Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

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Space Policy Edition: Mars via the Nuclear Option Aug 06, 2021

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Can nuclear propulsion fundamentally transform our ability to send humans to Mars? Bhavya Lal, a policy and nuclear engineering expert now working at NASA, helped write a new report on the topic for the National Academies of Sciences. She joins the show to talk about the advantages of various types of nuclear propulsion, the engineering and policy challenges that face them, and the role of government versus the private sector in developing and deploying transformational technologies. Discover more here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/0804-2021-spe-bhavya-lal-nuclear-propulsion

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Alan Stern Says It’s Time for Suborbital Science Aug 04, 2021

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An experiment rode next to Richard Branson when he rocketed to the edge of space on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo last month. Planetary scientist Alan Stern says we’ve begun a new era of affordable space research thanks to this vehicle and Blue Origin’s New Shepard. Alan also delivers an update on the New Horizons mission, including a new, definitive collection of everything we’ve learned about Pluto. Then it’s Olympic gold for Bruce Betts in our weekly What’s Up segment. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/alan-stern-suborbital-science-new-horizons-update

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Andy Chaikin on Apollo 15 and the lessons of Apollo Jul 28, 2021

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Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan said of Andy Chaikin’s book A Man on the Moon, “I’ve been there. Chaikin took me back.” Andy returns to help us mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 15 and the first use of the Lunar Rover. He also talks with Mat about what the Artemis generation should learn from Apollo, how astronauts have evolved, the challenge of putting humans on Mars, and much more. Bruce Betts picks up the Apollo 15 theme with this week in space history. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/andy-chaikin-apollo-15-and-more

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Amy Mainzer and a New Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope Jul 21, 2021

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We may finally get the powerful telescope we’ve needed to find almost all of the near-Earth objects that are big enough to destroy a city. University of Arizona professor Amy Mainzer leads the NEO Surveyor project. She returns to Planetary Radio with the full story. Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos and three colleagues rode a rocket that briefly put them in space. We’ll hear from Bezos and 82-year-old Wally Funk. The pilot and former astronaut candidate is now the oldest person to have reached space. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/amy-mainzer-neo-surveyor

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We’re Going Back to Venus Jul 14, 2021

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Sue Smrekar and Jim Garvin woke up in June to some of the best news a planetary scientist can receive. Their complementary missions to Venus had just been given the green light by NASA. The VERITAS and DAVINCI principal investigators return to Planetary Radio for a celebration of this announcement and a deep dive into their spacecraft and the mysteries of Earth’s broiling-hot sister world. Bruce Betts adds yet another Venusian mystery when he offers this week’s What’s Up space trivia contest. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/sue-smrekar-veritas-jim-garvin-davinci

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Visiting the James Webb Space Telescope Jul 07, 2021

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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is expected to be 100 times as powerful as its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. We talk with three leaders of the effort to build, launch and deploy it as soon as November of this year. These conversations were recorded on the other side of a window facing the Northrop Grumman clean room in which technicians were putting the finishing touches on the observatory. Bruce Betts salutes Webb with a special What’s Up Random Space Fact. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/jwst-vila-ochs-robinson

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Space Policy Edition: The Pentagon's UFO Report, Featuring Sarah Scoles Jul 02, 2021

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The Pentagon finally released its hotly-anticipated briefing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. As expected, it provided little new information, saying only that there were a number of unexplainable observations. Sarah Scoles, author of the book They Are Already Here, that examines the culture and motivations behind ufology, joins the show to provide critical context. Why did it come about? What are the motivations of the people who pushed for its release? And how should we approach extraordinary claims with little information? Discover more here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/0702-2021-spe-sarah-scoles-pentagon-ufo-report

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Finding Life by Looking for Complexity Jun 30, 2021

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University of Glasgow chemist Lee Cronin and his collaborators have developed a new way to detect life. Their "assembly theory" could give us a reliable method for recognizing life or evidence of past life based on the complexity of molecules in any environment. The Planetary Society’s Rae Paoletta shares our favorite images of Saturn’s rings with Mat. Bruce Betts reveals which star takes up more of Earth’s night sky as he resolves another What’s Up space quiz. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/lee-cronin-assembly-theory

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The Pearly Clouds of Mars Jun 23, 2021

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Want to see wild colors on Mars? Look up! Planetary scientist Mark Lemmon studies planetary atmospheres at the Space Science Institute. He marvels at the images taken by Mastcam on the Curiosity rover of shimmering iridescent clouds high above the Martian surface. The Planetary Society’s Kate Howells looks back at the 1998 blockbuster movies that got a lot more people thinking about the near-Earth object threat. A few clouds won’t keep Bruce Betts from sharing his latest What’s Up look at the night sky. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/mark-lemmon-mars-clouds-and-dust

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Amateur Astronomers Saving the World Jun 16, 2021

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The Planetary Society has awarded more than 60 Shoemaker near-Earth object grants to astronomers around the world, enabling them to discover, track, and characterize thousands of asteroids. We’ll hear from two of these dedicated observers. The Society’s Rae Paoletta takes us to Venus where three new spacecraft will help answer big questions. Senior space policy adviser Casey Dreier helps us think about UFO claims. Chief scientist Bruce Betts offers a new What’s Up space trivia contest. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/shoemaker-neo-awardees-venus missions

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