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.

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The asteroid hunter

Dante Lauretta, the principal investigator for NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, joins Planetary Radio to share stories from his new book, The Asteroid Hunter.

Looking back on 2023

Members of The Planetary Society staff revisit some of 2023's most exhilarating moments and groundbreaking discoveries in space this week on Planetary Radio.

Lucy's first asteroid flyby reveals a surprise moon

Hal Levison and Simone Marchi, the principal and deputy principal investigators for NASA’s Lucy mission, join Planetary Radio to discuss the spacecraft’s first asteroid flyby.

Psyche and Eclipse Company blast off

Jesse Tomlinson and Stephen Watkins from The Eclipse Company join Planetary Radio to talk about their partnership with The Planetary Society and the launch of their new eclipse map for the upcoming 2024 total solar eclipse in North America.

Simulating Psyche: Modeling craters on a metallic world

Simone Marchi, co-investigator for NASA’s Psyche mission, joins Planetary Radio to share the creative ways their mission team is working to understand cratering on metallic worlds.

Celebrating the OSIRIS-REx sample return

We celebrate NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission’s successful return of samples from asteroid Bennu to Earth on this week’s episode of Planetary Radio.

A new algorithm finds its first potentially hazardous asteroid

Mario Jurić and Ari Heinze from the University of Washington join Planetary Radio to discuss their team’s next-generation asteroid discovery algorithm, HelioLinc3D.

Getting psyched for Psyche

Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the principal investigator for NASA’s Psyche mission to explore a metallic asteroid, joins Planetary Radio to share the mission’s status and look forward to the wonders that await when the spacecraft reaches its target.

Martian rock collecting: From meteorites to Mars Sample Return

Meenakshi Wadhwa, principal scientist for Mars Sample Return at NASA JPL, updates us on the missions that will bring bits of the red planet back to Earth.

DART smacked an asteroid! So what’s next in planetary defense?

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test was a brilliant success. The leaders of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office tell us what’s next in the quest to protect Earth.

Eyes on the Sky: Spacewatch and the Catalina Sky Survey

Meet leaders of two of the most successful Earth-based searches for asteroids, including many that could threaten Earth.

DART Impact and Judy Schmidt Interview

Listen as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft closes in on asteroid Dimorphos, followed by a triumphant conversation with DART Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot, and a visit with space image processor Judy Schmidt.

Asteroid Day! Earth Plays Defense

We Earthlings are making progress toward defending our planet from near-Earth objects, which is reason enough for the annual Asteroid Day celebration.

Heavy Metal: An encounter with the Psyche spacecraft

Suit up for an up-close encounter with the Psyche spacecraft that will soon launch toward the asteroid belt.

Meet the first STEP Grant awardees

The Planetary Society’s new Science and Technology Empowered by the Public (STEP) grant program will let citizens join the search for ET and enable astronomers to discover the nature of hundreds of near-Earth asteroids.

Saving the world one telescope at a time: The Shoemaker NEO grant winners

Meet three of the just-announced recipients of Planetary Society Gene Shoemaker NEO grants. They search the skies for asteroids and comets that could threaten our planet.

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.

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.

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?

Defenders of Earth on Planetary Radio

Six planetary defense leaders report on progress toward protecting Earth from near-Earth objects.

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