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Blazing a trail to the Moon

We're celebrating lunar missions and the space advocacy that helps make them happen this week on Planetary Radio.

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.

Space Policy Edition: What went wrong with Mars Sample Return

NASA's Mars Sample Return mission is both a top priority and seriously troubled. Independent review board chair Orlando Figueroa joins us to talk about the challenges and what must be done.

Juice mission liftoff: A new era in icy moon exploration begins

Join us as we celebrate the successful launch of the European Space Agency's Juice mission with project scientist Olivier Witasse.

Space Policy Edition Bonus: Q&A with Casey Dreier and Bill Nye

A special Space Policy Edition featuring a recent policy and advocacy webcast that gave Planetary Society members the opportunity to query Chief Advocate Casey Dreier and Society CEO Bill Nye.

Space Policy Edition: NASA's 2023 Budget Request

A healthy $26 billion has been proposed for NASA next year, but there are at least a couple of troubling factors we’ll discuss as Congress begins its review.

A good year for space: Planetary Society all-stars review 2021

Seven Planetary Society experts and enthusiasts celebrate 2021’s many space science and exploration milestones.

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.

Space Policy Edition: NASA's Congressional Logjam

Brendan Curry, The Planetary Society’s chief of Washington operations, helps us untangle the fast-changing and complex machinations underway in the US capitol. What does it mean for NASA?

Space Policy Edition: The cultural rituals of space advocacy, with Linda Billings

Space outreach expert and social scientist Linda Billings talks with host Casey Dreier about the language space advocates use to share their message.

Planetary Radio Live Defends Planet Earth!

Leaders of the global effort to avoid a catastrophic Near Earth Object impact gathered at the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference. On the evening of May 1st, The Planetary Society partnered in an exciting PDC public event at the University of Maryland College Park. Presentations by Society CEO Bill Nye and NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green were followed by Planetary Radio Live.

Space Policy Edition: T-minus Five Years and Counting

Can NASA return astronauts to the Moon by 2024? Vice President Mike Pence shocked the space community by announcing this ambitious new goal just weeks after the Trump Administration proposed a half-billion dollar cut to the space agency.

Boosters, Breakthroughs and Budgets: Canada and the US Look Toward Space

The last few days have seen developments that will shape the space exploration plans of Canada and the USA. The Planetary Society’s Kate Howells is a member of Canada’s Space Advisory Board. She reviews the nation’s new space policy.

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 paychecks, loss of science, and lasting negative consequences to the public sector scientific workforce.

Space Policy Edition: Did NASA Ace its Midterms? With Special Guest Louise Prockter

We talk with planetary scientist and Lunar and Planetary Institute Director Louise Prockter, who co-led creation of a new report evaluating the performance of NASA's planetary science division.

Space Policy Edition: Space Force! With Special Guest Brian Weeden

President Trump recently ordered the creation of Space Force—but what does that mean? What are the implications for militarization of space? National security expert Dr. Brian Weeden joins the show to explain the announcement.

Kathryn Sullivan, Space Dentistry and More at the International Space Development Conference

Freeman Dyson wasn’t the only space star at the ISDC. Mat talks with former astronaut and NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, leaders of the Cassini mission, innovative students and an expert on dental care in space.

Space Policy Edition: Space Policy Directive 2—This Time it's Commercial

President Trump just signed a new space policy directive targeting the regulations surrounding commercial spaceflight. Casey Dreier, Jason Callahan, and Mat Kaplan dive into the implications of the new directive and what it means for the relationship between government and space. They also break down all of the good news in the House's new funding bill for NASA, and highlight NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine's turnaround on climate change.

Space Policy Edition: A Commercial Future for the Space Station?

After announcing it intends to divest from the International Space Station in 2025, NASA quietly released a new report on its transition plans, laying out a series of principles that will set the future of U.S. astronauts in low-Earth orbit. Can a private entity really take over the space station? Where did this idea come from anyway?

Space Policy Edition: Lori Garver on what a NASA Administrator (and Deputy) actually does

Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA, talks with Casey about what the Deputy and Administrator jobs are like day-to-day, how decisions actually get made at the top, and why the current lack of confirmed leadership hurts the space agency.

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