Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Latest Episodes:

Emily Calandrelli becomes the hundredth woman in space Jan 08, 2025

Show notes

This week, we celebrate a remarkable milestone as Emily Calandrelli, also known as “the Space Gal,” becomes the 100th woman to venture into space. Emily shares her experiences on the Blue Origin voyage, what she took to space, and how motherhood influenced her reaction to seeing Earth from space. Then Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins for What's Up and a list of fun things to do in zero-g.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-100th-woman-in-space

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Space Policy Edition: The Challenges of Change at NASA Jan 03, 2025

Show notes

How does change happen within NASA, and what prevents it? Marcia Smith, founder of Space Policy Online, joins the show to discuss the opportunities and pitfalls faced by incoming presidential administrations and how NASA has—and hasn’t—changed over the decades. Will Artemis be reimagined? Will public-private partnerships introduce more risk than reward? And is change even the right default attitude to take?

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/change-and-continuity-at-nasa-with-marcia-smith

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Planetary Society’s 45th anniversary with Bill Nye Jan 01, 2025

Show notes

Planetary Radio kicks off The Planetary Society's 45th anniversary year with CEO, Bill Nye. Bill reflects on the organization's first forty-five years and what humanity has learned about space in that time. Then, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins in for the first What's Up and Random Space Fact of 2025.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-45th-anniversary

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Looking back on 2024 Dec 25, 2024

Show notes

The Planetary Society team reviews the best space moments of 2024, from the China National Space Administration's return of samples from the far side of the Moon to the triumphant launch of NASA's Europa Clipper mission. Kate Howells (Public Education Specialist) shares the winners of The Planetary Society's Best of 2024 awards. Then, Mat Kaplan (Senior Communications Advisor), Ambre Trujillo (Digital Community Manager), and Asa Stahl (Science Editor) team up for a rundown of the year's highlights. We close out 2024 with Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, as he shares his last random space fact of the year.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-looking-back

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mars “spiders” recreated in the lab Dec 18, 2024

Show notes

Lauren Mc Keown, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses her experiences recreating Martian araneiform terrain, also called Mars spiders, in the lab. Latif Nasser, the co-host of Radiolab, also joins Planetary Radio to share how you can cast your vote to name a quasi-Moon of Earth. Then Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, looks at a different type of seasonal feature on Mars, recurring slope lineae, in What’s Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-mars-spiders

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Space Policy Edition: The Myth of Presidential Leadership Dec 13, 2024

Show notes

For over half a century, space advocates and presidents alike have tried to recreate the JFK moment of calling on the country to send a man to Moon — but is this a mistake? The classic book Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership argued that it is, and by focusing on presidential power alone advocates set up these initiatives to fail.

However, in the decades since its publication, presidential authority has dramatically expanded. In this episode, we examine this tension: Did the success of Apollo create a false expectation about the role of presidential leadership in spaceflight? How can a president most effectively set new long-term goals for NASA?

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/myth-of-presidential-leadership

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

StarTalk with Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

We take you to Planetary Society headquarters, where Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and host of StarTalk, interviews Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye about the organization's 45-year history of empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. Then, we share an update on the incoming Trump administration's proposed pick for the next NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman. Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy, Casey Dreier, and Director of Government Relations, Jack Kiraly, give us the details. We close out with Bruce Betts as he discusses the Van Allen belts and shares a new random space fact in What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-startalk

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A hundred weeks in space exploration Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Sarah Al-Ahmed, the host of Planetary Radio, marks her 100th episode with a look back at the defining moments of the past 100 weeks of space exploration. We'll revisit previous Planetary Radio interviews, including the launch of ESA's Juice mission to the icy moons of Jupiter with project scientist Olivier Witasse. Danny Glavin, the co-investigator for NASA's OSIRIS-REx, shares his thoughts after the triumphant return of samples from asteroid Bennu. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for NASA's Psyche mission, reflects on her team's mission to explore a metallic asteroid. Then, Bob Pappalardo, project scientist for Europa Clipper, discusses the mission's intense brush with Hurricane Milton before blasting off to unlock the secrets of a potentially habitable ocean world. We close out the show with Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of The Planetary Society, for What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-one-hundred-weeks

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seven worlds, one mission: The United Arab Emirates aims for the asteroid belt Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

The United Arab Emirates Space Agency is working on its next ambitious spacecraft, the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt. It will visit seven asteroids, ultimately rendezvousing with Justitia, the reddest object in the main asteroid belt. We'll get an update on their team's progress from Mohsen Al Awadhi and Hoor Al Hazmi, the director and science team lead for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt. Then, our chief scientist at The Planetary Society, Bruce Betts, joins host Sarah Al-Ahmed for What's Up and a new random space fact.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-uae-asteroid-belt

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does the U.S. election mean for NASA? Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

Presidential elections in the United States don’t just shape the country’s future — they set the course for space exploration. This week, Casey Dreier, the chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, analyzes what the incoming Trump administration could mean for NASA’s funding, human spaceflight, and its Science Mission Directorate. Meanwhile, budget cuts have triggered another round of layoffs at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Jack Kiraly, Planetary Society director of government relations, explains why it happened, and what U.S. residents can do to help. Plus, Bruce Betts is back with What's Up and another fascinating Random Space Fact.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-election-nasa

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.