Digital editor Jason Davis is a lucky guy. He follows and reports on human spaceflight progress, as well as the progress of the LightSail solar sail, which is about a year from its next flight.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Digital editor Jason Davis is a lucky guy. He follows and reports on human spaceflight progress, as well as the progress of the LightSail solar sail, which is about a year from its next flight.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.

Big Rockets and Little LightSails

Alicia Brown from the Commercial Space Federation and Brittany Webster from the American Geophysical Union join the show to discuss NASA’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, which aims to slash the agency’s funding by nearly 25%, cut science by 47%, and reduce staffing to levels not seen since 1960.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/fy2026-nasa-budget-discussion

Alicia Brown from the Commercial Space Federation and Brittany Webster from the American Geophysical Union join the show to discuss NASA&rsquo;s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, which aims to slash the agency&rsquo;s funding by nearly 25%, cut science by 47%, and reduce staffing to levels not seen since 1960.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/fy2026-nasa-budget-discussion">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/fy2026-nasa-budget-discussion</a>

Alicia Brown from the Commercial Space Federation and Brittany Webster from the American Geophysical Union join the show to discuss NASA’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.

Space Policy Edition: NASA’s 2026 budget

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is poised to become one of the most powerful ground-based observatories ever built. On June 12, 2025, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced that the GMT will enter its Major Facilities Final Design Phase, bringing it one step closer to full construction. This week on Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Rebecca Bernstein, Chief Scientist for the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization and astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, about the groundbreaking technology behind GMT and how it will transform our understanding of the Cosmos.

Later in the show, Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, returns to discuss his new op-ed in Space News on the White House’s controversial Mars plan, and why a bold vision without political consensus is unlikely to succeed.

As always, we wrap up with What’s Up with Bruce Betts, chief scientist at The Planetary Society.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-gmt

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is poised to become one of the most powerful ground-based observatories ever built. On June 12, 2025, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced that the GMT will enter its Major Facilities Final Design Phase, bringing it one step closer to full construction. This week on Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Rebecca Bernstein, Chief Scientist for the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization and astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, about the groundbreaking technology behind GMT and how it will transform our understanding of the Cosmos.
Later in the show, Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, returns to discuss his new op-ed in Space News on the White House&rsquo;s controversial Mars plan, and why a bold vision without political consensus is unlikely to succeed.
As always, we wrap up with What&rsquo;s Up with Bruce Betts, chief scientist at The Planetary Society.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-gmt">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-gmt</a>

The Giant Magellan Telescope advances toward construction with support from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Rebecca Bernstein joins us to explore how this groundbreaking observatory will transform our view of the Universe.

The Giant Magellan Telescope takes its next big step

Few writers have captured the wonder of science through storytelling as powerfully as Dava Sobel. In this episode, we celebrate her remarkable career and her recent honor as the recipient of The Planetary Society’s 2025 Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science. Mat Kaplan, senior communications advisor at The Planetary Society, sits down with Sobel for a conversation about the human lives behind great scientific discoveries, from Galileo and Copernicus to the women of the Harvard Observatory and Marie Curie’s lab. 

Later in the show, Jack Kiraly, our director of government relations, joins us with an encouraging update on our public advocacy campaign to save NASA science. And don’t miss What’s Up with Bruce Betts, where we reflect on the role of science communicators and share a fresh Random Space Fact.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-cosmos-award

Few writers have captured the wonder of science through storytelling as powerfully as Dava Sobel. In this episode, we celebrate her remarkable career and her recent honor as the recipient of The Planetary Society&rsquo;s 2025 Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science. Mat Kaplan, senior communications advisor at The Planetary Society, sits down with Sobel for a conversation about the human lives behind great scientific discoveries, from Galileo and Copernicus to the women of the Harvard Observatory and Marie Curie&rsquo;s lab.&nbsp;
Later in the show, Jack Kiraly, our director of government relations, joins us with an encouraging update on our public advocacy campaign to save NASA science. And don&rsquo;t miss What&rsquo;s Up with Bruce Betts, where we reflect on the role of science communicators and share a fresh Random Space Fact.
Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-cosmos-award">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-cosmos-award</a>

Dava Sobel receives The Planetary Society’s Cosmos Award for her extraordinary storytelling about science and discovery. We celebrate her work, hear from Bill Nye, and share updates on space policy and science communication.

Big Rockets and Little LightSails

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