Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition: Recent Episodes
The Planetary Society
Scott Pace, the prior executive secretary of the National Space Council, discusses why Artemis is of strategic value to U.S. national interests — and why the Moon is unique as a destination to drive global space exploration.
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.
What is NASA’s return on investment? NASA chief economist Alex MacDonald and University of Illinois Chicago professor Joshua Drucker provide revealing answers from a new economic impact report.
Bethany Johns of the American Astronomical Society talks with Planetary Society Chief Advocate Casey Dreier about how changes in Washington after the midterm elections may affect support for science.
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.
How will nations react if (when?) humanity detects the presence of an alien intelligence or civilization? That’s the topic Planetary Society Chief Advocate Casey Dreier takes up with his guest, astrophysicist Jason Wright.
Former NASA Associate Administrator Mike Gold shepherded the Artemis Accords, a set of bilateral agreements for collaboration in human space exploration. Casey Dreier spoke with him in Florida as we awaited the launch of Artemis 1.
Former NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver returns for a deep conversation with Casey Dreier about her fight to turn the agency toward commercial partnerships and away from the expensive Constellation program.
Space exploration historian Michael Neufeld traces the fascinating history of one of NASA’s most successful programs of planetary exploration.
Professor Bethany Ehlmann served on the steering committee for the new planetary science and astrobiology decadal survey that will steer future exploration of the solar system.
International space policy and sustainability expert Mariel Borowitz explores with Casey Dreier how the war in Ukraine reaches beyond Earth in ways that are chilling and surprising.
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.
Casey talks with experts about the 50th anniversary of the Pioneer 10 launch toward Jupiter and beyond, and why most outer planets missions since then have been so costly.
Science historian Robert Smith describes how NASA's new flagship space observatory came to be.
Planetary Society chief of D.C. operations Brendan Curry returns for a look ahead at what to expect in 2022.
Veteran astronomer Heidi Hammel discusses how the new astrophysics decadal survey lays the groundwork for decades of exciting science.
The head of NASA’s planetary defense program discusses how the DART mission represents a new era for defending our planet from dangerous asteroids.
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 outreach expert and social scientist Linda Billings talks with host Casey Dreier about the language space advocates use to share their message.
NASA’s Bhavya Lal returns to explain the challenges and big advantages of nuclear propulsion in space.
The Pentagon has released its assessment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Casey Dreier and science journalist Sarah Scoles talk about what’s behind the renewed interest in UFOs and Sarah’s book, They Are Already Here.
The White House’s proposed 2022 NASA budget is almost entirely great news, as is the announcement that two complementary orbiters will explore Venus.
NASA chose SpaceX’s Starship as the sole winner of its human lunar lander development contract in a move that may also take us closer to Mars.
It looks like former senator Bill Nelson will be NASA’s next administrator. Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan talk about his nomination and other developments in Washington D.C., including The Planetary Society’s very successful Day of Action.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX nearly failed 15 years ago as it struggled to launch its first rocket. Eric Berger has written about this challenging early era and how it helped create today’s successful, innovative company.
Matt Hourihan of the American Association for the Advancement of Science joins Casey Dreier for a deep dive into the U.S. government’s funding of science research and development.
Casey Dreier and our special guest, former National Space Council chief of staff Jared Zambrano-Stout, consider the troubling events at the U.S. Capitol in this special episode.
Space historian Teasel Muir-Harmony argues in her fascinating new book that the Apollo lunar program was promoted as a triumph of, not for, all mankind.
With the United States election over, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan welcome back Planetary Society Chief of D.C. Operations Brendan Curry for a review of what may be in store for the U.S. space program.
Where would a Biden Administration take US space policy and NASA? Casey Dreier and space journalist Jeff Foust synthesize a best guess based on the available evidence.
The National Space Council’s Scott Pace talks with Casey Dreier about the current administration’s sweeping new strategy that integrates all elements of space development and exploration.
The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration’s Mary Lynne Dittmar talks with Casey Dreier about how and why spacefaring nations prioritize funding for space development and exploration.
How big is the space economy, and how big might it grow? Space policy expert Dr. Bhavya Lal brings the numbers down to Earth in a great conversation with Casey Dreier.
The safe arrival of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon at the International Space Station is a huge success for NASA and policymakers who gambled years ago on the value of commercial partnerships for the agency.
Philosopher James Schwartz shares his thoughts about the ethics of space exploration, commercialization, and settlement.
Join The Planetary Society’s policy team, including Bill Nye, for highlights of a members-only live briefing that shared our analysis of how the coronavirus pandemic may affect space exploration.
NASA’s fiscal year 2021 budget request contains lots of good news along with a few disappointments. How will Congress weigh in?
Casey and his guest discuss a bill working its way through the US House of Representatives that challenges the Artemis plan adopted by NASA for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Legislation signed by President Trump in December formally established the 6th branch of the U.S. armed services, the first such expansion in 72 years. What exactly will the new Space Force do?
As the 2010s come to a close, Marcia Smith, the founder of Space Policy Online, rejoins the show to explore the most significant and impactful space policy decisions of the 2010s.
How can a simple report—just words on a page—lead to creation of a spacecraft? We explore how a 2019 report on the need for a dedicated, space-based telescope to find threatening near-Earth asteroids motivated NASA to pursue that very mission.
October 1st kicked off federal fiscal year 2020—a day that should also have kicked off a new budget for NASA. But Congress has not funded the space agency yet, instead passing a temporary stopgap measure to keep the government open until November 21st. Brendan Curry, The Planetary Society's Chief of D.C. Operations, joins the show to discuss the latest political developments in Washington, good news for planetary defense, and how the funding delay could spell trouble for the space agency's 2024 lunar goal.
As NASA struggles to return humans to the Moon by 2024, it's worth asking: why did it stop in the first place? Space historian John Logsdon joins the show to discuss the politics behind the decision to abandon the Moon in 1972. Casey and Mat also discuss the proposal to offer a $2 billion prize for sending humans back to the Moon and establishing a base there, and why that's not good public policy.
Did the public support Project Apollo? Dr. Emily Margolis joins the show to explore the domestic politics and cultural impact of the space age throughout the 1960s. Despite the success of the lunar landings, there was more opposition to Apollo than we generally remember.
Space historian Dr. Roger Launius joins the show to explain why Apollo happened the way it did, how a moonshot briefly became a solution to a national security problem, and why it is unlikely to happen again.
The U.S. won the space race in July of 1969 with the success of Apollo 11. But was the Soviet Union even racing? How close were they to beating the United States to the Moon?
Thirty years ago, Dr. Mark Albrecht led the National Space Council when President George H.W. Bush announced the Space Exploration Initiative, an ambitious effort to send humans to the Moon and then on to Mars.
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.
Historian John Logsdon discusses his new book, Ronald Reagan and the Space Frontier It explores the legacy of the 40th president’s major space policy decisions. We look at four major topics: early efforts at commercializing space, the survival crisis for planetary exploration, the Space Shuttle, and the decision to build the space station.
China's space program notched an impressive "first" last month when its Chang'e 4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. The U.S. space program, in contrast, was in the midst of an extended shutdown. Some observers expect China's growing space capability and lunar ambitions to trigger a new space race. Not Dr. Roger Handberg, Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida. He discusses how the current geopolitical situation differs from the Cold War standoff between two superpowers, and how we shouldn't expect dollars to flow back to the U.S. space program as a consequence of China's space successes. Cooperation, or even friendly competition, is a much more likely outcome than a new space race.
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.
Canada was the third country in history to launch a satellite into space, but now lags in its space ambitions, capability, and spending. What happened?
The counting continues as we publish this month’s special episode, with a handful of seats in the US Senate and House still up for grabs. But with the Democratic takeover of the House assured, and several longtime space advocates turned out, change is certainly coming.
Happy 60th, NASA. In celebration of the space agency’s birthday, we do the audio equivalent of pulling out NASA’s baby book and explore its origin story.
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.
The Senate just held a hearing on NASA's efforts to send humans to...Mars? A week later, the same committee advanced legislation to extend the life of the International Space Station to 2030, six years beyond the current end-date and two years beyond the current hardware safety ratings.
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.
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.
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?
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.
As promised, Casey Dreier and Jason Callahan are back with a special review of the just-released FY 2019 President’s Budget Request (PBR) for NASA. It contains good news, bad news and odd news. What is likely to stand? What will Congress ignore, going its own way? NASA’s new lunar ambitions, Mars Sample Return, WFIRST and more hang in the balance. Let the debate begin.
Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye attended the State of the Union address on January 30th, he also spent the day meeting with sixteen different members of Congress to promote science on Capitol Hill. In this special abbreviated show, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan welcome their colleague Matt Renninger, who joined Bill on Capitol Hill, to discuss the goals of The Planetary Society and the reasons why it was important for Bill to attend.
It’s the space policy guys’ turn to look back at a year that saw great achievements in space. Were they matched by events in Washington DC?
Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos. Richard Branson. These are the names we tend to associate with the current era of private space exploration. But what about John Quincy Adams, James Lick, or Charles Yerkes? Space economist and historian Dr. Alex MacDonald joins us to discuss his book,
The likely next Administrator of NASA, Jim Bridenstine, appeared before a somewhat skeptical Senate committee to defend his nomination. Casey and Jason recap the hearing and assess Congressman Bridenstine’s chance of moving forward.
Fifteen years before Sputnik, on a bright 1942 afternoon in northern Germany, a thundering machine of metal and fire pierced the sky, ultimately touching the edge of space for the first time in history. It opened a new era of opportunity and terror with rocket technology. Dr. Michael Neufeld joins us discuss the significance of this test and how it happened.
The multi-billion dollar, multi-decade Cassini mission is about to end. A new report tries to answer an important question: are flagship science missions like Cassini worth the effort and expense? And how can NASA maximize the value of these endeavours? Dr. Ralph McNutt, co-chair of the National Academies study, reviews the report’s recommendations.
New U.S. sanctions against Russia have reignited speculation that global politics could undermine cooperation in the International Space Station. Could Russia cut off rides for US astronauts to the ISS? Later, Casey Dreier joins Spark Science host Dr. Regina Barber Degraaff for a conversation with U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen, Democratic representative of Washington state’s 2nd District. We also check in on NASA's 2018 budget, which is currently moving through the Senate. Did they provide funding for a new Mars orbiter?
A new report builds the case for long overdue returns to Uranus and Neptune, while another proposal calls for exploration of the many bodies in our solar system that hide vast water oceans. Jason Callahan, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan dive into the troubled waters that determine which planetary science missions will get the limited funds available.
The Trump Administration released its proposed FY2018 budget just days ago. Casey Dreier, Jason Callahan and Mat Kaplan dive deep into what this controversial plan means for NASA and how it has been received by Congress.
Moon or Mars? Should NASA depend on private companies? What’s the goal of human spaceflight? These questions were debated three decades ago, yet are just as relevant today. Does that mean space policy is stagnant?
Whether it’s discovering gravity waves, curing cancer or building a space station, the biggest science challenges increasingly require investments that are beyond what private industry can afford and collaborations that include many nations. Casey, Jason and Mat look at the history of big science and the outlook for future efforts. The team also reviews the 2018 budget proposed for NASA by the Trump Administration, and shares other space policy news from Washington.
Laura Delgado Lopez from the Harris Corporation joins us to talk about the growing number of countries getting into the space business, particularly in Latin America. Casey, Jason, and Mat also take stock of SpaceX's plans to send humans around the Moon in 2018, and how the newly-announced Trump budget cuts could hurt NASA.
It’s still too early to say where the Trump Administration will take NASA, but there are a few hints. Congress is not waiting. Casey, Jason and Mat review a draft of the space agency’s authorization bill and a separate act that asks NASA to lay out its plans for humans to reach Mars.
After an opening update on the presidential transition, Casey, Jason and Mat share their nominees for the biggest space exploration events of 2016. Then they take on fascinating questions submitted by listeners. You’ll also hear the surprising early announcement of NASA’s next Discovery missions.
The SPE team reviews the outlook for human spaceflight, planetary science, Earth observation and much more under the upcoming Trump administration.
Just in time for election day in the USA, we take stock of the major candidates' space policies (as far as they go), comparing statements and policy op-eds put out by both campaigns. We also look at the broader implications and challenges of the coming Presidential transition for NASA.
We take a deep dive into new space legislation working its way through the US Senate. It embraces Mars and NASA's big rocket. But Elon Musk and SpaceX just announced an ambitious new plan to colonize Mars. Does this upset the political establishment? Or will they find a cold reception in the halls of Congress? Also, where does science fit into the politics of space?
In honor of OSIRIS-REx—NASA’s newest asteroid mission—we explore the policy and history of near-Earth Objects: why NASA explores them, how the government plans to find and defending the planet, and the how policy can keep up with ambitious plans to mine asteroids.
In our third episode, we debate the risks and rewards of tying the future of a Europa mission to the fate of NASA's massive Space Launch System rocket. Also, NASA just announced that the next Mars rover will cost $2.4 billion—$900 million more than initially thought. But the mission is not considered over budget. Why not? Lastly, the U.S. just generated 50 grams of Plutonium-238, the largest amount in nearly thirty years. We celebrate the successful effort to create this critically important, though highly toxic, power source for deep space spacecraft.
This month Jason Callahan, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan ask whether the Moon vs. Mars human destination debate makes sense, highlight a new report on the science potential of CubeSats by the National Academies, and explain how a thrilling planetary science mission like Juno gets a thumbs up from NASA.
In the premiere of this new monthly series we briefly examine the latest move by the House of Representatives in the game of NASA's budget and then discuss what Lockheed Martin's new