Planetary Radio Episodes

Since 2002, Planetary Radio has visited with a scientist, engineer, project manager, advocate, or writer who provides a unique perspective on the quest for knowledge about our Solar System and beyond. The full show archive is available for free.

The DART asteroid impact mission begins, with Nancy Chabot

The DART mission begins its journey that will end when it smashes into an asteroid, demonstrating how we might save Earth from a devastating impact.

Spacecraft communications and navigation with Badri Younes

Spacecraft need a navigation and communication infrastructure to carry out their missions. Learn how NASA does it and what’s in store for the future.

Space Policy Edition: We're entering a new era of planetary defense (with Lindley Johnson)

The head of NASA’s planetary defense program discusses how the DART mission represents a new era for defending our planet from dangerous asteroids.

Sarah Al Amiri and the new UAE mission to the asteroid belt

The head of the United Arab Emirates space agency announces a new mission to explore seven asteroids.

Leaders of the Lucy asteroid mission

Principal investigator Hal Levison and colleagues prepare us for the launch of NASA’s Lucy spacecraft in an exclusive interview.

Why didn’t Dawn land on dwarf planet Ceres?

The ion engine-powered Dawn spacecraft will orbit Ceres for many years. Could it have touched down on the surface of the dwarf planet?

Mars Beckons: The 2021 Humans to Mars Summit

Highlights of the annual gathering of leaders and experts who are building toward humans walking on the Red Planet.

The Case for a Return to Enceladus

Flying a spacecraft through geysers spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus might reveal the building blocks of life or even life itself.

An ESCAPADE to Mars, on the cheap

Can NASA send robotic explorers to Mars for a tiny fraction of what most missions cost?

Liquid water under the Martian polar ice? Maybe not

New research indicates that what appeared to be liquid water hiding under Mars’ polar ice may actually be a form of clay.

Europa Clipper sails toward launch

Mission system manager Al Cangahuala says the robotic explorer of Jupiter’s ocean moon is making steady progress toward a 2024 launch.

Cassini, Voyager and beyond with Linda Spilker

Cassini mission project scientist Linda Spilker returns with new science from ocean moon Enceladus and anniversaries to celebrate with the Voyager mission.

How Perseverance drives itself around Mars

The Perseverance rover’s chief robotics engineer takes us for a spin across Mars.

Alan Stern says it's time for suborbital science

Planetary scientist and New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern says great science will ride on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

Amy Mainzer and a New Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope

NASA has approved development of the NEO Surveyor space telescope. Project lead Amy Mainzer shares her hopes for this vital planetary defense tool.

We’re Going Back to Venus

Leaders of the DAVINCI and VERITAS missions tell us what their spacecraft will reveal about the planet that is so much like Earth and yet so terribly different.

Visiting the James Webb Space Telescope

Host Mat Kaplan visits the James Webb Space Telescope in California to see the observatory before it launches and speak with project leaders.

The Pearly Clouds of Mars

Atmospheric scientist Mark Lemmon discusses the beautiful clouds on Mars imaged by NASA's Curiosity rover.

Experimental Cosmologist Brian Keating

A fascinating, wide-ranging conversation with Brian Keating, director of the Simons Observatory that will search for our cosmic origins from a mountaintop in Chile’s Atacama region.

Mighty Jupiter Revealed

The Juno mission will continue its exploration of Jupiter till 2025, thanks to a four-year extension granted by NASA. Principal investigator Scott Bolton brings us up to date.

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