Space Policy Edition: Mars Sample Return, but at what (fixed) price?
Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck joins the show to unpack his company’s bold, $4-billion fixed-price plan to bring Martian samples home, why he believes commercial partnerships can unlock new frontiers in pl...
7 Feb 20251h 20min
Kiss-and-capture: The dance of Pluto and Charon
How did Pluto meet its largest moon, Charon? Many have speculated that Charon formed in an impact, but traditional models of planetary formation have struggled to explain many of the quirks of this sy...
5 Feb 202559min
The Edward Stone Voyager Exploration Trail
This week on Planetary Radio, we celebrate the enduring legacy of Ed Stone, the longtime project scientist for NASA’s Voyager mission and former director of JPL. Mat Kaplan, senior communications advi...
29 Jan 202557min
Does It Fly? Putting science in entertainment to the test
This week, we discuss how to examine the science behind our favorite TV shows and movies with the co-hosts of the "Does It Fly?" podcast, Hakeem Oluseyi and Tamara Krinsky. Produced by Roddenberry Ent...
22 Jan 202556min
Revisiting K2-18 b: JWST finds a lead in the search for life on a mysterious exoplanet
This week we revisit one of the most remarkable exoplanet discoveries of 2024 with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). JWST detected signs of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmospher...
15 Jan 202551min
Emily Calandrelli becomes the hundredth woman in space
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 voyag...
8 Jan 202555min
Space Policy Edition: The Challenges of Change at NASA
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 administ...
3 Jan 20251h 8min
The Planetary Society’s 45th anniversary with Bill Nye
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...
1 Jan 202552min
