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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Tales of totality: The adventures of an eclipse chaser

Jim Bell, a professor from the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University and former president of The Planetary Society's Board of Directors, shares captivating tales from his global eclipse-chasing journeys.

Geothermal activity on the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake

A team co-led by the Southwest Research Institute has made a groundbreaking discovery, revealing evidence of hydrothermal or metamorphic activity on the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake in the Kuiper Belt. The lead author of this research, Chris Glein, joins Planetary Radio to explain.

The Space Race: Honoring the first African-American space explorers

This week on Planetary Radio, we take a peek behind the scenes at National Geographic's new documentary, “The Space Race,” which celebrates the triumphs and struggles of the first African-American space pioneers and astronauts.

Space Policy Edition: Space isn’t black — it’s grey

Space policy expert Laura Delgado López joins the show to break down the new paper, “Clearing the Fog: The Grey Zones of Space Governance” by Jessica West and Jordan Miller.

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: Was the Space Shuttle a policy failure?

Though the Space Shuttle program lasted 30 years and built the ISS, it fell short of NASA's goals for cost, reusability, and reliability. Can a program be both a worldly success and a policy failure? In this Space Policy Edition, we dissect a classic space policy paper and debate its relevance today.

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.

InSight's revelation on Mars’ rotation

The InSight RISE instrument's principal investigator, Sebastien Le Maistre, from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, joins Planetary Radio to discuss Mars' increased rotation speed.

Space Policy Edition: What’s Going on with: Congress, MSR, and FAA Reauthorization?

We check in on the congressional budget process for NASA, Mars Sample Return’s spiraling cost growth, and the impending end of the regulatory holiday for human commercial space launch companies.

Space Policy Edition: The policy implications of active SETI

Would meeting an extraterrestrial civilization be good or bad for humanity? Astronomer Dr. Jacob Haqq Misra argues that knowing the outcome in advance is fundamentally impossible.

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.

Two Years of Hope: Celebrating the Emirates Mars Mission

Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of a truly inspiring space mission - the United Arab Emirates' Hope probe, which has spent two amazing years orbiting Mars!

Space Policy Edition: The Tricky Ethics of Space Settlement

Dr. Erika Nesvold, astrophysicist and author of the new book Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space explores the ethical challenges facing our species as it dips its toe into living beyond our home planet.