Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science
Episodes
SpaceX Builds a Big Falcon Rocket
26 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A mostly SpaceX episode as the ambitious company provides updated details regarding its huge new rocket and introduces its first astronauts. Mat Kapla...
Return to Fiery Mercury With BepiColombo
19 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Elsa Montagnon is Spacecraft Operations Manager for the European/Japanese mission leaving for our solar system’s innermost planet very soon. She joi...
Opportunity, Phone Home!
12 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The dust is settling on the Red Planet. Is the remaining Mars Exploration Rover about to rise and shine after three months of slumber? MER Project...
Space Policy Edition: Did NASA Ace its Midterms? With Special Guest Louise Prockter
07 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with planetary scientist and Lunar and Planetary Institute Director Louise Prockter, who co-led creation of a new report evaluating the perfor...
Big Science, Big Rocket at the Marshall Space Flight Center
05 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mat Kaplan’s Huntsville, Alabama trip wraps up with a tour of the historic and history-making Marshall Space Flight Center. Join him at the control ...
Space, Rockets, and a Senatorial Encounter in Huntsville, Alabama
29 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Host Mat Kaplan begins a two-episode visit to Huntsville and the Marshall Space Flight Center, recorded this week at the US Space and Rocket Center wi...
Pluto Occults! Join Us on the Mountain
22 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Pluto passed in front of a star on the evening of August 14. Mat Kaplan joined pro and amateur astronomers on a mountain to observe this rare event. I...
Giving Mysterious Venus the Love (and Science) She Deserves
15 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We have so much to learn about Venus, says JPL scientist Sue Smrekar. What we learn will help us understand our own world and Mars. Sue joins us t...
Dark Energy’s Co-Discoverer and the Leader of Chinese Space Science
08 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It has been 20 years since we learned the expansion of the universe is accelerating due to the mysterious force called dark energy. Saul Perlmutter sh...
Space Policy Edition: Destination…Mars? Contradictions and Principles
03 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Senate just held a hearing on NASA's efforts to send humans to...Mars? A week later, the same committee advanced legislation to extend the life of...
Diving Into That Lake on Mars
01 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Our world was rocked by last week’s announcement of good radar evidence for a liquid water “lake” under the Red Planet’s south pole. Senior...
Hayabusa2 Reaches a Dark Diamond in Space
25 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Japan’s Hayabusa2 is just 6 kilometers from asteroid Ryugu as it prepares to snatch samples of the space rock for return to Earth. ISAS/JAXA Direc...
An African Observatory Hunts Killer Asteroids
18 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
One of the Planetary Society’s 2018 Shoemaker Near-Earth Object grants has gone to astronomers searching the sky from a mountaintop in the North Afr...
Something Old and Something New: Exciting Research on the International Space Station
11 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sextants have helped sailors find their way across oceans for centuries. Now one is onboard the International Space Station so that astronauts can lea...
Space Policy Edition: Space Force! With Special Guest Brian Weeden
06 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The President recently ordered the creation of Space Force—but what does that mean? What are the implications for militarization of space? National ...
Dwarf Planet Ceres Thrills as a Dying Visitor Closes In
04 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ceres is the queen of the asteroid belt. Her first Earthly visitor is nearing its last days in spectacular style. Dawn Mission Director and Chief ...
It’s Asteroid Week with NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer
27 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The dinosaurs regret their lack of a space program. 200 million years later, humans are gearing up to defend themselves from a species-ending rock. ...
Kathryn Sullivan, Space Dentistry and More at the International Space Development Conference
20 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Freeman Dyson wasn’t the only space star at the ISDC. Mat talks with former astronaut and NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, leaders of the Cass...
A Conversation with Freeman Dyson
13 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There’s so much more to Freeman Dyson than the Dyson Sphere. The mathematician, physicist, futurist and author is one of the greatest and most ori...
It’s Rocket Science: Testing PlanetVac in the Mojave Desert
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Join Mat Kaplan in California’s Mojave Desert for special coverage of not one but two rocket flights and a real world test of PlanetVac, the innovat...
Space Policy Edition: Space Policy Directive 2—This Time it's Commercial
01 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump just signed a new space policy directive targeting the regulations surrounding commercial spaceflight. Casey Dreier, Jason Davis and M...
A Sacred Place: The National Air and Space Museum with Ellen Stofan
30 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Planetary geologist Ellen Stofan has just become Director of the most popular museum in the United States. The NASM protects and shares the greatest...
Chasing New Horizons to Pluto with Alan Stern and David Grinspoon
23 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The New Horizons mission was a triumph, revealing Pluto as an utterly unique and beautiful world. But the mission first had to survive challenge after...
Why Mars? We’ve Got the Answers
16 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The great adventure awaits! Mat Kaplan hosts an entertaining panel discussion at the 2018 Humans to Mars Summit in Washington DC. Eight guests provi...
Amy Mainzer: Asteroid Hunter
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After taking over 10 million images of more than 30,000 solar system objects, the NEOWISE mission is finally in its last months. Principal Investiga...
Space Policy Edition: A Commercial Future for the Space Station?
04 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After announcing it intends to divest from the International Space Station in 2025, NASA quietly released a new report on its transition plans, laying...
All Shook Up: The InSight Mission to Mars
02 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
No mission to Mars has done what InSight will do. The lander’s spectacularly sensitive instruments will use the Red Planet’s heat and marsquakes...
Planetary Radio Live! – Celebrating Curiosity on Mars
25 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for an utterly fascinating live conversation with Emily Lakdawalla about her brand new book, The Design and Engineering of Curiosity: How the ...
Yuri’s Night 2018!
18 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Host Mat Kaplan once again attends the worldwide party for space. Join him at the Los Angeles celebration under Space Shuttle Endeavour. You’ll ...
Visiting the Earth-Like Worlds of TRAPPIST-1
11 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We have begun to understand the composition of worlds that are hundreds of trillions of kilometers from Earth. Astronomer Nikole Lewis is co-leader of...
Space Policy Edition: Lori Garver on what a NASA Administrator (and Deputy) actually does
06 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA, talks with Casey about what the Deputy and Administrator jobs are like day-to-day, how decisions act...
AI, Space, and Humanity’s Future—A Conversation with David Brin
04 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The multi-award winning science fiction author, futurist and speaker returns to Planetary Radio for a wide-ranging conversation about robots and human...
A Space Station Crashes to Earth
28 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
By 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 unpr...
Stephen Hawking: Spaceflight Pioneer!
21 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
He 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 th...
Amateur Astronomers Work To Save Earth From Asteroids!
14 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Seven astronomers have been selected to receive Shoemaker NEO (Near Earth Object) grants from the Planetary Society. They and their observatories sp...
Visiting the Birthplace of PlanetVac
07 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Space is hard. Sample collection and return is harder still. That’s why the radically-simplified PlanetVac system from Honeybee Robotics is so i...
Space Policy Edition #23 - Blitzing Congress: Planetary Society volunteers visit Capitol Hill
02 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Society 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...
Experience A Message From Earth - Inspired by the Voyager Golden Record
28 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It 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 21s...
The Eyes of a New Mars Rover: Mastcam-Z
21 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mat 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 te...
Space Policy Edition Special: The 2019 President’s Budget Request Unveiled
16 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
As 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. ...
A New Congressional Caucus Backs Planetary Science
14 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Republican Randy Hultgren and Democrat Derek Kilmer celebrate formation of the new bipartisan, bicameral caucus of US representatives and senators. Th...
Space, SETI, the Singularity and Shostak
07 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Where 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 hu...
Space Policy Edition #21: Bill Nye and the State of the Union
02 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye attended the State of the Union address on January 30th, he also spent the day meeting with sixteen different members o...
Going to Sea to Sail Through Space: Orion Ocean Recovery Testing
31 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Join 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 reco...
Living in Space!
24 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mat Kaplan talks with participants in the National Space Society’s recent Space Settlement Summit about human destiny in space.Learn more about your...
It’s a Hard Rain on Titan
17 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A computer model based on our best data about Saturn’s cloud-shrouded moon says that torrential liquid methane pounds the surface far more frequentl...
Mysterious Tabby’s Star, With Tabby Herself
10 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It may not host an alien “megastructure” but Tabby’s Star still guards many mysteries of science. Astronomer and astrophysicist Tabetha “Tabby...
Space Policy Edition #20: Looking back on the year in space policy. Also, your questions!
05 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’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 m...
Looking Back, Looking Forward with the Planetary Society All-Stars
03 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mat’s first-ever four-way conversation with Jason Davis, Casey Dreier and Emily Lakdawalla reviews the biggest 2017 events in space exploration and ...
Flowing Water on Mars? Not So Much
27 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mars scientists dubbed them recurring slope lineae or RSLs. They sure looked like evidence of liquid water flowing down hillsides and ridges on the Re...
Exploring the Latest Planetary Science Discoveries With Emily Lakdawalla
20 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A holiday edition of Planetary Radio welcomes the Planetary Society’s Senior Editor back from the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. ...
President Trump Sets Course for the Moon
13 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On December 11th President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that firmly points the US space effort toward the Moon, but without providing many details...
A Visitor From the Stars: ‘Oumuamua
06 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The first confirmed interstellar visitor to our solar system is a needle-shaped asteroid given the Hawaiian name ‘Oumuamua. Karen Meech leads the te...
Space Policy Edition #19: When did the private space age begin? Much earlier than you think.
01 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos. Richard Branson. These are the names we tend to associate with the current era of private space exploration. But what about Joh...
Bob Richards of Moon Express
29 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Moon Express Founder and CEO Bob Richards shares an inspiring vision for a return to the Moon. It includes introduction of a sophisticated line of rob...
Canada Rises…And So Does the Sun
22 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Canada 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/adc...
The Honorable Adam Schiff: Another Congressional Space Enthusiast
15 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Congressman Adam Schiff’s California district includes the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is as enthusiastic a fan of the final frontier as you are l...
Andy Weir’s New Novel Puts a City on the Moon
08 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The author of #1 bestseller "The Martian" is back with "Artemis," a superbly-researched, rollicking adventure in the first city on the Moon. Learn mor...
Space Policy Edition #18: Jim Bridenstine vs. the Senate and First Meeting of the National Space Council
03 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The likely next Administrator of NASA, Jim Bridenstine, appeared before a somewhat skeptical Senate committee to defend his nomination. Casey and Jaso...
André Bormanis and Emily Lakdawalla on Life, the Universe and Everything
01 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for a wide-ranging, salon-style conversation about space exploration, science, art and more. Mat’s guests are astronomer, television produce...
Searching for ET With Pete Worden
25 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Are 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...
Pamela Gay and the Image Detective
18 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Astronomer Pamela Gay tells us how anyone can work with images of Earth taken by astronauts, turning them into terrific scientific resources.Learn mor...
Dawn: Ten Years of Exploration
11 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dawn Mission Director and Chief Engineer Marc Rayman helps us salute the ion-engine powered spacecraft that first orbited asteroid Vesta in the main a...
Space Policy Edition #17: The 75th Anniversary of the Rocket Age, with Dr. Michael Neufeld
06 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fifteen years before Sputnik, on a bright 1942 afternoon in northern Germany, a thundering machine of metal and fire pierced the sky, ultimately touch...
Australia Gets Serious About Space
04 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Australian government announced that it would create a national space agency at the 68th annual International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide. ...
Celebrating Cassini…Live!
27 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
More 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...
Long Live Cassini!
20 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Join us at JPL and Caltech on the bittersweet morning the Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...
Science Fiction Greats on Humanity’s Destiny in Space
13 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Zubrin of the Mars Society talks with Gregory Benford, David Brin, Geoffrey Landis and Larry Niven about terraforming Mars, the origin of life,...
Sailing on the Light of the Sun With Lou Friedman
06 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The co-founder and Executive Director Emeritus of The Planetary Society returns for a conversation about the allure of sailing through space. Learn mo...
Space Policy Edition #16: NASA's Flagship Missions: Are They Worth It?
31 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The multi-billion dollar, multi-decade Cassini mission is about to end. A new report tries to answer an important question: are flagship science missi...
Planetary Radio Live on the Eve of the Eclipse
30 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With 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 ec...
Cassini Project Scientist Linda Spilker’s Last Appearance Before the Grand Finale
23 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the Grandest Finale. The spectacular Cassini mission’s exploration of Saturn will end on September 15th when the spacecraft plunges into the ...
Ed Stone and Forty Years of Voyager in Space
16 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It 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 sci...
Dark Energy Attracts? Astrophysicists Jason Rhodes and Alina Kiessling
09 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
JPL astrophysicists Alina Kiessling and Jason Rhodes were brought together by their fascination over the mystery of dark energy. They talk with Planet...
Space Policy Edition #15 – Congressman Rick Larsen, Could Russia Exit the ISS?
04 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
New U.S. sanctions against Russia have reignited speculation that global politics could undermine cooperation in the International Space Station. Coul...
An Eye on the Sun (In the Middle of a Lake)
02 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The world’s most powerful solar telescope has just been renamed for the man responsible for its creation. We’ll meet astrophysicist and helioseism...
Planetary Radio Live! Living on Mars
26 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Will 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 m...
Emily Lakdawalla on the Last Orbits of Cassini
19 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Cassini Mission has less than two months to go before it ends with a spectacular plunge into the beautiful ringed world. Planetary Society Senior ...
20 Years on Mars with Matt Golombek
12 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When the Pathfinder lander reached Mars 20 years ago it began a Martian renaissance that has never paused. JPL scientist Matt Golombek was the mission...
Space Policy Edition #14 – Ice Giants and Ocean Worlds Beckon
07 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A 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 so...
A Cosmic Voyage with Astronomer Sandra Faber
05 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Veteran astronomer and cosmologist Sandra Faber has just been awarded the Gruber Prize for Cosmology, honoring more than forty years of pioneering wor...
Happy Asteroid Day!
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Asteroid Day, June 30th, marks the anniversary of the great Tunguska impact that leveled a Siberian forest. It reminds us that a Near Earth Object can...
Thomas Edison, Eclipse Chaser!
21 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Former NPR science reporter David Baron discusses the stories of men and women who made their way across the American West to view and document the to...
Julie Webster and the Art of Spacecraft Endurance
14 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How do you keep a dazzlingly complex spacecraft in good health after 20 years in space? That’s the challenge for Julie Webster and her team of engin...
Spectacular Jupiter!
07 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Have you seen its stunning image of Jupiter’s south pole? The Juno orbiter is surpassing expectations and delivering surprising science. Scott Bolto...
Space Policy Edition #13 – The 2018 Budget Proposal and Is Mars Exploration in Retrograde?
02 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump Administration released its proposed FY2018 budget just days ago. Casey Dreier, Jason Callahan and Mat Kaplan dive deep into what this contr...
Buzz Aldrin and Other Martians
31 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
He walked with Neil Armstrong on the moon, but that may not be his greatest legacy. Buzz Aldrin was joined by other space stars at the recent Humans T...
Human Spaceflight: Coming Back to America
24 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Astronauts may soon ride on US rockets and in US spaceships for the first time since the last Space Shuttle flight. Jon Cowart of NASA is working with...
NASA Leaders on Getting Humans to Mars
17 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The human journey to the Red Planet is long and hard, but Mat’s conversation with three NASA Associate Administrators at the Humans to Mars Summit w...
Visiting Worlds Fantastic with Bonnie Buratti
10 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Veteran Jet Propulsion Lab planetary scientist Bonnie Buratti talks with Mat about the wonder of our solar neighborhood that she explores in "Worlds F...
Space Policy Edition #12 – Is Space Policy Stagnant? With Special Guest Marcia Smith
05 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Moon or Mars? Should NASA depend on private companies? What’s the goal of human spaceflight? These questions were debated three decades ago, yet are...
Be There! The Great American Eclipse
03 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Our ongoing coverage of preparation for the Great American Eclipse takes us to Southern Illinois University Carbondale where a huge celebration is pla...
Bill Nye Saves the World…With Space
26 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It was a big week for the Science Guy, and for science. Bill Nye served as honorary co-chair of the March for Science in Washington DC. His new Netfli...
McDonald Observatory and the Quest for Dark Energy
19 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The University of Texas at Austin’s observatory is high in the hills of west Texas. In this special episode, Mat Kaplan joins the tens of thousands ...
Aerospace Corporation President and CEO Steve Isakowitz
12 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Aerospace Corporation has been innovating since 1960. Now it’s headed by a former leader of “New Space” company Virgin Galactic. President a...
Space Policy Edition #11 – Big Science and a Skinny Budget
07 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it’s discovering gravity waves, curing cancer or building a space station, the biggest science challenges increasingly require investments t...
Mars’ Atmosphere…Lost in Space!
05 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mars was once a warm and wet world. Then its dense, protective atmosphere mostly vanished. Learning why was one of the greatest mysteries in planetary...
Nancy Atkinson’s Incredible Stories from Space
29 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The longtime editor of outstanding online space news source Universe Today has just written about nine robotic missions of exploration in "Incredible ...
Ready for Space: LightSail 2 Update
22 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 solar sail spacecraft is ready to be packed away for its ride to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Mat Kapl...
The Great American Eclipse—Be Part of It!
15 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It’s coming! Will you be in the path of totality? Astronomers Without Borders President Mike Simmons says be there if you can.Learn more about your ...