Genesis: The sample return mission that fell to Earth and still succeeded
Twenty years ago, NASA’s Genesis spacecraft returned to Earth carrying precious samples of the solar wind, only to crash-land in the Utah desert. But that wasn’t the end of the mission. Amy Jurewicz, ...
26 Feb 20251h 1min
Astronaut Hayley shares her brave adventure
From IV drips to rocket ships, Hayley Arceneaux has been on a journey. She joins Planetary Radio to discuss her memoir “Wild Ride” and her newly released kid's book “Astronaut Hayley's Brave Adventure...
19 Feb 202559min
Near-Earth Asteroid 2024 YR4 and NASA under a new administration
The internet is buzzing about Asteroid 2024 YR4, currently ranked as the highest-threat asteroid in our skies. But is it really cause for concern? Our Public Education Specialist, Kate Howells, breaks...
12 Feb 20251h 2min
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
