Planetary Radio
Planetary Radio is the weekly adventure on the final frontier produced by the Planetary Society and it's CEO, Bill Nye the Science Guy. Listen to host Mat Kaplan's conversations with the scientists, engineers, dreamers and leaders at the forefront of space exploration. You'll also hear our regular segments with Bill, "Planetary Evangelist" Emily Lakdawalla, and Director of Science and Technology Bruce Betts. Enter the weekly space trivia contest for your chance to win out-of-this-world prizes!
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 51 minutes
- Episodes
- 589
- Years Active
- 2014 - 2023
A Fond Farewell to Spirit and Opportunity
The Mars Exploration Rover mission was declared complete on February 13, 2019. On the very next day, MER Project Manager John Callas and Deputy Project Scientist Abigail Fraeman came to Planetary So…
01:08:45 |
Wed 20 Feb 2019
Watching the Births of Solar Systems
Radio telescopes are delivering stunning images that, in some cases, current optical telescopes can’t equal. Witness the 20 beautiful protoplanetary disks imaged by the DSHARP team using the ALMA rad…
00:40:35 |
Wed 13 Feb 2019
The DART Mission: Learning How to Swat Dangerous Asteroids
Why did the dinosaurs die? Because they didn’t have a space program! The upcoming DART mission will test our best thinking about how we may someday deflect a Near Earth Object that is speeding toward…
00:47:18 |
Wed 06 Feb 2019
Space Policy Edition: Should the U.S. be in a space race with China?
China's space program notched an impressive "first" last month when its Chang'e 4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. The U.S. space program, in contrast, was in the midst of an extended s…
01:06:01 |
Fri 01 Feb 2019
Where Do We Come From? The Origin of Life
Astrobiology is the discipline that explores the origin of life in the universe, and whether life exists anywhere other than Earth. It’s an increasingly exciting field according to University of Wash…
00:54:43 |
Wed 30 Jan 2019
Asteroid Bennu’s Visitor From Earth
Spacecraft OSIRIS REx is now orbiting a 260-meter asteroid named Bennu. Principal investigator Dante Lauretta returns to tell us what has already been learned, and to preview the excitement that is …
00:31:33 |
Wed 23 Jan 2019
Space Policy Edition: Shutdown
In a government shutdown seemingly without end, we bring you two stories from individuals directly impacted by the crisis. NASA scientist and union representative Lee Stone discusses the missed paych…
00:58:54 |
Fri 18 Jan 2019
Flying the Skies of Saturn’s Moon Titan
Imagine soaring over what may be the solar system’s most Earth-like world, if you ignore the chill. If funded, the nuclear electric-powered Dragonfly will do exactly this. Principal Investigator Eliz…
00:45:47 |
Wed 16 Jan 2019
New Horizons Flyby: Join the Celebration!
Join us at the Applied Physics Lab in Maryland for the New Horizons encounter with the most distant object ever visited. You’ll meet mission leaders, friends and even a rock and roll star as we dive …
01:02:19 |
Wed 09 Jan 2019
A Mission to Earth: OSIRIS-REx
Why do so many spacecraft that are headed across our solar system turn their instruments back to Earth during flybys? OSIRIS-REx was no exception. The answers come from mission scientist Vicky Hamil…
00:37:01 |
Wed 02 Jan 2019
Countdown to Ultima: Alan Stern and New Horizons
The New Horizons spacecraft will reach faraway Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 in the first minutes of 2019. Will the body informally known as Ultima Thule be as mysterious and exciting as Pluto? We’ll…
00:42:29 |
Wed 26 Dec 2018
Earthrise! The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8
This is the 50th anniversary of the most audacious space mission in history. Apollo 8 blazed a path for the first moon landing seven months later, and gave a troubled nation reason for hope and pride…
00:50:52 |
Wed 19 Dec 2018
At the Space Settlement Summit With Former NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden
He led NASA for eight years, but not till he had flown on four Space Shuttle missions and enjoyed a long military career. Charlie Bolden talks with Mat about his time at the space agency and where we…
00:51:19 |
Wed 12 Dec 2018
Space Policy Edition: Canada's Uncertain Future in Space (with Kate Howells)
Canada was the third country in history to launch a satellite into space, but now lags in its space ambitions, capability, and spending. What happened? Kate Howells, who serves on the Canadian Space …
01:08:45 |
Fri 07 Dec 2018
Last Week, Mars. This week, An Asteroid Called Bennu.
The InSight lander has only just arrived on Mars. Now, OSIRIS REx has reached asteroid Bennu after traveling through deep space for a year and a half. We’ll talk with the Planetary Society’s Jason Da…
00:40:17 |
Wed 05 Dec 2018
A Great Day for Space Explorers: The Landing of InSight
Join 1,000 anxious yet thrilled space fans at Caltech for our live InSight landing party. You’ll meet Mat Kaplan’s onstage experts and check in with Bill Nye and Emily Lakdawalla at the Jet Propulsi…
01:00:19 |
Wed 28 Nov 2018
We Know Where the 2020 Rover Will Look for Martian Life
NASA announced on November 19th that the multi-billion dollar 2020 Mars rover will land in Jezero crater, where it will begin the search for the signature of past life. The selection process took fiv…
00:43:36 |
Wed 21 Nov 2018
Space Policy Edition: After the Midterms—Looking Ahead with Marcia Smith
The counting continues as we publish this month’s special episode, with a handful of seats in the US Senate and House still up for grabs. But with the Democratic takeover of the House assured, and s…
00:51:25 |
Fri 16 Nov 2018
Moon Mission 3D from Queen Guitarist Brian May and David Eicher
You haven’t seen the best pictures from the Apollo era and other great space achievements till you’ve seen them in 3D. Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May is also mad about stereoscopic ima…
00:37:02 |
Wed 14 Nov 2018
Where Do We Come From? – Exploring the Origins of Life Lab
They may be the most important questions in all of science: Where do we come from? Are we alone? Researchers Ralph Pudritz and Maikel Rheinstadter are working on these puzzles with their new Planeta…
00:39:16 |
Wed 07 Nov 2018
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