Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy And Science

More than 100,000 came to the Kennedy Space Center hoping to see Artemis 1 head for the Moon on August 29. Among them were leaders of the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). They sat down with Mat Kaplan for conversations about the international collaboration behind the Artemis program, along with some of the other brilliant successes they have achieved. We also celebrate the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s speech that set the United States on course for the Moon. There’s a JWST T-shirt waiting for the winner of the new What’s Up space trivia contest. And there’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-esa-dlr-asi-leadersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Come with us to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for our special coverage of the first attempt to launch the giant Space Launch System rocket toward the Moon. You’ll hear astronaut Thomas Pesquet, “Everyday Astronaut” Tim Dodd, NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen, and much more. Then take your best shot at winning the Artemis 1 prize package in this week’s space trivia contest. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-artemis-1-launch-special-coverageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we wait for the launch of Artemis 1, we explore the Artemis Accords: a shared set of principles for exploring space, signed now by more than twenty nations. The accords outline a set of peaceful behaviors and shared values, including the open sharing of scientific data, safe disposal of orbital debris, commitments to mutual aid, and practices for using space resources and preservation. Mike Gold, former Associate Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships at NASA, helped draft these accords and joins the show to share why they're important, how they came together, and the immense practical benefit of having global norms in space. Casey and Mat also discuss the context and meaning of the Artemis 1 mission following their visit to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discover more here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/artemis-accords-mike-goldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us at the Jet Propulsion Lab for the celebration of the two Voyager spacecrafts’ 45-year journey across the solar system and beyond. Stick around for a stimulating conversation with Ann Druyan, creative director for the Golden Record carried by the probes. The Voyager theme continues in this week’s What’s Up space trivia contest. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-voyager-45th-anniversary-ann-druyanSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We now know the rough outline of how NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) expect to get the samples collected by Perseverance off Mars and into labs on Earth. Mars Sample Return Program Manager Richard Cook of JPL will take us through the intricate and audacious steps required. The plan now includes two Mars helicopters! Trickster Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, provides the surprising answer for his latest space trivia question. Apollo 11 was not the first liftoff from another world! There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-richard-cook-mars-sample-returnSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Astronomer Jane Greaves and her worldwide team have had quite a ride. It has been two years since the Cardiff University professor announced evidence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. Many scientists were and still are skeptical, but Jane is back with more data, including some that she shares with us first. She and Mat talk about what this could mean. Phosphine-belching Venusian penguins are very unlikely, but we want your artists’ concepts of them! That’s in addition to yet another space trivia contest from Bruce Betts. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-jane-greaves-more-venus-phosphineSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists have used data collected by an exquisitely sensitive instrument on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe to find a stunning collection of complex organic molecules at the comet known as Chury. The findings are an important step toward understanding the origin of our solar system and life on Earth. Bruce Betts will continue the cometary commentary with this week’s Random Space Fact.  There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-hanni-altwegg-wampfler-churySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As NASA’s deputy administrator, Lori Garver fought to cancel the Constellation program and shift NASA to use commercial partnerships in spaceflight. She failed at the first but succeeded at the second. She joins the show to discuss the lessons she learned from her time at NASA, key strategies for bringing change to a reticent bureaucracy, and the ways in which NASA should serve the nation and the public. Discover more here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/lori-garver-bringing-change-to-nasaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NASA Jet Propulsion Lab scientists Armin Kleinboehl and Marek Slipski lead a new project that is recruiting thousands of citizen explorers. They explain to host Mat Kaplan how this massive effort may help us finally understand how the once plentiful Martian surface water disappeared. Then we look back to the dawn of science as Bruce Betts closes out our latest What’s Up space trivia contest. And there’s a meteor shower around the corner! There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-cloudspotting-on-marsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She is only the tenth director of JPL, and the first woman to hold the position. It’s a homecoming for Laurie Leshin who got her PhD at Caltech, the operator of JPL on behalf of NASA. Laurie talks about her priorities for the lab, and how excited she is about the missions already underway and those to come. Planetary Society chief advocate Casey Dreier analyzes Russia’s announcement that it will withdraw from the International Space Station. Casey also shares his love of “Contact.” The classic science fiction film based on Carl Sagan’s novel has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Bruce Betts will join us for another tour of the night sky and more in What’s Up. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-jpl-director-laurie-leshinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Mat Kaplan leads with a special announcement. Then we spend a fascinating hour with the former director of NASA’s Planetary Science division and retired chief scientist Jim Green, who reports on a recent workshop that explored the potential of radio telescopes on the Moon’s farside. He also shares anecdotes from his long history of space science and NASA service. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-james-green-lunar-science See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you seen them? Five spectacular images have given us a taste of what’s ahead from the James Webb Space Telescope. Bill Nye will share his reactions after we hear excerpts from NASA’s image revealing event on July 12. We’ll then talk with astrophysicist Tom Greene of the NASA Ames Research Center. Tom has hundreds of hours on the new space telescope to examine planets circling other stars. Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts will add his thoughts during What’s Up as he offers a space trivia question that ties the JWST to a long lost fast food hamburger. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-jwst-image-reveal-greene-nye See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one deserves more credit for enabling the new era of commercial space development than former NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver. That includes the commercial crew program that brings astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Mat welcomes Lori back for a conversation about her excellent new memoir that tells the inside story of this achievement. You’ll get the chance to win “Escaping Gravity” in this week’s What’s Up space trivia contest. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-lori-garver-escaping-gravity-book See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the 25th anniversary of the Pathfinder Mars mission and Sojourner, the first rover on the Red Planet. Historian Michael Neufeld joins the show to put this path blazing mission in context as the start of NASA’s low-cost Discovery mission line. There have been 12 Discovery missions over the past 25 years, with two Venus missions now in development. Why did Discovery succeed when other attempts to reign in costs failed? What drove NASA’s readiness to experiment with new ways of building spacecraft? And how did an embarrassing loss for JPL push the lab to change its approach to planetary exploration? We’ll answer these and other questions as we explore the history of one of NASA’s most successful programs. Discover more here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/michael-neufeld-discovery-program See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We Earthlings are making progress toward defending our planet from near-Earth objects, which is reason enough for the annual Asteroid Day celebration. Co-founder Danica Remy tells us what to expect, while Detlef Koschny, acting head of the European Space Agency’s Planetary Defence Office, reviews ESA’s expanded efforts. Planetary Society chief scientist Bruce Betts oversees the Society’s deep involvement before he shows us the current night sky. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-danica-remy-detlef-koschny-planetary-defense See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 rocketed into orbit three years ago. Society CEO Bill Nye, chief operating officer Jennifer Vaughn, and LightSail program manager Bruce Betts join Mat Kaplan for a look at the long road to this award-winning mission, the current status of the spacecraft, and what’s ahead. Society editorial director Rae Paoletta provides a sneak peek at the June Solstice edition of The Planetary Report, and digital community manager Sarah Al-Ahmed shares highlights of the just-completed meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Take your shot at winning Bruce’s new book about the solar system in this week’s What’s Up segment. There’s more to discover at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-lightsail-2-third-anniversary-nye-betts-vaughn See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lindy Elkins-Tanton’s wonderful new memoir is titled, “A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman.” Host Mat Kaplan talks with Lindy about this sometimes harrowing, often heroic, and adventurous chronicle of her path toward leadership of the Psyche asteroid mission. This new conversation follows their brief encounter in a Jet Propulsion Lab clean room that we presented last May. Your chance to win Lindy’s book arrives in this week’s What’s Up segment with Bruce Betts. Discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-lindy-elkins-tanton-portrait-of-the-scientist-book See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join host Mat Kaplan in Washington D.C. for conversations with outstanding presenters at the first in-person Humans to Mars Summit in three years. You’ll hear from Inspiration 4 astronaut Sian Proctor, chief engineer for NASA’s robotic exploration program “Hoppy” Price, and the designer of  award-winning Martian homes. NASA deputy administrator and former space shuttle commander Pam Melroy delivered a brilliant keynote. Then Bruce Betts tells us about the new STEP Grant opportunity from The Planetary Society.  Hear and discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-2022-humans-to-mars-summit See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caltech planetary scientist and Planetary Society president Bethany Ehlmann was a key player in the creation of the recently released recommendations that may guide solar system exploration for years to come. SPE host Casey Dreier talks with her about the process and approach that led to this influential document. Discover more here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/bethany-ehlmann-decadal-survey See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Mat Kaplan has returned from the UK and the recording of The Moons Symphony by the London Symphony Orchestra. You’ll hear excerpts from our Planetary Radio Live show celebrating this intersection of art and science with composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg and three distinguished planetary scientists. It was produced at Imperial College London before a live audience. Hear and discover more at https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2022-planetary-radio-live-moons-symphony See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.