Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Perseverance just set the record for the most distance driven on another world. We revisit Mat Kaplan’s 2021 conversation with Vandi Verma, JPL principal engineer and chief engineer of robotic operations for Perseverance, about how the rover drives itself across Mars.

The Planetary Society’s 2026 STEP Grant winners are building tools to characterize asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects: a replicable polarimeter, a public photometry database, and an occultation prediction platform scaled for the Rubin era.

Former astronaut Leroy Chiao is our guest for a conversation about his book, “Dinner With an Astronaut,” and a lifetime of accomplishments on and off the planet.

Japan’s MMX mission is about to launch for the moons of Mars, carrying a sampler with deep Planetary Society roots. Asa Stahl, public outreach astronomer at The Planetary Society, and Kris Zacny, vice president and senior research scientist at Honeybee Robotics, tell the story.

Jack Kiraly, chief of advocacy for The Planetary Society, and planetary scientist Britney Schmidt join Casey Dreier to examine NASA’s push toward “science as a service,” and why science is so much more than buying data.

More conversations from the 2026 NIAC Symposium, this time about the propulsion and life support breakthroughs that could carry us to the outer Solar System and keep us alive when we get there.

Researchers at the 2026 NIAC Symposium share their bold concepts for exploring the most inaccessible places in our Solar System, from the Moon's permanently shadowed craters to caves on Titan and inside lunar lava tubes.

NASA Chief Scientist for Small Body Exploration at Johnson Space Center, Paul Abell, takes us inside Hayabusa2's flyby of asteroid Torifune and the surprise discovery that it's a contact binary.

Planetary scientist Kevin Hand joins us for a deep exploration of his excellent book about the search for life in the oceans of other worlds.

In part two of our Star Trek 60th anniversary series, Tim Russ, Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager, and Karim Diané, Jay-Den Kraag from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, explore what the Vulcans and the Klingons can teach us about becoming the people who deserve to reach the stars.

Robert Picardo, the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek: Voyager and now Starfleet Academy, traces the sixty-year bond between Star Trek and The Planetary Society, from Gene Roddenberry's 1980 letter to the halls of Congress.

Alex MacDonald, former Chief Economist at NASA and author of "The Long Space Age," joins Casey Dreier to explore more than two centuries of privately funded space exploration in America.

Dennis Stone, president and co-founder of the World Space Week Association, shares how the largest annual space event on Earth came to be and how you can join the celebration this October. Plus, Science Editor Asa Stahl walks us through the final chapter of the Swift space telescope.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is preparing to launch, promising to transform our understanding of dark energy and exoplanets. We talk with Julie McEnery, senior project scientist for Roman at NASA Goddard, and Jason Rhodes, project scientist for Roman at JPL, about what's ahead.

How will living in space change our bodies and minds? That’s the sub-title of Scott Solomon’s great new book, “Becoming Martian”, and it’s the question he takes up this month on the book club edition of Planetary Radio.

Jared Head, museum facilitator at Columbia Memorial Space Center and co-host of All Space Considered at Griffith Observatory, breaks down how a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage ended up crashing into the moon. Plus, Planetary Society staff reflect on the 2026 total solar eclipse in Spain and share an update on the fight to save NASA science.

Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy and bioacoustics researcher David Mann, join Planetary Radio to talk about the August 12th total solar eclipse and how birds responded to totality.

Casey Dreier is joined by Zach Pirtle, deputy director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University, and the Planetary Society's Chief of Advocacy Jack Kiraly to dissect the White House's "Science: A New Golden Age" report, which calls for a sweeping reimagining of how the U.S. funds and conducts science.

Collin Cherubim, NASA Hubble Fellow at the University of Chicago, discusses his team's detection of an atmosphere on LHS 1140b, the first rocky exoplanet in a star's habitable zone confirmed to have one.

A team of University of Maryland students is building a CubeSat to fly past asteroid Apophis during its historic close approach to Earth in 2029. Four members of the TERP RAPTOR team join us to share how they're turning a classroom project into a real space mission.

Research Scientist Tiffany Kataria of NASA JPL and Assistant Professor Lisa Dang of the University of Waterloo talk about two extreme hot Jupiters from the American Astronomical Society meeting.

Theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein visits the club for a mind-bending conversation about her brilliant, deeply personal exploration of the Cosmos.

Commercial space astronaut Sian Proctor and astronomer John Read join Planetary Radio to discuss “Baby's Guide to the Night Sky,” their new book introducing the youngest children to constellations and the wonders of the Cosmos.

Green Bank, West Virginia bans cell phones and Wi-Fi so its giant radio telescope can listen undisturbed. This week, Senior Communications Advisor Mat Kaplan talks with director Katie Dellamaggiore and physicist Ellie White about the documentary Small Town Universe, and Public Education Specialist Kate Howells previews August's total solar eclipse.

Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project and senior fellow at CSIS, joins the show to break down NASA's rocky path toward a commercial replacement for the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover finally has a path to Mars. ExoMars Project Scientist Jorge Vago joins Planetary Radio to discuss the rover's 2-meter drill, its onboard astrobiology lab, and what it would mean to finally find evidence that Mars was once home to life.

China’s Tianwen-2 mission has arrived at the quasi-moon Kamoʻoalewa. We sit down with Planetary Society contributing editor and freelance space journalist Andrew Jones to explore what this ambitious sample-return mission could reveal about our Solar System's history.

Hugo and Locus-winning author Becky Chambers talks with Mat Kaplan about “To Be Taught, If Fortunate,” her outstanding novella. It’s a passionate plea for space science and exploration told across the interstellar journey of four equally passionate human voyagers.

NASA's Dragonfly mission is sending a car-sized, nuclear-powered rotorcraft to Saturn's moon Titan. Lead rotor engineer Felipe Ruiz and principal investigator Zibi Turtle from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory join us to discuss the engineering of flight on Titan with just two years to launch.

Jack Kiraly, The Planetary Society's director of government relations, joins Sarah Al-Ahmed to discuss proposed grant rule changes that could upend U.S. science funding, a major NASA reorganization, and the fallout from the destruction of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket.

Casey Dreier is joined by Liz Ginexi, a former Program Officer at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, to break down a 400-page proposed rule change from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that could fundamentally reshape how the federal government manages scientific grants.

Colonel Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a Space Shuttle, joins us to discuss “Spacewoman,” the new documentary telling the story of her extraordinary life and career.

The Los Angeles Astronomical Society is one of the oldest and largest amateur astronomy clubs in the United States, and this year it’s turning one hundred. We were there at Griffith Observatory for the centennial celebration to find out what keeps a community of skywatchers going for a century.

Amy Williams, astrobiologist and associate professor at the University of Florida, discusses a landmark experiment that revealed more than 20 organic molecules preserved in ancient Martian rock. We explore what this chemical discovery tells us about Mars' ancient habitability.

Celebrated author and poet Diane Ackerman joins us for a lively conversation about the new edition of her wonderful collection. Carl Sagan described it as spectacularly good poetry.

For the first time, the Planetary Society's annual Day of Action was followed by Igniting Discovery, a showcase of the NASA-funded science we're fighting to protect, held in the US Senate building.

The fight to save NASA science is back. Planetary Radio host Sarah Al-Ahmed takes you to Washington, D.C., for the 2026 Day of Action, where Planetary Society members, scientists, and advocates hit Capitol Hill to oppose a proposed 46% cut to NASA's science budget.

Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Rebecca Lowe, philosophy senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to explore why human presence in space is so different from robotic missions, and why that difference matters.

At Yuri's Night 2026, held at Griffith Observatory the day after Artemis II splashed down, Sarah Al-Ahmed spoke with educators, engineers, astronauts, and space philosophers about 65 years of human spaceflight and what it means to see Earth from space.

“Project Hail Mary” has arrived on the big screen, and we're diving into the real science behind Andy Weir's latest blockbuster with senior communications adviser Mat Kaplan, award-winning Nature correspondent Alexandra Witze, Virginia Tech astrophysicist Nahum Arav, and Planetary Society chief scientist Bruce Betts.

Sir Peter Beck adds to the story told about his hugely successful and innovative company in “The Launch of Rocket Lab,” a beautifully illustrated, monumental book.

The Artemis II crew has returned home safely after a historic journey around the Moon. We celebrate some of the most extraordinary moments from the mission. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the new Presidential Budget Request proposes a 47% cut to NASA's science budget, threatening 84 missions.

Four astronauts are on their way around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. This week on Planetary Radio we bring you the sounds of launch day and the voices of the people who made it happen.

Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Stephen C. Smith, author of Return to Launch and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex communicator, to explore how a remote Florida peninsula became the heart of U.S. spaceflight.

Lisa Carnell, Director of NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division, explains AVATAR, the experiment flying organ chips grown from astronaut cells on Artemis II. Then, asteroid hunter Alain Maury tells the story of discovering a sungrazing comet that could become one of the most spectacular in decades.

Steve Platts, chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program, walks us through the health experiments aboard Artemis II, followed by Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier on NASA's Ignition Day announcements.

Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf eloquently explores the future of humanity and what we will become when we live beyond Earth.

As humanity heads back to the Moon, Europe is stepping up. We bring you voices from the European Space Conference and take you inside the Moonlight Initiative panel building the Moon’s future.

Gentry Lee, the subject of the new documentary “Starman,” reflects on nearly five decades at JPL, the missions that defined the Space Age, and the search for life beyond Earth.

Is the United States really in a new space race with China? Or is that framing missing the bigger picture? In this Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio, Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Patrick Besha, former NASA strategic advisor on China, to explore the realities behind China’s rapidly advancing space program. They discuss how China’s political system shapes its long-term space strategy, why the rhetoric about a “space race” may be misleading, and how competition between the United States and China in space is likely to unfold over the coming decades. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-us-china-space-race See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.