Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

The Planetary Society

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.

Episodes

Yuri's Night 2026: Celebrating 65 years of human spaceflight

At Yuri's Night 2026, held at Griffith Observatory the day after Artemis II splashed down, Sarah Al-Ahmed spoke with educators, engineers, astronauts, and space philosophers about 65 years of human spaceflight and what it means to see Earth from space.

Apr 29

59 min

Project Hail Mary hits the big screen

“Project Hail Mary” has arrived on the big screen, and we're diving into the real science behind Andy Weir's latest blockbuster with senior communications adviser Mat Kaplan, award-winning Nature correspondent Alexandra Witze, Virginia Tech astrophysicist Nahum Arav, and Planetary Society chief scientist Bruce Betts.

Apr 22

1 hr 1 min

Book Club Edition: Founder and CEO Peter Beck on The Launch of Rocket Lab

Sir Peter Beck adds to the story told about his hugely successful and innovative company in “The Launch of Rocket Lab,” a beautifully illustrated, monumental book.

Apr 17

57 min

Triumph and turmoil: Artemis II and the renewed fight to save NASA science

The Artemis II crew has returned home safely after a historic journey around the Moon. We celebrate some of the most extraordinary moments from the mission. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the new Presidential Budget Request proposes a 47% cut to NASA's science budget, threatening 84 missions.

Apr 15

59 min

Artemis II launches to the Moon

Four astronauts are on their way around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. This week on Planetary Radio we bring you the sounds of launch day and the voices of the people who made it happen.

Apr 8

57 min

Space Policy Edition: Return to Launch — Cape Canaveral's unlikely history

Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Stephen C. Smith, author of Return to Launch and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex communicator, to explore how a remote Florida peninsula became the heart of U.S. spaceflight.

Apr 3

1 hr 13 min

Artemis II’s AVATAR and a sungrazing comet

Lisa Carnell, Director of NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division, explains AVATAR, the experiment flying organ chips grown from astronaut cells on Artemis II. Then, asteroid hunter Alain Maury tells the story of discovering a sungrazing comet that could become one of the most spectacular in decades.

Apr 1

1 hr

The astronaut health experiments of Artemis II

Steve Platts, chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program, walks us through the health experiments aboard Artemis II, followed by Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier on NASA's Ignition Day announcements.

Mar 25

1 hr 3 min

Book Club Edition: The Giant Leap: Why Space is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life

Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf eloquently explores the future of humanity and what we will become when we live beyond Earth.

Mar 20

1 hr 17 min

The 18th European Space Conference: Dreaming of European boots on the Moon

As humanity heads back to the Moon, Europe is stepping up. We bring you voices from the European Space Conference and take you inside the Moonlight Initiative panel building the Moon’s future.

Mar 18

56 min