Countdown to DART: Will We Move an Asteroid?
We are less than a week from the DART spacecraft’s impact on asteroid moonlet Dimorphos as this episode is published. Mission Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot gives us a status update and a preview of what to expect during the September 26 encounter. Watching the smackdown from a few kilometers away will be LICIACube. Simone Pirrotta, program manager for the Italian Space Agency’s little cubesat, tells us about his high hopes. We’ll also visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab to hear the exciting announcement of organics discovered and collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars. All this and a new What’s Up space trivia contest. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-dart-impact-preview-nancy-chabotSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
21 Sep 202252min
It’s Not Just NASA: Space Agency Leaders at the Artemis 1 Launch Attempt
More than 100,000 came to the Kennedy Space Center hoping to see Artemis 1 head for the Moon on August 29. Among them were leaders of the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). They sat down with Mat Kaplan for conversations about the international collaboration behind the Artemis program, along with some of the other brilliant successes they have achieved. We also celebrate the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s speech that set the United States on course for the Moon. There’s a JWST T-shirt waiting for the winner of the new What’s Up space trivia contest. And there’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-esa-dlr-asi-leadersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
14 Sep 20221h 17min
Countdown to Artemis, The Return to the Moon
Come with us to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for our special coverage of the first attempt to launch the giant Space Launch System rocket toward the Moon. You’ll hear astronaut Thomas Pesquet, “Everyday Astronaut” Tim Dodd, NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen, and much more. Then take your best shot at winning the Artemis 1 prize package in this week’s space trivia contest. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-artemis-1-launch-special-coverageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7 Sep 20221h 10min
Space Policy Edition: Mike Gold on Crafting the Artemis Accords
As we wait for the launch of Artemis 1, we explore the Artemis Accords: a shared set of principles for exploring space, signed now by more than twenty nations. The accords outline a set of peaceful behaviors and shared values, including the open sharing of scientific data, safe disposal of orbital debris, commitments to mutual aid, and practices for using space resources and preservation. Mike Gold, former Associate Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships at NASA, helped draft these accords and joins the show to share why they're important, how they came together, and the immense practical benefit of having global norms in space. Casey and Mat also discuss the context and meaning of the Artemis 1 mission following their visit to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discover more here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/artemis-accords-mike-goldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2 Sep 20221h 3min
The Voyager Mission: A 45th Anniversary Celebration
Join us at the Jet Propulsion Lab for the celebration of the two Voyager spacecrafts’ 45-year journey across the solar system and beyond. Stick around for a stimulating conversation with Ann Druyan, creative director for the Golden Record carried by the probes. The Voyager theme continues in this week’s What’s Up space trivia contest. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-voyager-45th-anniversary-ann-druyanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
31 Aug 20221h 18min
Pieces of Mars: How We’ll Get Them to Earth
We now know the rough outline of how NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) expect to get the samples collected by Perseverance off Mars and into labs on Earth. Mars Sample Return Program Manager Richard Cook of JPL will take us through the intricate and audacious steps required. The plan now includes two Mars helicopters! Trickster Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, provides the surprising answer for his latest space trivia question. Apollo 11 was not the first liftoff from another world! There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-richard-cook-mars-sample-returnSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
24 Aug 202238min
A Venus Phosphine Scoop! The Return of Jane Greaves
Astronomer Jane Greaves and her worldwide team have had quite a ride. It has been two years since the Cardiff University professor announced evidence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. Many scientists were and still are skeptical, but Jane is back with more data, including some that she shares with us first. She and Mat talk about what this could mean. Phosphine-belching Venusian penguins are very unlikely, but we want your artists’ concepts of them! That’s in addition to yet another space trivia contest from Bruce Betts. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-jane-greaves-more-venus-phosphineSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
17 Aug 202248min
Comets Stink! The Chemical Zoo Found at Comet Chury
Scientists have used data collected by an exquisitely sensitive instrument on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe to find a stunning collection of complex organic molecules at the comet known as Chury. The findings are an important step toward understanding the origin of our solar system and life on Earth. Bruce Betts will continue the cometary commentary with this week’s Random Space Fact. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-hanni-altwegg-wampfler-churySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
10 Aug 202243min
