“Project Hail Mary” is finally in theaters, and the science is just as thrilling as the story. This week on Planetary Radio, Sarah Al-Ahmed and senior communications adviser Mat Kaplan share their first reactions fresh from the theater. Author and producer Andy Weir tells us in his own words what the story is really about, in a flashback conversation with Mat. Award-winning Nature correspondent Alexandra Witze takes a critical scientific eye to the film. Virginia Tech astrophysicist Nahum Arav walks us through the real-life fate of our Sun. And in What's Up, Bruce Betts joins us to explore just how long it would actually take humanity to reach Tau Ceti at the fastest speed a spacecraft has ever traveled. 


Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-project-hail-mary-hits-the-big-screen

&ldquo;Project Hail Mary&rdquo; is finally in theaters, and the science is just as thrilling as the story. This week on Planetary Radio, Sarah Al-Ahmed and senior communications adviser Mat Kaplan share their first reactions fresh from the theater. Author and producer Andy Weir tells us in his own words what the story is really about, in a flashback conversation with Mat. Award-winning Nature correspondent Alexandra Witze takes a critical scientific eye to the film. Virginia Tech astrophysicist Nahum Arav walks us through the real-life fate of our Sun. And in What's Up, Bruce Betts joins us to explore just how long it would actually take humanity to reach Tau Ceti at the fastest speed a spacecraft has ever traveled.&nbsp;
 Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-project-hail-mary-hits-the-big-screen">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-project-hail-mary-hits-the-big-screen</a>

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.

“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.

Project Hail Mary hits the big screen

The Planetary Society's 2026 Day of Action brought something new this year. For the very first time, the advocacy day was followed by a showcase of NASA funded science in an event called Igniting Discovery.

Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Jack Kiraly, Director of Government Relations at the Planetary Society, about how the event came together, and with first-time advocate Julianna Charlene Kolczynski, whose passion for space traces back to her grandfather's dreams. Megan McKeown, Director of Governmental Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, opens the event. Then we hear from the scientists themselves: Blake Schreurs of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, planetary scientist Kirby Runyon of the Planetary Science Institute, Christine McCarthy of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Brent McBride of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, biomechanics PhD student Liliana Delgado of the University of Nebraska Omaha, and science communicator Sarah Treadwell, also known as Space Case Sarah. Planetary Society member Ari Gozlan closes with a reflection on what it means to celebrate science after the Day of Action. Plus, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins Sarah for What's Up.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-igniting-discovery

The Planetary Society's 2026 Day of Action brought something new this year. For the very first time, the advocacy day was followed by a showcase of NASA funded science in an event called Igniting Discovery.
Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Jack Kiraly, Director of Government Relations at the Planetary Society, about how the event came together, and with first-time advocate Julianna Charlene Kolczynski, whose passion for space traces back to her grandfather's dreams. Megan McKeown, Director of Governmental Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, opens the event. Then we hear from the scientists themselves: Blake Schreurs of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, planetary scientist Kirby Runyon of the Planetary Science Institute, Christine McCarthy of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Brent McBride of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, biomechanics PhD student Liliana Delgado of the University of Nebraska Omaha, and science communicator Sarah Treadwell, also known as Space Case Sarah. Planetary Society member Ari Gozlan closes with a reflection on what it means to celebrate science after the Day of Action. Plus, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins Sarah for What's Up.
Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-igniting-discovery">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-igniting-discovery</a>

For the first time, the Planetary Society's annual Day of Action was followed by Igniting Discovery, a showcase of the NASA-funded science we're fighting to protect, held in the US Senate building. 

Igniting Discovery: A showcase of NASA-funded research

Every year, members of The Planetary Society travel to Washington, D.C., to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. This year, just days after the Artemis II crew splashed down off the coast of San Diego, the Presidential Budget Request dropped once more, proposing a 46% cut to NASA's science budget. 

Planetary Radio host Sarah Al-Ahmed was on the ground capturing the passion, the preparation, and the people behind one of the largest Days of Action in the Planetary Society's history. In this episode, we hear from Bill Nye, Planetary Society chief ambassador. Sarah speaks with Planetary Society CEO Jenn Vaughn, charter members and advocates David Johnson and Philip Shane, healthcare researcher and human factors scientist Gabe Segarra, astrobiologist and postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Science Earth & Planets Laboratory Michael Wong, and Colossus Computing CEO Jason Cerundolo and CTO Alex Swehla.

Plus, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins us for What's Up, where we discuss the missions at stake if NASA's science budget is cut.


Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-day-of-action

Every year, members of The Planetary Society travel to Washington, D.C., to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. This year, just days after the Artemis II crew splashed down off the coast of San Diego, the Presidential Budget Request dropped once more, proposing a 46% cut to NASA's science budget.&nbsp;
Planetary Radio host Sarah Al-Ahmed was on the ground capturing the passion, the preparation, and the people behind one of the largest Days of Action in the Planetary Society's history. In this episode, we hear from Bill Nye, Planetary Society chief ambassador. Sarah speaks with Planetary Society CEO Jenn Vaughn, charter members and advocates David Johnson and Philip Shane, healthcare researcher and human factors scientist Gabe Segarra, astrobiologist and postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Science Earth &amp; Planets Laboratory Michael Wong, and Colossus Computing CEO Jason Cerundolo and CTO Alex Swehla.
Plus, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts joins us for What's Up, where we discuss the missions at stake if NASA's science budget is cut.
 Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-day-of-action">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-day-of-action</a>

The fight to save NASA science is back. Planetary Radio host Sarah Al-Ahmed takes you to Washington, D.C., for the 2026 Day of Action, where Planetary Society members, scientists, and advocates hit Capitol Hill to oppose a proposed 46% cut to NASA's science budget.

Day of Action 2026: Rejoining the fight to save NASA science

When Artemis II returned its crew safely to Earth, millions of people found themselves unexpectedly moved. The mission was a test flight, a proof-of-concept, and yet it felt like something far greater than the sum of its parts.

In this episode, Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Rebecca Lowe, philosophy senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to explore the deeper meaning of humanity's return to deep space. Drawing on philosophy of mind, aesthetics, and theories of value, they unpack why human presence in space feels fundamentally different from even the most sophisticated robotic mission, and why that difference matters.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-philosophy-of-artemis-ii

When Artemis II returned its crew safely to Earth, millions of people found themselves unexpectedly moved. The mission was a test flight, a proof-of-concept, and yet it felt like something far greater than the sum of its parts.
In this episode, Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Rebecca Lowe, philosophy senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to explore the deeper meaning of humanity's return to deep space. Drawing on philosophy of mind, aesthetics, and theories of value, they unpack why human presence in space feels fundamentally different from even the most sophisticated robotic mission, and why that difference matters.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-philosophy-of-artemis-ii">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/spe-philosophy-of-artemis-ii</a>

Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, sits down with Rebecca Lowe, philosophy senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to explore why human presence in space is so different from robotic missions, and why that difference matters.

Project Hail Mary hits the big screen

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