camera that will be atop the Mars 2020 rover mast. Planetary Scientist Jim Bell tells us how this new system will show us the Red Planet as we’ve never seen it before.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition Special: The 2019 President’s Budget Request Unveiled
February 16, 2018 06:00 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBAs promised, Casey Dreier and Jason Callahan are back with a special review of the just-released FY 2019 President’s Budget Request (PBR) for NASA. It contains good news, bad news and odd news. What is likely to stand? What will Congress ignore, going its own way? NASA’s new lunar ambitions, Mars Sample Return, WFIRST and more hang in the balance. Let the debate begin.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnys...
A New Congressional Caucus Backs Planetary Science
February 14, 2018 06:00 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBRepublican Randy Hultgren and Democrat Derek Kilmer celebrate formation of the new bipartisan, bicameral caucus of US representatives and senators. They have united behind exploration of our and other solar systems. Bill Nye shares his eye and ear witness account of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch and landing. The new What’s Up space trivia contest takes its inspiration from the Tesla Roadster now on its way to Mars.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio....
Space, SETI, the Singularity and Shostak
February 07, 2018 06:00 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MBWhere is everybody? That was the question physicist Enrico Fermi asked when he wondered why we hadn’t yet met ET. What will happen if we do? Will humans lose the will to explore?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #21: Bill Nye and the State of the Union
February 02, 2018 06:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBPlanetary Society CEO Bill Nye attended the State of the Union address on January 30th, he also spent the day meeting with sixteen different members of Congress to promote science on Capitol Hill. In this special abbreviated show, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan welcome their colleague Matt Renninger, who joined Bill on Capitol Hill, to discuss the goals of The Planetary Society and the reasons why it was important for Bill to attend.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ...
Going to Sea to Sail Through Space: Orion Ocean Recovery Testing
January 31, 2018 06:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBJoin Mat Kaplan on a visit to Naval Base San Diego and the USS Anchorage, the amphibious ship that has just completed a round of Orion spacecraft recovery testing and practice.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Living in Space!
January 24, 2018 06:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBMat Kaplan talks with participants in the National Space Society’s recent Space Settlement Summit about human destiny in space.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It’s a Hard Rain on Titan
January 17, 2018 06:00 - 43 minutes - 40 MBA computer model based on our best data about Saturn’s cloud-shrouded moon says that torrential liquid methane pounds the surface far more frequently than previously expected. Sean Faulk and Jonathan Mitchell of UCLA explain.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mysterious Tabby’s Star, With Tabby Herself
January 10, 2018 06:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MBIt may not host an alien “megastructure” but Tabby’s Star still guards many mysteries of science. Astronomer and astrophysicist Tabetha “Tabby” Boyajian leads the worldwide team that is revealing this strange light in the sky.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #20: Looking back on the year in space policy. Also, your questions!
January 05, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBIt’s the space policy guys’ turn to look back at a year that saw great achievements in space. Were they matched by events in Washington DC?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Looking Back, Looking Forward with the Planetary Society All-Stars
January 03, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBMat’s first-ever four-way conversation with Jason Davis, Casey Dreier and Emily Lakdawalla reviews the biggest 2017 events in space exploration and provides their predictions of what to look for in the new year.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Flowing Water on Mars? Not So Much
December 27, 2017 06:00 - 30 minutes - 28.4 MBMars scientists dubbed them recurring slope lineae or RSLs. They sure looked like evidence of liquid water flowing down hillsides and ridges on the Red Planet. New research led by USGS Planetary Geologist Colin Dundas says otherwise.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Exploring the Latest Planetary Science Discoveries With Emily Lakdawalla
December 20, 2017 06:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBA holiday edition of Planetary Radio welcomes the Planetary Society’s Senior Editor back from the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Emily reports on amazing developments in planetary science she discovered at the huge conference.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
President Trump Sets Course for the Moon
December 13, 2017 06:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBOn December 11th President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that firmly points the US space effort toward the Moon, but without providing many details. Planetary Society Director of Space Policy Casey Dreier fills in some of the gaps left by this executive directive.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Visitor From the Stars: ‘Oumuamua
December 06, 2017 06:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBThe first confirmed interstellar visitor to our solar system is a needle-shaped asteroid given the Hawaiian name ‘Oumuamua. Karen Meech leads the team that is learning as much about it as possible before it leaves our neighborhood, never to return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #19: When did the private space age begin? Much earlier than you think.
December 01, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 85.2 MBElon Musk. Jeff Bezos. Richard Branson. These are the names we tend to associate with the current era of private space exploration. But what about John Quincy Adams, James Lick, or Charles Yerkes? Space economist and historian Dr. Alex MacDonald joins us to discuss his book, "The Long Space Age," which chronicles the history of private investment in U.S. space exploration all the way back to the 18th century. Jason and Casey also discuss the consequences of the House GOP tax plan, which could...
Bob Richards of Moon Express
November 29, 2017 06:00 - 58 minutes - 53.5 MBMoon Express Founder and CEO Bob Richards shares an inspiring vision for a return to the Moon. It includes introduction of a sophisticated line of robotic spacecraft, the first of which may make a soft landing next year.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Canada Rises…And So Does the Sun
November 22, 2017 06:00 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBCanada has a new Space Advisory Board, and The Planetary Society’s Kate Howells is a member.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Honorable Adam Schiff: Another Congressional Space Enthusiast
November 15, 2017 06:00 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBCongressman Adam Schiff’s California district includes the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is as enthusiastic a fan of the final frontier as you are likely to find under the capitol dome in Washington D.C.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Andy Weir’s New Novel Puts a City on the Moon
November 08, 2017 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBThe author of #1 bestseller "The Martian" is back with "Artemis," a superbly-researched, rollicking adventure in the first city on the Moon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #18: Jim Bridenstine vs. the Senate and First Meeting of the National Space Council
November 03, 2017 05:00 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBThe likely next Administrator of NASA, Jim Bridenstine, appeared before a somewhat skeptical Senate committee to defend his nomination. Casey and Jason recap the hearing and assess Congressman Bridenstine’s chance of moving forward.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
André Bormanis and Emily Lakdawalla on Life, the Universe and Everything
November 01, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBJoin us for a wide-ranging, salon-style conversation about space exploration, science, art and more. Mat’s guests are astronomer, television producer/writer and former Star Trek science advisor André Bormanis and Planetary Society Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Searching for ET With Pete Worden
October 25, 2017 05:00 - 41 minutes - 37.7 MBAre we alone? The nearly sixty-year effort to answer that question has gotten a big boost from the Breakthrough Initiatives, funded by Yuri Milner and led by former NASA Ames Research Center director Pete Worden, who is our guest this week.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pamela Gay and the Image Detective
October 18, 2017 05:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBAstronomer Pamela Gay tells us how anyone can work with images of Earth taken by astronauts, turning them into terrific scientific resources.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dawn: Ten Years of Exploration
October 11, 2017 05:00 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MBDawn Mission Director and Chief Engineer Marc Rayman helps us salute the ion-engine powered spacecraft that first orbited asteroid Vesta in the main asteroid belt and then moved to dwarf planet Ceres, revealing two fascinating worlds.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #17: The 75th Anniversary of the Rocket Age, with Dr. Michael Neufeld
October 06, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 82.7 MBFifteen years before Sputnik, on a bright 1942 afternoon in northern Germany, a thundering machine of metal and fire pierced the sky, ultimately touching the edge of space for the first time in history. It opened a new era of opportunity and terror with rocket technology. Dr. Michael Neufeld joins us discuss the significance of this test and how it happened.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/l...
Australia Gets Serious About Space
October 04, 2017 05:00 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBThe Australian government announced that it would create a national space agency at the 68th annual International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide. We’ll talk with IAC 2017 CEO Brett Biddington about what this means for his country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Celebrating Cassini…Live!
September 27, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 81.3 MBMore than 1,100 fans of the just-completed 20-year mission to Saturn joined us for a live tribute.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Long Live Cassini!
September 20, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 55 MBJoin us at JPL and Caltech on the bittersweet morning the Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Science Fiction Greats on Humanity’s Destiny in Space
September 13, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBRobert Zubrin of the Mars Society talks with Gregory Benford, David Brin, Geoffrey Landis and Larry Niven about terraforming Mars, the origin of life, the drive to explore and more.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sailing on the Light of the Sun With Lou Friedman
September 06, 2017 05:00 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBThe co-founder and Executive Director Emeritus of The Planetary Society returns for a conversation about the allure of sailing through space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #16: NASA's Flagship Missions: Are They Worth It?
August 31, 2017 18:00 - 1 hour - 78.8 MBThe multi-billion dollar, multi-decade Cassini mission is about to end. A new report tries to answer an important question: are flagship science missions like Cassini worth the effort and expense? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Planetary Radio Live on the Eve of the Eclipse
August 30, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBWith hours to go before the Great American Eclipse, nine outstanding guests joined host Mat Kaplan for Planetary Radio Live in front of 1,100 rowdy eclipse and space science fans.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Cassini Project Scientist Linda Spilker’s Last Appearance Before the Grand Finale
August 23, 2017 05:00 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBIt’s the Grandest Finale. The spectacular Cassini mission’s exploration of Saturn will end on September 15th when the spacecraft plunges into the planet. Cassini Project Scientist Linda Spilker is back with one last mission update.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ed Stone and Forty Years of Voyager in Space
August 16, 2017 05:00 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBIt is most space fans’ favorite planetary science mission, and with good reason. We visit with the man who has been in charge of Voyager mission science for more than four decades.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dark Energy Attracts? Astrophysicists Jason Rhodes and Alina Kiessling
August 09, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBJPL astrophysicists Alina Kiessling and Jason Rhodes were brought together by their fascination over the mystery of dark energy. They talk with Planetary Radio about their research and the many missions they are contributing to, including WFIRST, a unique new space telescope.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #15 – Congressman Rick Larsen, Could Russia Exit the ISS?
August 04, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 76.2 MBNew U.S. sanctions against Russia have reignited speculation that global politics could undermine cooperation in the International Space Station. Could Russia cut off rides for US astronauts to the ISS? Later, Casey Dreier joins Spark Science host Dr. Regina Barber Degraaff for a conversation with U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen, Democratic representative of Washington state’s 2nd District. We also check in on NASA's 2018 budget, which is currently moving through the Senate. Did they provide fun...
An Eye on the Sun (In the Middle of a Lake)
August 02, 2017 05:00 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBThe world’s most powerful solar telescope has just been renamed for the man responsible for its creation. We’ll meet astrophysicist and helioseismologist Phil Goode, and we’ll enjoy a tour of the Goode Solar Telescope.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Planetary Radio Live! Living on Mars
July 26, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 79.4 MBWill humans live, work and thrive on Mars? What challenges must be met before we can become Martians? On July 20th, the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Mat Kaplan welcomed an outstanding panel of experts for conversation in front of a Pasadena, California audience.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Emily Lakdawalla on the Last Orbits of Cassini
July 19, 2017 05:00 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBThe Cassini Mission has less than two months to go before it ends with a spectacular plunge into the beautiful ringed world. Planetary Society Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla has prepared a guide to the last orbits by the historic spacecraft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
20 Years on Mars with Matt Golombek
July 12, 2017 05:00 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBWhen the Pathfinder lander reached Mars 20 years ago it began a Martian renaissance that has never paused. JPL scientist Matt Golombek was the mission’s Project Scientist. He looks back and to the future of our explorations at the Red Planet.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Space Policy Edition #14 – Ice Giants and Ocean Worlds Beckon
July 07, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBA new report builds the case for long overdue returns to Uranus and Neptune, while another proposal calls for exploration of the many bodies in our solar system that hide vast water oceans. Jason Callahan, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan dive into the troubled waters that determine which planetary science missions will get the limited funds available.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for...
A Cosmic Voyage with Astronomer Sandra Faber
July 05, 2017 05:00 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBVeteran astronomer and cosmologist Sandra Faber has just been awarded the Gruber Prize for Cosmology, honoring more than forty years of pioneering work. She talks with Mat Kaplan on this week’s show.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.