Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck joins the show to unpack his company’s bold, $4-billion fixed-price plan to bring Martian samples home, why he believes commercial partnerships can unlock new frontiers in planetary science, and his “soft spot” for interplanetary exploration. Then, Richard French — former JPL engineer and now VP of Business & Strategy at Rocket Lab — provides deeper insight into their proposed Mars Sample Return architecture, explaining how a single, vertically integrated team could cut costs and secure mission success. And yes, we get an update on the status of their Venus mission, too.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/can-rocketlab-save-msr

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck joins the show to unpack his company&rsquo;s bold, $4-billion fixed-price plan to bring Martian samples home, why he believes commercial partnerships can unlock new frontiers in planetary science, and his &ldquo;soft spot&rdquo; for interplanetary exploration. Then, Richard French &mdash; former JPL engineer and now VP of Business &amp; Strategy at Rocket Lab &mdash; provides deeper insight into their proposed Mars Sample Return architecture, explaining how a single, vertically integrated team could cut costs and secure mission success. And yes, we get an update on the status of their Venus mission, too.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/can-rocketlab-save-msr">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/can-rocketlab-save-msr</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.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck outlines a $4B fixed-price plan for Mars Sample Return — and reveals new Venus mission details — before VP Richard French explains how a single, integrated team cuts costs and ensures success.

Space Policy Edition: Mars Sample Return, but at what (fixed) price?

Star Trek turned 60 on Sept. 8, 2026, and to celebrate, we're kicking off a special two-part series exploring the franchise's deep and lasting connection to real-world space exploration. In Part 1, Robert Picardo, the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek: Voyager, now starring in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and a member of The Planetary Society's Board of Directors, joins Sarah Al-Ahmed to trace the relationship between Star Trek and The Planetary Society all the way back to a 1980 letter from Gene Roddenberry himself. Bob talks about how playing a holographic doctor for 30 years led him to become a real-world space advocate, and what Star Trek's non-human characters can teach us about what it means to be human. Then, Bruce Betts, Planetary Society Chief Scientist, joins for What's Up and a discussion of solar sails in the franchise.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-star-trek-at-60-part-1

Star Trek turned 60 on Sept. 8, 2026, and to celebrate, we're kicking off a special two-part series exploring the franchise's deep and lasting connection to real-world space exploration. In Part 1, Robert Picardo, the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek: Voyager, now starring in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and a member of The Planetary Society's Board of Directors, joins Sarah Al-Ahmed to trace the relationship between Star Trek and The Planetary Society all the way back to a 1980 letter from Gene Roddenberry himself. Bob talks about how playing a holographic doctor for 30 years led him to become a real-world space advocate, and what Star Trek's non-human characters can teach us about what it means to be human. Then, Bruce Betts, Planetary Society Chief Scientist, joins for What's Up and a discussion of solar sails in the franchise.
Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-star-trek-at-60-part-1">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-star-trek-at-60-part-1</a>

Robert Picardo, the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek: Voyager and now Starfleet Academy, traces the sixty-year bond between Star Trek and The Planetary Society, from Gene Roddenberry's 1980 letter to the halls of Congress. 

Star Trek at 60: What do we value the most? (Part 1)

We tend to think of private space exploration as a recent phenomenon. But as Alex MacDonald, former Chief Economist at NASA, argues in his book "The Long Space Age," privately funded space exploration has deep roots in American history, stretching back more than two centuries.

In this 2017 conversation with The Planetary Society's Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier, originally aired on the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio, MacDonald traces the economic history of American space exploration from the 1769 transit of Venus all the way to the present day, and makes the case that the government-dominated model we grew up with may actually be the historical anomaly.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/long-space-age

We tend to think of private space exploration as a recent phenomenon. But as Alex MacDonald, former Chief Economist at NASA, argues in his book "The Long Space Age," privately funded space exploration has deep roots in American history, stretching back more than two centuries.
In this 2017 conversation with The Planetary Society's Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier, originally aired on the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio, MacDonald traces the economic history of American space exploration from the 1769 transit of Venus all the way to the present day, and makes the case that the government-dominated model we grew up with may actually be the historical anomaly.
Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/long-space-age">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/long-space-age</a>

Alex MacDonald, former Chief Economist at NASA and author of "The Long Space Age," joins Casey Dreier to explore more than two centuries of privately funded space exploration in America.

Space Policy Edition: The Long Space Age with Alex MacDonald

Dennis Stone, president and co-founder of the World Space Week Association, takes us behind the scenes of the largest annual space event on Earth. From its origins as a volunteer effort in Houston to a UN-declared celebration reaching 50,000 events in over 100 countries, Dennis shares how World Space Week inspires the next generation, and how you can get involved this Oct. 4 through 10. Then, Science Editor Asa Stahl breaks down the end of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the 21-year-old space telescope that's falling out of orbit after a bold rescue mission fell short. Plus, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts looks back at a milestone centennial in this week's What's Up, 100 years since Robert Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-world-space-week-and-swift

Dennis Stone, president and co-founder of the World Space Week Association, takes us behind the scenes of the largest annual space event on Earth. From its origins as a volunteer effort in Houston to a UN-declared celebration reaching 50,000 events in over 100 countries, Dennis shares how World Space Week inspires the next generation, and how you can get involved this Oct. 4 through 10. Then, Science Editor Asa Stahl breaks down the end of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the 21-year-old space telescope that's falling out of orbit after a bold rescue mission fell short. Plus, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts looks back at a milestone centennial in this week's What's Up, 100 years since Robert Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket.
Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-world-space-week-and-swift">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-world-space-week-and-swift</a>

Dennis Stone, president and co-founder of the World Space Week Association, shares how the largest annual space event on Earth came to be and how you can join the celebration this October. Plus, Science Editor Asa Stahl walks us through the final chapter of the Swift space telescope.

Space Policy Edition: Mars Sample Return, but at what (fixed) price?

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