Planetary Radio
Encyclopedia
Planetary Radio is a weekly 30-minute radio show devoted to space exploration
and astronomy
, hosted and produced by Mat Kaplan and The Planetary Society. Every week, it consists mostly of interview
s and telephone-based conversations with a scientist
, engineer
, project manager
, artist
, a writer
and an astronaut
. In addition, it contains segments such as "Questions and Answers", hosted by Emily Stewart Lakdawalla, space headlines, and the program ends with a light-hearted segment called "What's Up" with Bruce Betts which highlights where and when you can see significant astronomical events that week, a random space fact, an announcement of any anniversaries, and a space trivia contest where randomly chosen participants can usually win a t-shirt
, poster or calendar. Occasionally, Planetary Radio will cover proceedings of conferences related to the exploration of space.
It made its debut on the Internet in November 2002, with an interview with Planetary Society executive director Louis D. Friedman
, in Windows Media
. At the same time, KUCI
started airing Planetary Radio on its schedule, and in February 2004, WMUH
added it to its schedule. It became available in MP3
format for download in early July 2004. Starting from May 2005, it is also available as a podcast
. Archives of previous shows are available and new programs are normally released on Mondays. Over 300 episodes of Planetary Radio have been produced to date (October 2008).
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, hosted and produced by Mat Kaplan and The Planetary Society. Every week, it consists mostly of interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
s and telephone-based conversations with a scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, project manager
Project manager
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software...
, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and an astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. In addition, it contains segments such as "Questions and Answers", hosted by Emily Stewart Lakdawalla, space headlines, and the program ends with a light-hearted segment called "What's Up" with Bruce Betts which highlights where and when you can see significant astronomical events that week, a random space fact, an announcement of any anniversaries, and a space trivia contest where randomly chosen participants can usually win a t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
, poster or calendar. Occasionally, Planetary Radio will cover proceedings of conferences related to the exploration of space.
It made its debut on the Internet in November 2002, with an interview with Planetary Society executive director Louis D. Friedman
Louis Friedman
Louis Friedman is an American astronautics engineer and space spokesperson. He was born in New York and raised in the Bronx. Dr. Friedman was a co-founder of The Planetary Society with Carl Sagan and Bruce C. Murray.-Education and career:...
, in Windows Media
Windows Media
Windows Media is a multimedia framework for media creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows. It consists of a software development kit with several application programming interfaces and a number of prebuilt technologies, and is the replacement of NetShow technologies.The Windows Media SDK...
. At the same time, KUCI
KUCI
KUCI is a college radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Irvine, California, USA, the station serves the Orange County area...
started airing Planetary Radio on its schedule, and in February 2004, WMUH
WMUH
WMUH is a college radio station, supported through Muhlenberg College, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in the United States....
added it to its schedule. It became available in MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format for download in early July 2004. Starting from May 2005, it is also available as a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
. Archives of previous shows are available and new programs are normally released on Mondays. Over 300 episodes of Planetary Radio have been produced to date (October 2008).
Current stations and services
As of June 2009 there are over 150 radio stations and services across the US and the world currently broadcasting Planetary Radio, along with Sirius XM Satellite Radio.Guests
- Mike A'Hearn, Deep Impacts Principal Investigator
- Andrea Acomazzo, Rosetta Operations Manager
- Mark Adler, Spirit Mission Manager
- Tariq Adwan,
- Bill Ailor, Director of the Aerospace Corporation's Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies
- Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Astronaut
- Amir Alexander, Writer and Editor for planetary.org
- Claudia Alexander, Galileo Project Manager
- Carlton Allen, Curator, Johnson Space Center Astromaterials Lab
- Mark Allen, Principal Investigator for MARVEL
- Buzz Alrin, Apollo 11 Astronaut
- Scott D. Altman, Astronaut
- Bob Anderson,
- Clay Anderson, Astronaut
- David Anderson, Project Director for SETI@Home
- John Anderson, JPL Senior Research Scientist
- Nigel Angold, Ulysses Mission Operations Manager
- Heather Archuletta, NASA experimental test subject
- Richard Arnold, NEEMO 13 Crew
- Sami Asmar, Manager of the Radio Science Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Tim Bailey, space activist
- Kevin Baines, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Bruce Banerdt, MER Project Scientist
- Donald Banfield, Cornell planetary scientist
- Jay Barbree, NBC Space Correspondent
- Jacob Bean, NASA Sagan Fellow and astronomer
- Reta Beebe, Astronomer
- Jim Bell, Cornell professor
- Greg Benford,
- Jim Benford,
- Bob Benjamin, Research Scientists
- Steve Benner, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution
- Andrew Benson, cosmologist
- Bruce Betts, Director of Projects, The Planetary Society
- Debbie Biggs, Educational Specialist at NASA
- Alan Binder, Principal Investigator for Lunar Prospector
- Peter Birtwhistle, Amateur Astronomer
- Bill Blair, Astrophysicist
- Scott Bolton, Principal Investigator for JUNO
- Andre Bormanis, Star Trek writer and consultant
- William Borucki, Kepler Principal Investigator
- Bill Boynton, Lead Scientist, Phoenix TEGA
- Ray Bradbury, Author, poet, and visionary
- David Brin, Science Fiction Author
- Mike BrownMichael E. BrownMichael E. Brown has been a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology since 2003....
, Caltech astronomer and discoverer of ErisEris (dwarf planet)Eris, formal designation 136199 Eris, is the most massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the ninth most massive body known to orbit the Sun directly... - Don Brownlee, Stardust Principal Investigator
- Roger Buick, Professor, University of Washington
- James Burke, Project Manager, Ranger program
- James D. Burke, Technical Editor of The Planetary Report
- Don Burnett, Genesis mission principal investigator and lead scientist
- Mike Callahan, Goddard Spaceflight Center
- John Callas, Mars Exploration Rover Program Manager
- James Cameron, Director, Producer, Writer
- John Casani, Prometheus Project Manager
- Robert Cassanova, Director of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts
- Andrew Chaikin, Author
- David CharbonneauDavid CharbonneauDavid Charbonneau is a Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. His research focuses on the development of novel techniques for the detection and characterization of planets orbiting nearby, Sun-like stars...
, Harvard Astronomer - Neil Cheatwood, Principal Investigator
- Phil Christensen, Arizona State University planetary scientist
- Ben Clark, Lockheed Martin's Chief Scientist of Space Exploration
- Arthur C. Clarke, Author
- Geoffrey Collins, Planetary Scientist
- Joy Crisp, Project Scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover mission
- Carolyn Crow, Faculty Research Assistant, University of Maryland
- Glen Cushing, planetary scientist
- Shana Dale, NASA Deputy Administrator
- Thomas Dame, Radio Astronomer
- Paul Davies, cosmologist and author
- Matt Dawson,
- Imke de Pater, Astronomer
- Neil deGrasse TysonNeil deGrasse TysonNeil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, a science communicator, the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History...
, Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York - John Delaney, Oceanographer
- Greg Delory, Mars Microphone Developer
- Tilmann Denk, Free University of Berlin
- Peter Diamandis, Chairman, X Prize Foundation
- Don Dixon, Space Artist
- Laurance Doyle, Principal Investigator
- Frank Drake, SETI Institute
- Courtney Dressing, Student Astronaut
- Ann Druyan,
- Dan Durda, Near Earth Object astronomer and astronomical painter
- Tom Duxbury, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Freeman Dyson,
- Ken Edgett, Malin Space Science Systems
- Charles Elachi, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director
- Annmarie Eldering, Deputy Manager of JPL's Earth Atmospheric Science Section
- Richard Ellis, Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology
- Doug Ellison, blogger and founder of unmannedspaceflight.com
- Jim Erickson, Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager
- Francis Everitt, Principal Investigator, Gravity Probe B
- Wolfgang Fink, CalTech physicist/robotocist
- Debra FischerDebra FischerDebra A. Fischer is a professor of astronomy at Yale University. Fischer has co-authored over 100 papers on dwarf and sub-stellar mass objects in the galactic neighborhood, including many on extrasolar planets. She is a principal investigator with the N2K Consortium searching for exoplanets...
, Astronomer - Bernard Foing, ESA Chief Scientist and SMART-1 Project Scientist
- Jonathan Frakes, Director of Thunderbirds
- Louis Friedman, Planetary Society Executive Director
- Satoshi Furukawa, NEEMO 13 Crew
- Daniel Gaines, JPL engineer
- Owen Garriott,
- Lori Garver, Former Associate Administrator for Policy and Plans at NASA
- James Garvin, NASA's Chief Scientist
- Scott Gaudi, Astronomer
- Pamela Gay, Astronomer and Astronomy Cast Co-host
- Neil Gehrels, Principal Investigator for Swift
- Mark Gittelman, Vice President and General Manager, Oceaneering Space Systems
- Walter Goetz, Mars Exploration Rovers magnet team member from the University of Copenhagen
- Dan Goldin,
- Barry Goldstein, Project Manager for Phoenix
- Matt Golombek, Co-chair, Mars Exploration Rover Landing Site
- Jim Graf, MRO Project Manager
- Douglas Graham, XCOR Aerospace
- Stephen Grasby, Geologic Survey of Canada
- Jeff Greason, CEO, XCOR Aerospace
- Jack Gregg, Head, California Space Education & Workforce Institute
- Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator
- Mike Griffin, NASA Administrator
- Javiera Guedes, astrophysicist
- Lika Guhathakurta, Program Scientist, Solar Probe Plus
- Don Gurnett, Cassini Mission Radio and Plasma Wave Science Team Lead
- Pablo Gutierrez-Marques, Dawn Framing Camera Flight Manager
- Albert Haldemann, Deputy Project Scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover mission
- Howard Hall, Under the Sea 3D
- Michelle Hall, Under the Sea 3D
- Heidi Hammel, planetary scientist and Planetary Society Board member
- Rick Hanton, Chair, SEDS-USA
- Joe Harrington, Spitzer Space Telescope team member
- Alan Harris, one of many scientists working to protect our little planet from Near Earth Objects
- William Hartmann, Planetary scientist, author, and artist
- Stephen Hawking, physicist
- Ken Herkenhoff, Lead Scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover's Microscopic Imager
- Homer Hickam, Author and Former NASA Engineer
- Paul Hill,
- Victoria Hipkin, Lead Scientist, Phoenix MET
- Jeff Hoffman, Astronaut
- Mark Hofstadter, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Robert Holmes, Shoemaker NEO Grant recipient
- Jack Holt, University of Texas, Austin
- Paul Horowitz, Harvard Astrophysicist
- Robert Lee Hotz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer for the Los Angeles Times
- Justin Houchin, a 17-year-old from Sunland, California, could be the first teenager in space
- Andrew Howard,
- Steve Howell, Astrophysicist
- Steve Hughes, IRVE Lead Engineer
- Wes Huntress, Planetary Society President and Former NASA Associate Administrator
- Wendy Jaeger, planetary scientist
- Thomas Janka, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
- Lindley Johnson, NASA
- Torrence Johnson,
- Tom JonesTom JonesTom Jones is the name of:* Tom Jones , Welsh singer* Tom Jones , Australian politician representing Collie-Wellington district...
, Astronaut - Mat Kaplan, Producer and Host, Planetary Radio
- Junichiro Kawaguchi, Hayabusa Project Manager
- Charles Kennel, Space Studies Board Chair
- Bettyann Kevles, Author
- Vickie Kloeris, NASA food scientist
- Andrew Knoll, Harvard biologist and science team member for the Mars Rover project
- Charley Kohlhase, Engineer, Artist, Cassini Mission Designer
- Detlef Koschny, European Space Operations Centre
- Michael Krepon, Head of the Space Security Project
- Liz Kruesi, Astrophysics Graduate Student
- Emily Lakdawalla, Science and Technology Coordinator, The Planetary Society
- Yuval Landau,
- Lonne Lane, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Huygens Mission Manager and Project Scientist
- Wayne Lee, Mars Exploration Rover Entry, Descent and Landing Chief Engineer
- Guillermo Lemarchand, Director of Southern SETI
- Mark Lemmon, Lead Scientist, Phoenix SSI
- Laurie Leshin, Principal Investigator for SCIM
- Joel Levine, Principal Investigator for ARES
- Hal Levison, Southwest Research Institute
- Chris Lewicki, Flight Director for the Mars Exploration Rover Missions
- John Lewis, planetary scientist
- Tim Lilburn, ATCC Scientist
- Slava Linkin, Russian Federation Space Research Institute
- Alexis Livanos, Northrop Grumman Space Technology President
- Mario Livio, Space Telescope Science Institute
- Daniel Lockney, Editor NASA's Annual Spinoff Report
- Jon Lomberg, Visions of Mars Project Director
- Rosaly Lopes,
- M. G. Lord, Author of Astro Turf
- Ralph Lorenz, planetary scientist
- Christophe Lovis, Geneva Observatory
- Sandy Magnus, astronaut
- Rob Manning, Entry, Descent and Landing Development Manager for Spirit and Opportunity
- Geoff Marcy, UC Berkeley astronomer
- Brian Marsden, Retired Director of the IAU's Minor Planet Center
- Robin Mason, filmmaker
- Todd Mason, filmmaker
- Richard Massey, Astronomer
- Jake Maule, Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition
- Peter Mayer, Folksinger
- Hal McAlister, Director, Mt. Wilson Institute
- Patrick McCarthy, Giant Magellan Telescope Director
- Dan McClese, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Climate Sounder principal investigator
- Art McDonald, Director of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
- Alfred McEwen, Principal Investigator for HiRISE
- Lucy McFadden, Planetary Scientist
- James McGaha, Amateur Astronomer
- Chris McKay, planetary scientist
- Bill McKinnon, planetary scientist
- Curtis Mead, Research Assistant, All-Sky Optical SETI
- Abel Mendez, Associate Professor, University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo
- Michael Meyer, Astronomer, University of Arizona
- Neil Milburn, Armadillo Aerospace vice president and co-founder
- Berrien Moore, Climate Central Executive Director
- Rafael Morozowski, Student Astronaut
- David Morrison, Interim Director of the Lunar Science Institute
- Philip Morrison, Famed Physicist and SETI Pioneer
- Michael Mumma, Director, Goddard Center for Astrobiology
- Bruce Murray, Planetary Society co-founder
- Elon Musk, Founder of SpaceX
- Toni Myers, producer/director
- Glen Nagle, Education and Outreach Manager for the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex
- Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez, researcher
- Gerhard Neukum,
- Bob Nichol, Scientific Spokesperson, Sloan Digital Sky Survey
- Nichelle Nichols,
- Bill Nye, The Science Guy
- James Oberg, Writer and expert on international space programs
- Adriana Ocampo, Senior Scientist, European Space Agency
- Mike Okuda, graphic artist, Star Trek
- Steve Ostro, Radar Astronomer
- Toby Owen, Planetary Scientist
- Larry Page, Google co-founder
- Bob Pappalardo,
- Tim Parker, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Nicholas Patrick, NEEMO 13 Crew
- Robert Picardo, actor, Star Trek
- Carle Pieters, planetary scientist
- Phil Plait, The Bad Astronomer
- Jeffrey Plaut, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Tom Prince, physicist
- Linda Purl, Actor
- Margaret Race, Ecologist
- Jon Ramer, Space Artist
- Lisa Randall, Harvard physicist
- Marc Rayman, Dawn Project System Engineer
- Nilton Renno, University of Michigan
- John Rhys-Davies,
- Jeff Richichi, SpaceX Director of Structural Design
- Sally Ride, First American Woman in Space
- Andrew Rivkin, Planetary Scientist
- Mary Roach, Author
- Massimo Robberto, Astronomer
- Kim Robinson, Science Fiction Author
- Kim Stanley Robinson, Science Fiction Author
- Rod Roddenberry, writer
- Alexis Rodriguez, Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
- Lawrence Rudnick, Astronomer
- John Rummel,
- Chris Russell, Dawn Principal Investigator
- Burt Rutan, SpaceShipOne
- Roald Sagdeev, former Director of the Soviet Space Research Institute
- Gerry Sanders, NASA's In Situ Resource Utilization Project
- Scott Sandford, Co-Investigator, Stardust
- Harrison Schmitt, Moonwalker
- Gerhard Schwehm, Rosetta Project Scientist
- Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 Astronaut
- Rusty Schweikart, B612 Foundation Chairman and Apollo 9 Astronaut
- Ben Shelef, Spaceward Foundation founder
- Donna Shirley, Planetary Society Advisory Council
- Seth Shostak, SETI Institute
- Mark Showalter, planetary astronomer
- Mike Simmons, President of Astronomers Without Borders
- Amy Smith, ATCC Scientist
- Peter Smith, Phoenix Principal Investigator
- Dava Sobel, Author
- B. Thomas Soifer, Director of the Spitzer Science Center
- Claudio Sollazzo, Mission Operations Manager
- Sean Solomon, Principal Investigator for MESSENGER
- John Spencer, President and Founder, Space Tourism Society
- Linda Spilker, Cassini Project Scientist
- Tom Spilker, JPL Engineer
- Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator for the Athena Science Payloads on the two Mars Exploration Rovers
- Andrew StantonAndrew StantonAndrew Stanton is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional voice actor based at Pixar Animation Studios. His film work includes writing and directing Finding Nemo and WALL-E; both films earned him the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.-Life and career:Stanton was...
, WALL*E Creator - Andrew Steele, Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition
- Alan Stern, New Horizon's Principal Investigator
- S. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of New Horizons Mission to Pluto
- David Stevenson, Caltech planetary scientist
- Ellen Stofan, Cassini Radar Team
- Ed Stone, Voyager Interstellar Mission Chief Scientist
- Woody Sullivan, UW Astronomer
- Jessica Sunshine, spectroscopist and Deep Impact co-investigator
- Hakan Svedhem, Project Scientist for Venus Express
- Håkan Svedhem, Venus Express Project Scientist
- Mark Swain, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Mark Sykes, Director of the Planetary Science Institute
- Alex Tai, Vice President for Operations, Virgin Galactic
- Kenneth Tanaka, United States Geological Survey
- Jill Tarter, SETI Institute
- Stacy Tearne, Director of Communications, Space Adventures
- Robert Bruce Thompson, co-author, Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders
- Tim Titus, planetary scientist
- Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto's discoverer
- Roy Tucker,
- Elizabeth Turtle, Planetary scientist
- Slava Turyshev, JPL Research Scientist
- Stephane UdryStéphane UdryStéphane Udry is an astronomer at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, whose current work is primarily the search for extra-solar planets. He and his team, in 2007, discovered a possibly terrestrial planet in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Gliese 581, approximately 20 light years...
, Astronomer - Mark Uhran, NASA's Assistant Associate Administrator for the International Space Station
- Jurrie van der Woude,
- Max Vasile, University of Glasgow
- Faith Vilas, Planetary Science Institute
- John Vilja, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne's Program Manager
- Richard Vondrak, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Scientist
- Mary VoytekMary VoytekDr. Mary A. Voytek is a microbiologist with the United States Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia, and director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Astrobiology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.- Fields :...
, NASA Astrobiology Program Director - Bettye Walker, Cofounder, A-Man International Science Discovery & Learning Center
- Hal Walker, Cofounder, A-Man International Science Discovery & Learning Center
- Steve Wall, Deputy Team Leader, Cassini RADAR
- David Warmflash, NASA Astrobiology Institute
- Edward Weiler, NASA Associate Administrator
- Dan Wertheimer, SETI Scientist
- Dan Werthimer, UC Berkeley SETI Chief Scientist
- Andrew Westphal, Stardust science team member
- Cheryl Wheeler, Singer, Songwriter
- Roger Wiens, Genesis Mission Team Member
- Mark Wolverton, Author
- Al Worden, Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot
- Ned Wright, Principal Investigator for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
- Beth Wusk, IRVE Project Manager
- J. Judson Wynne, USGS Speleologist
- Quanzhi Ye, Shoemaker NEO Grant recipient
- Don Yeomans, Manager of NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office
- John Young, Astronaut
- Alexander Zakharov, Russian Space Research Institute
- Robert ZubrinRobert ZubrinRobert Zubrin is an American aerospace engineer and author, best known for his advocacy of the manned exploration of Mars. He was the driving force behind Mars Direct—a proposal intended to produce significant reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission...
, author and founder of The Mars Society - Rich Zurek, MRO Project Scientist