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.

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Planetfest ’21: To Mars and Back Again

Author of The Martian Andy Weir and the leader of the United Arab Emirates’ successful Hope Mars orbiter mission joined other Mars all-stars at Planetfest ’21.

The Big Book of Mars: Our Obsession with the Red Planet

Author Marc Hartzman’s new book celebrates the wonder of the Red Planet and how it entered popular culture.

Space Policy Edition: The Big Picture on U.S. Science Funding

Matt Hourihan of the American Association for the Advancement of Science joins Casey Dreier for a deep dive into the U.S. government’s funding of science research and development.

A Cosmic Odyssey: Decades of Discovery at the Palomar Observatory

How astronomers at California’s Palomar Observatory revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos.

The Mysterious Case of Interstellar Visitor ‘Oumuamua

‘Oumuamua made headlines when astronomers discovered it in 2017. Harvard professor Avi Loeb's new book lays out the case for why the object might be artificial and argues that scientists should embrace bold theories.

7 More Minutes of Terror: Perseverance Arrives at Mars

JPL engineer Gregory Villar prepares us for the perilous descent and landing of the 2020 Mars rover on February 18th.

Space Policy Edition: A Mob at the U.S. Capitol

Casey Dreier and our special guest, former National Space Council chief of staff Jared Zambrano-Stout, consider the troubling events at the U.S. Capitol in this special episode.

A Symphony for 7 Moons

Composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg is joined by Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker and retired astronaut Nicole Stott as she shares excerpts from The Moons Symphony.

Solar Cruiser: A Giant Sail Prepares for Space

NASA has given the green light to Principal Investigator Les Johnson and his team for construction of a solar sail that dwarfs all that have come before.

Planetary Society All-Stars Review 2020 Space Milestones

In spite of everything, 2020 was a good year for space exploration according to five of The Planetary Society’s experts.

Astronaut Stephanie Wilson Might Walk on the Moon

18 astronauts on the Artemis Team have a shot at walking on the Moon, and Stephanie Wilson is one of them.

What Do You Need to Make Martian Oxygen? MOXIE!

Making oxygen from the Martian atmosphere will be essential if humans are ever to visit and work on the Red Planet, and the MOXIE experiment will soon show us how.

Welcoming a New Leader, and China on the Final Frontier

Bill Nye helps us welcome the Planetary Society’s new president who also leads a new Moon mission, while China’s lunar sample return spacecraft is headed home.

Space Policy Edition: Operation Moonglow and the Global Impact of Apollo

Space historian Teasel Muir-Harmony argues in her fascinating new book that the Apollo lunar program was promoted as a triumph of, not for, all mankind.

Observatory Director Francisco Córdova on the Devastating Loss of Arecibo

Host Mat Kaplan talked with the Arecibo Observatory director just hours before the giant radio telescope came crashing down.

More Moon Water and an Update from Venus on Our 18th Anniversary!

Astronomer Jane Greaves returns with an update on the phosphine gas floating above Venus, before Casey Honnibal takes us through her team’s discovery of water right out under the Sun on Earth’s Moon.

Revealing Mars From Above, and Crew Dragon is Go!

Two pioneering Mars orbiters are still doing great work above the Red Planet, while the first operational Crew Dragon spaceship has delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station.

Space Policy Edition: NASA's Post-Election Landscape

With the United States election over, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan welcome back Planetary Society Chief of D.C. Operations Brendan Curry for a review of what may be in store for the U.S. space program.

A Rogue World Wanders as PlanetVac Heads for the Moon and Mars

A distant, lonely planet has been discovered as it wanders the galaxy, while Bill Nye helps us celebrate selection of a radically-simple sample collection system for trips to the Moon and Mars’ moon Phobos.

A Return to Asteroid Mining, and Digging Into Space Ethics with Joel Sercel

Joel Sercel believes we are entering an era in which asteroid mining and other commercial development of space are imminent, but he’s concerned about how we will avoid the mistakes of past eras of human expansion.

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