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Casey Dreier is Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society, where he leads the organization's policy and advocacy efforts to advance science-driven space exploration.
Casey is among the world's foremost experts on NASA's budget, the political dynamics of space exploration, and the history and political economy of space development. He provides informed, independent analysis and perspective on the politics of space exploration in the United States.
Using custom-designed data pipelines and strategically leveraging modern AI tools, he assembles unique datasets that serve as authoritative references for journalists, policymakers, and researchers. He maintains The Planetary Society's data dashboards that track the economic impact of NASA's science program, curates historical datasets on NASA and planetary science funding, and has published original peer-reviewed research. In 2025, his data-driven policy work earned him a SpaceNews Icon Award for individual achievement.
Casey is a trusted source for journalists and policymakers, with his work cited in The New York Times, POLITICO, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Ars Technica, The Economist, and NPR. He has provided on-screen commentary for CNN, ABC News, BBC News, and National Geographic's MARS series. And his published essays, published in places such as The New York Times, Scientific American, and The Space Review, reach general and expert audiences alike.
He also publishes The Space Advocate, a monthly newsletter on space policy read by more than 30,000 subscribers, and hosts the long-running podcast Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition.
Casey holds a degree in Physics with a concentration in Astronomy from Oberlin College.
You can contact Casey via email at: [email protected].
Latest Articles
An analysis of the latest President's Budget Request for NASA.
How do funding, workforce, and robotic lunar exploration compare between NASA's two lunar exploration programs?
The Save NASA Science Day of Action drew nearly 300 people from across the United States to Washington, D.C., to promote space science and exploration.
Latest Planetary Radio Appearances
Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Rebecca Lowe, philosophy senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to explore why human presence in space is so different from robotic missions, and why that difference matters.
Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Stephen C. Smith, author of Return to Launch and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex communicator, to explore how a remote Florida peninsula became the heart of U.S. spaceflight.
Steve Platts, chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program walks us through the health experiments aboard Artemis II, followed by Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier on NASA's Ignition Day announcements.