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.

Search Planetary Radio

The 20th landing anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity

Matt Golombek, project scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, joins Planetary Radio to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the landing of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars.

Comparing the rivers of Earth, Mars, and Titan

Sam Birch, an assistant professor at Brown University, explores what we know about the alluvial rivers of Earth, Mars, and Saturn's moon Titan.

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.

Martian Mic Drop

Jason Achilles, a musician who partnered with NASA’s JPL to help put one of the first microphones on Mars, shares his journey and the joy of listening to the sounds of the red planet.

Countdown to DART: Will We Move an Asteroid?

The DART spacecraft’s impact on asteroid moonlet Dimorphos is days away, so we’ll check in with Mission Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot as well as Simone Pirrotta, program manager for the LICIACube probe that will be watching the smackdown.

Pieces of Mars: How We’ll Get Them to Earth

Getting precious Mars rocks into Earthbound labs is an unprecedented challenge. We'll learn how a lander, a rocket, a big solar-powered transfer vehicle and two helicopters will take on this task.

Perseverance Perseveres: A Mars rover update from Ken Farley

The Mars 2020 rover has rolled into an ancient river delta on the Red Planet. Will we find evidence of past life there?

How Perseverance drives itself around Mars

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

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager MiMi Aung

The leader of the Mars Helicopter test mission celebrates her team’s success and explores the daunting challenges they overcame.

Is ‘Oumuamua a Piece of a Pluto-Like Planet? And Ingenuity’s First Flight on Mars

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter makes a successful first flight on the Red Planet, while two researchers offer new insights on the first interstellar object discovered in our solar system.

The Perseverance Rover and a Great First Month on Mars

Perseverance rover deputy project scientists Katie Stack Morgan and Ken Williford share the latest developments from Mars’ newest robot resident.

Touchdown! The Sights and Sounds of Perseverance on Mars

Relive the most dramatic and awe-inspiring moments from NASA’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars.

Planetfest ’21: To Mars and Back Again

Author of The Martian Andy Weir and the leader of the United Arab Emirates’ successful Hope Mars orbiter mission joined other Mars all-stars at Planetfest ’21.

7 More Minutes of Terror: Perseverance Arrives at Mars

JPL engineer Gregory Villar prepares us for the perilous descent and landing of the 2020 Mars rover on February 18th.

Planetary Society All-Stars Review 2020 Space Milestones

In spite of everything, 2020 was a good year for space exploration according to five of The Planetary Society’s experts.

What Do You Need to Make Martian Oxygen? MOXIE!

Making oxygen from the Martian atmosphere will be essential if humans are ever to visit and work on the Red Planet, and the MOXIE experiment will soon show us how.

Another Ray Gun Heads for Mars. We Hear It Working.

SuperCam principal investigator Roger Wiens shares how his new and improved laser-based spectrometer will help look for past life in Jezero Crater, while its microphone lets us listen to the Red Planet.

Hope Leads the Way to Mars

Our special guests are the leaders of the Emirates Mars Mission whose Hope spacecraft is now headed for the Red Planet.

How Perseverance will Search for Life on Mars

Join the mission’s deputy project scientist as the Perseverance rover prepares to search for life on the Red Planet.

Jim Bell Sends New Eyes to Mars

The leader of the Mastcam-Z team talks about how the best cameras ever on the surface of Mars will help us explore a region that could once have supported life.

12 >