Astronomers Without Borders Founder and President Mike Simmons and his colleagues share the passion, beauty and joy of the night sky from Argentina to Zambia.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Astronomers Without Borders Founder and President Mike Simmons and his colleagues share the passion, beauty and joy of the night sky from Argentina to Zambia.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

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.

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.

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

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 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, chief scientist for The Planetary Society, as they dive deep into the latest space news. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway with Casey Dreier and Jack Kiraly to discuss the politics of space exploration in the US and advocacy actions you can take to support the missions that matter. Visit planetary.org/radio for the space trivia contest, an episode guide, and much more.

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 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, chief scientist for The Planetary Society, as they dive deep into the latest space news. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway with Casey Dreier and Jack Kiraly to discuss the politics of space exploration in the US and advocacy actions you can take to support the missions that matter. Visit planetary.org/radio for the space trivia contest, an episode guide, and much more.

Astronomers Without Borders: Spreading the Wonder Worldwide

Pack your cosmic suitcase. This week on Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed is joined by Mark McCaughrean, astronomer, science communicator, and former Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency, to talk about his new book, “111 Places in Space That You Must Not Miss.” Part of the popular “111 Places” travel series, the book transforms the guidebook format into a tour across the Solar System and beyond, from Apollo landing sites on the Moon to Europa’s hidden oceans, and even the afterglow of the Big Bang.

Mark shares highlights from the book, stories from his career on missions like Hubble, Rosetta, and the James Webb Space Telescope, and reflections on how science and imagination come together to inspire exploration.

And in this week’s What’s Up, Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins Sarah to talk about his brand-new children’s books, “The Size of Space” and “Are We Alone?,” part of our growing series with Lerner Publishing Group.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-111-places-in-space

Pack your cosmic suitcase. This week on Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed is joined by Mark McCaughrean, astronomer, science communicator, and former Senior Advisor for Science &amp; Exploration at the European Space Agency, to talk about his new book, &ldquo;111 Places in Space That You Must Not Miss.&rdquo; Part of the popular &ldquo;111 Places&rdquo; travel series, the book transforms the guidebook format into a tour across the Solar System and beyond, from Apollo landing sites on the Moon to Europa&rsquo;s hidden oceans, and even the afterglow of the Big Bang.
Mark shares highlights from the book, stories from his career on missions like Hubble, Rosetta, and the James Webb Space Telescope, and reflections on how science and imagination come together to inspire exploration.
And in this week&rsquo;s What&rsquo;s Up, Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins Sarah to talk about his brand-new children&rsquo;s books, &ldquo;The Size of Space&rdquo; and &ldquo;Are We Alone?,&rdquo; part of our growing series with Lerner Publishing Group.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-111-places-in-space">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-111-places-in-space</a>

Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Mark McCaughrean, adjunct scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, for a tour of “111 Places in Space That You Must Not Miss”, a cosmic travel guide to the Universe.

A cosmic travel guide: 111 Places in Space That You Must Not Miss

This week on Planetary Radio, we look forward to International Observe the Moon Night on October 4, 2025. Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Staci Horvath, outreach coordinator for NASA’s Solar System Exploration Division at Goddard Space Flight Center and director of International Observe the Moon Night, and Theresa Summer, astronomy educator at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, about the history of the event, how it connects people around the world, and the many ways you can participate.

We also hear from Kate Howells, public education specialist at The Planetary Society, about her new book, “Moons: The Mysteries and Marvels of Our Solar System,” which combines striking space images and original illustrations to showcase the surprising diversity of moons in our Solar System.

And Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins Sarah for What’s Up with tips for observing the Moon and other wonders in the night sky.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-international-observe-the-moon-night

This week on Planetary Radio, we look forward to International Observe the Moon Night on October 4, 2025. Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Staci Horvath, outreach coordinator for NASA&rsquo;s Solar System Exploration Division at Goddard Space Flight Center and director of International Observe the Moon Night, and Theresa Summer, astronomy educator at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, about the history of the event, how it connects people around the world, and the many ways you can participate.
We also hear from Kate Howells, public education specialist at The Planetary Society, about her new book, &ldquo;Moons: The Mysteries and Marvels of Our Solar System,&rdquo; which combines striking space images and original illustrations to showcase the surprising diversity of moons in our Solar System.
And Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins Sarah for What&rsquo;s Up with tips for observing the Moon and other wonders in the night sky.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-international-observe-the-moon-night">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-international-observe-the-moon-night</a>

Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Staci Horvath, outreach coordinator at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and director of International Observe the Moon Night, and Theresa Summer, astronomy educator at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, about the history and global impact of International Observe the Moon Night.

International Observe the Moon Night 2025

NASA, the crown jewel of 20th-century technocratic liberalism, was the first to land humans on the Moon but now depends on SpaceX for its access to space. Atlantic writer Franklin Foer believes this reflects a diminishment of national capability and that NASA was inadvertently responsible for its own decline. He traces this transformation from a collective pursuit of higher values to a more individualistic — and idiosyncratic — motivation based on utility and extraction, and ties it to a larger trend in American politics over the past 50 years. Along the way, Frank and host Casey Dreier discuss if Elon Musk is the antithesis of Carl Sagan, the tensions between individualism and collectivism in American politics, and the role of the romantic ideal in the symbolism of space exploration.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/franklin-foer-on-nasas-decline

NASA, the crown jewel of 20th-century technocratic liberalism, was the first to land humans on the Moon but now depends on SpaceX for its access to space. Atlantic writer Franklin Foer believes this reflects a diminishment of national capability and that NASA was inadvertently responsible for its own decline. He traces this transformation from a collective pursuit of higher values to a more individualistic &mdash; and idiosyncratic &mdash; motivation based on utility and extraction, and ties it to a larger trend in American politics over the past 50 years. Along the way, Frank and host Casey Dreier discuss if Elon Musk is the antithesis of Carl Sagan, the tensions between individualism and collectivism in American politics, and the role of the romantic ideal in the symbolism of space exploration.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/franklin-foer-on-nasas-decline">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/franklin-foer-on-nasas-decline</a>

Atlantic writer Franklin Foer joins the show to discuss how NASA enabled the rise of Elon Musk, and, in doing so, sowed the seeds of its own decline.

Astronomers Without Borders: Spreading the Wonder Worldwide

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