Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy And Science

We return to the 2024 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium for part two of our coverage. Astronaut and NIAC external council member Mae Jemison honors Lou Friedman, the co-founder of The Planetary Society, for his contributions to the space community and the NIAC program. Then Kenneth Carpenter from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and his colleagues pitch their plan for an Artemis-enabled Stellar Imager. Steven Benner from the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and his team tell us about their plan for an add-on to large-scale water mining operations on Mars to screen for introduced and alien life. We close out with Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, in What's Up, as we celebrate LightSail 2 being announced as one of the winners of this year's Gizmodo Science Fair.  Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-niac-part-2See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us on a journey to the 2024 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium. We'll hear from the teams behind two NIAC projects that could help us study distant planets and potentially reach them ourselves. Marshall Eubanks from Space Initiatives, Inc. and his colleagues will introduce us to their concept for a swarm of laser sailing pico spacecraft that could travel interstellar distances. Then Ryan Sprenger from Fauna Bio Inc. joins us to discuss how hibernation could help humans reach other worlds. Then, our chief scientist, Bruce Betts, joins us for What's Up and a new random space fact. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-niac-part-1See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are near solar maximum, a time in the solar cycle when our Sun is most active. That means more sun spots, coronal mass ejections, and auroras on worlds across our solar system. This week, Vince Ledvina, also known as the Aurora Guy, joins Planetary Radio to discuss the science behind the northern and southern lights and what they can tell us about our Sun, our planet, and worlds across our galaxy. Then Bruce Betts joins in for What's Up, a chat about global magnetic fields on terrestrial worlds and a new random space fact. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-aurora-guy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Greg Autry, who served on Trump’s NASA transition team in 2016 and was nominated for the position of NASA CFO in 2020, joins the show to discuss the space policy issues facing a potential second Trump administration in 2025. We discuss the role of competition versus cooperation in space exploration, how space politics have changed since Trump’s first term, and what major issues at NASA must be faced by the next presidential administration. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/space-policy-issues-second-trump-termSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With less than two months to go until the highly anticipated launch of NASA's Europa Clipper mission, we take a look back at over twenty years of Planetary Radio episodes about Jupiter's most intriguing moon. You'll hear from Elizabeth 'Zibi' Turtle, planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Bob Pappalardo, project scientist for Europa Clipper, and many more, as we reflect on all of the dreams and science it took to make the upcoming mission a reality. Then, Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, joins in for What's Up as host Sarah Al-Ahmed gears up for next week's NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts symposium.  Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-europa-in-reflectionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get up to speed on the latest in commercial space news. Mat Kaplan, the senior communications advisor for The Planetary Society, returns with an update on the fate of the Boeing Starliner astronauts, the imploding and exploding adventures of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, and a brief look forward to SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission. Asa Stahl, our science editor, shares the good news about the European Space Agency's Ramses mission, which hopes to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis before its closest approach to Earth in 2029. Then our public education specialist, Kate Howells, shares some tips on how to deal with space rocks in her new article, "What would happen if we nuked an asteroid?" We end our show with What's Up with Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, and a new random space fact. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-ramses-and-rocketsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we look to build a more sustainable human presence in space, we will need to find new and innovative ways to feed our travelers. This week, we hear from Team Insecta, a group of Canadian students exploring crickets as a viable source of space food. Newton Campell Jr., a member of The Planetary Society's board of directors and co-founder of Heritage Space Food, discusses gastrodiplomacy and the importance of representation in space food. Then we close out with What's Up with Bruce Betts and a look at one of The Planetary Society's STEP grant-winning projects studying the complexities of growing plants in space.  Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-crickets-and-gastrodiplomacySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Planetary Radio takes a melodic adventure to the Ravinia Festival in Illinois, USA, for the public premiere of the "Moons Symphony." Mat Kaplan, senior communications advisor at The Planetary Society, speaks with a panel of amazing guests, including members of the Europa Clipper, Dragonfly, and Cassini teams, about the discoveries that inspired the music. Then, Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, marks the end of the 2024 Summer Olympics with a random space fact in What's Up. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-moons-symphony See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A ninth planet may be lurking in our Solar System out beyond Neptune. Caltech's Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin join us to discuss their new paper, the latest evidence for Planet 9, and why they believe their hunt may soon be over. Then, Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, joins us for What's Up and an Olympic-themed random space fact.  Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-hide-and-seek-planet-9See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do we explore space? This is not an easy question to answer. Yet policy expert G. Ryan Faith believes there is value to be had in communal engagement with this question. While easy answers may elude us, the act of defining our values and goals in space can help avoid common pitfalls and dead ends in our exploration efforts, ensuring a continued commitment to space for generations to come. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-philosophy-of-space-exploration-ryan-faithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NASA's Perseverance rover has made a groundbreaking discovery on Mars: a sample that may hold evidence of ancient microbial life. This week, we visit the Tenth International Conference on Mars, where you'll hear from several Mars scientists, including Caltech's Ken Farley, Perseverance project scientist, Meenakshi Wadhwa and Brandi Carrier, the principal scientist and lead sample integrity scientist for Mars Sample Return at NASA JPL. We'll also discuss the recent cancellation of NASA's VIPER lunar mission with our director of government relations, Jack Kiraly. Before we go, we'll turn to Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of The Planetary Society for What's Up, as he shares a new cometary random space fact. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-tenth-marsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fans of Venus were saddened in late 2022 to learn that one of NASA's upcoming Venus missions, VERITAS, was defunded, but with the help of space advocates, the mission is now back on. Darby Dyar, the deputy principal investigator for VERITAS, returns triumphantly to Planetary Radio to share the story. We also take a look at the new U.S. House of Representatives budget request for NASA and how it will impact programs like Artemis and Mars Sample Return with Casey Dreier, our chief of space policy. We'll close out our show with Olympic cheer as Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, shares a new random space fact in What's Up. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-victory-for-veritasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We celebrate the second anniversary of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) science operations with Christine Chen, associate astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute. She describes the observatory's newest beautiful image, a close-up of two interacting galaxies called the Penguin and the Egg. Then, she tells us more about her team's recent findings in the Beta Pictoris system, where clearing dust indicates a recent and powerful asteroid collision. We also go back to the early solar system with Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, discussing the massive collisions that shaped our place in space in What's Up. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-penguin-egg-and-asteroidSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Planetary Society introduces the newest member of its board of directors this week on Planetary Radio. Newton Campbell Jr., the director of the Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE) Consortium, discusses his career journey, AI in space, and Australia's first lunar rover, the Roo-ver. But first, we go to Washington D.C., U.S.A., where our director of government relations, Jack Kiraly, recently held a briefing for Congressional staffers. Jack discusses the event and the efforts to boost funding for NASA in the coming fiscal year. Then, Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of The Planetary Society, shares a new galactic space fact in What's Up. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-meet-roo-ver See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every major NASA center built after the agency’s inception is located in the American South. Why? Dr. Brian Odom, NASA’s chief historian, joins the show to explore the relationship between NASA and the South, how politics and geography led to this focus, and why NASA’s expansion during the Apollo era was likened to a second reconstruction of a previously rural and underdeveloped region of the United States. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-nasa-and-the-american-southSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists have discovered over 5,500 exoplanets, but they’re just getting started. We dive into the stunning variety of exoplanets beyond our Solar System with Jessie Christiansen, the project scientist for the NASA Exoplanet Archive. But first, The Planetary Society's science editor, Asa Stahl, shares more about the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory, a cutting-edge space telescope designed to hunt for worlds that could harbor life. We also give an update on the International Space Station with our senior communications advisor, Mat Kaplan. Stick around for What's Up with Bruce Betts as we discuss the advances in exoplanet detection and share a new Random Space Fact. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-five-thousand-worlds-and-countingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year on June 30, the space community observes Asteroid Day, the anniversary of the Tunguska blast. Markus Payer, Asteroid Foundation Chair, joins us to talk about this year's Asteroid Day festivities. We also get an update on the results of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) with Terik Daly, a planetary scientist and the Planetary Impact Laboratory manager at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. He’ll tell us more about the aftermath of DART’s smashing encounter with asteroid Dimorphos. Then Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, discusses what The Planetary Society’s asteroid-hunting grant winners have been up and in What's Up. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-asteroid-bash-smashSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Sun is nearing the most active part of its solar cycle. This week, we explore recent solar activity and discoveries from NASA's Parker Solar Probe with Nour Rawafi, the mission's project scientist. But first, we honor the life and legacy of Ed Stone, the former director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the longtime project scientist of the Voyager mission. We close out our show with Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of The Planetary Society, in What's Up.  Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-parker-solar-probeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week was a big one for commercial space. Our senior communications advisor, Mat Kaplan, discusses the first crewed Boeing Starliner test and SpaceX Starship launch. Then Asa Stahl, our science editor, lets you know how to observe the upcoming nova in Corona Borealis. RadioLab's Latif Nasser returns to Planetary Radio with a new public naming contest for a quasi-moon of Earth. Then, we dive into some naming conventions for space objects in What's Up with our chief scientist, Bruce Betts. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2024-nova-and-naming-contestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holy texts and salvation ideology. Saints and martyrs. True believers and apostates. This isn’t a religion — this is human spaceflight. So says Roger Launius, NASA’s former Chief Historian, in his 2013 paper Escaping Earth: Human Spaceflight as Religion. For the start of our ninth year of the Space Policy Edition, Dr. Launius joins the show to discuss the ways in which human spaceflight exhibits characteristics commonly seen in modern religions, how his thesis has evolved in the past decade with the rise of Elon Musk and his view of Mars as humanity’s salvation, and how exploring secular activities through a religious lens can be instructive in understanding their adherents and support. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-human-spaceflight-as-religionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.