Since 2002, Planetary Radio has visited with a scientist, engineer, project manager, advocate, or writer who provides a unique perspective on the quest for knowledge about our Solar System and beyond. The full show archive is available for free.

Search Planetary Radio

Space Policy Edition: We're entering a new era of planetary defense (with Lindley Johnson)

The head of NASA’s planetary defense program discusses how the DART mission represents a new era for defending our planet from dangerous asteroids.

Sarah Al Amiri and the new UAE mission to the asteroid belt

The head of the United Arab Emirates space agency announces a new mission to explore seven asteroids.

Sally Ride: Revisiting our 2005 conversation

A first-ever encore of our wonderful conversation with the first American woman in space.

Amazing technology at the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts symposium

Here’s our sampling of the leading edge research presented by NIAC Fellows at NASA’s 2021 virtual gathering.

Leaders of the Lucy asteroid mission

Principal investigator Hal Levison and colleagues prepare us for the launch of NASA’s Lucy spacecraft in an exclusive interview.

Why didn’t Dawn land on dwarf planet Ceres?

The ion engine-powered Dawn spacecraft will orbit Ceres for many years. Could it have touched down on the surface of the dwarf planet?

Space Policy Edition: NASA's Congressional Logjam

Brendan Curry, The Planetary Society’s chief of Washington operations, helps us untangle the fast-changing and complex machinations underway in the US capitol. What does it mean for NASA?

Mars Beckons: The 2021 Humans to Mars Summit

Highlights of the annual gathering of leaders and experts who are building toward humans walking on the Red Planet.

The Wonderful: A new documentary about the International Space Station

Director Clare Lewins and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman discuss the new documentary "The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station."

The Case for a Return to Enceladus

Flying a spacecraft through geysers spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus might reveal the building blocks of life or even life itself.

An ESCAPADE to Mars, on the cheap

Can NASA send robotic explorers to Mars for a tiny fraction of what most missions cost?

Space Policy Edition: The cultural rituals of space advocacy, with Linda Billings

Space outreach expert and social scientist Linda Billings talks with host Casey Dreier about the language space advocates use to share their message.

Liquid water under the Martian polar ice? Maybe not

New research indicates that what appeared to be liquid water hiding under Mars’ polar ice may actually be a form of clay.

Europa Clipper sails toward launch

Mission system manager Al Cangahuala says the robotic explorer of Jupiter’s ocean moon is making steady progress toward a 2024 launch.

Cassini, Voyager and beyond with Linda Spilker

Cassini mission project scientist Linda Spilker returns with new science from ocean moon Enceladus and anniversaries to celebrate with the Voyager mission.

How Perseverance drives itself around Mars

The Perseverance rover’s chief robotics engineer takes us for a spin across Mars.

Space Policy Edition: Mars via the Nuclear Option

NASA’s Bhavya Lal returns to explain the challenges and big advantages of nuclear propulsion in space.

Alan Stern says it's time for suborbital science

Planetary scientist and New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern says great science will ride on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

Andy Chaikin on Apollo 15 and the lessons of Apollo

Space historian and author of A Man on the Moon Andy Chaikin returns as we celebrate Apollo 15’s 50th anniversary.

Amy Mainzer and a New Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope

NASA has approved development of the NEO Surveyor space telescope. Project lead Amy Mainzer shares her hopes for this vital planetary defense tool.

< 1 ... 9 1011 ... 36 >