How does change happen within NASA, and what prevents it? Marcia Smith, founder of Space Policy Online, joins the show to discuss the opportunities and pitfalls faced by incoming presidential administrations and how NASA has—and hasn’t—changed over the decades. Will Artemis be reimagined? Will public-private partnerships introduce more risk than reward? And is change even the right default attitude to take?

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/change-and-continuity-at-nasa-with-marcia-smith

 

How does change happen within NASA, and what prevents it? Marcia Smith, founder of Space Policy Online, joins the show to discuss the opportunities and pitfalls faced by incoming presidential administrations and how NASA has&mdash;and hasn&rsquo;t&mdash;changed over the decades. Will Artemis be reimagined? Will public-private partnerships introduce more risk than reward? And is change even the right default attitude to take?
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/change-and-continuity-at-nasa-with-marcia-smith">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/change-and-continuity-at-nasa-with-marcia-smith</a>
&nbsp;

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.

Marcia Smith, founder of Space Policy Online, joins the show to discuss the motivations and risks of pursuing change at NASA—and how much change can ultimately happen with Congress holding the purse strings.

Space Policy Edition: The Challenges of Change at NASA

After months of uncertainty, NASA science has been spared from the largest proposed budget cuts in the agency’s history. In this episode of Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed unpacks how Congress moved to restore near-full funding for NASA science and what that victory really means for missions, researchers, and the future of space exploration.

Sarah is joined by Jack Kiraly, director of government relations at The Planetary Society, and Ari Koeppel, an AAAS science & technology policy fellow at The Planetary Society, to break down what passed in the FY 2026 budget, why the details matter, and how bipartisan support helped protect science programs across planetary science, astrophysics, Earth science, and heliophysics.

The conversation also takes an honest look at the costs of the past year, from lost jobs and disrupted missions to shaken morale, and why rebuilding NASA’s scientific workforce will take time, even after this hard-won win. We also look ahead to what comes next as the FY 2027 budget process begins, and why sustained public engagement remains essential to protecting space science.

Plus, Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, joins us for What’s Up, where we discuss the recent early return of astronauts from the International Space Station, what’s known about the situation, and what it means for station operations.


Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-nasa-science-saved

After months of uncertainty, NASA science has been spared from the largest proposed budget cuts in the agency&rsquo;s history. In this episode of Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed unpacks how Congress moved to restore near-full funding for NASA science and what that victory really means for missions, researchers, and the future of space exploration.
Sarah is joined by Jack Kiraly, director of government relations at The Planetary Society, and Ari Koeppel, an AAAS science &amp; technology policy fellow at The Planetary Society, to break down what passed in the FY 2026 budget, why the details matter, and how bipartisan support helped protect science programs across planetary science, astrophysics, Earth science, and heliophysics.
The conversation also takes an honest look at the costs of the past year, from lost jobs and disrupted missions to shaken morale, and why rebuilding NASA&rsquo;s scientific workforce will take time, even after this hard-won win. We also look ahead to what comes next as the FY 2027 budget process begins, and why sustained public engagement remains essential to protecting space science.
Plus, Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, joins us for What&rsquo;s Up, where we discuss the recent early return of astronauts from the International Space Station, what&rsquo;s known about the situation, and what it means for station operations.
 Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-nasa-science-saved">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-nasa-science-saved</a>

Congress has passed a budget that restores near-full funding for NASA science after months of uncertainty. We break down what was saved, what was lost, and what comes next.

NASA science saved: Inside the 2026 budget victory

Famed astrophysicist and science communicator Adam Frank shares his sense of wonder and humor in a live conversation about his excellent new book, “The Little Book of Aliens.” Join Adam and host Mat Kaplan as they explore the origin of life, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and whether all those UFO sightings are worthy of deeper investigation.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/book-club-adam-frank

Famed astrophysicist and science communicator Adam Frank shares his sense of wonder and humor in a live conversation about his excellent new book, &ldquo;The Little Book of Aliens.&rdquo; Join Adam and host Mat Kaplan as they explore the origin of life, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and whether all those UFO sightings are worthy of deeper investigation.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/book-club-adam-frank">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/book-club-adam-frank</a>

The delightful astrophysicist and science communicator Adam Frank shares his thoughts about the search for life and intelligence across the Universe in the Planetary Society’s member book club.

Book Club Edition: The Little Book of Aliens by Adam Frank

Our Solar System is wrapped in a vast, invisible bubble created by the Sun, a protective region that shields Earth and the planets from much of the radiation that fills our galaxy. But until recently, scientists have only had rough sketches of what this boundary looks like and how it behaves.

In this episode of Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed is joined by David McComas, professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University and principal investigator of NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) missions, along with Matina Gkioulidou, a heliophysicist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, former IMAP-Ultra instrument lead, and current IMAP project scientist and co-investigator.

Now stationed at the Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange point, IMAP uses 10 instruments to study the heliosphere — the region where the solar wind collides with material from interstellar space. The mission does this by tracking energetic neutral atoms, particles that travel in straight lines from distant regions of the heliosphere, allowing scientists to map areas of space that spacecraft can’t directly sample.

McComas and Gkioulidou explain how IMAP builds on the legacy of Interstellar Boundary Explorer, what makes this mission different, and why understanding the Sun’s influence across space matters not just for fundamental science, but for space-weather forecasting and protecting technology and astronauts closer to home.

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

Our Solar System is wrapped in a vast, invisible bubble created by the Sun, a protective region that shields Earth and the planets from much of the radiation that fills our galaxy. But until recently, scientists have only had rough sketches of what this boundary looks like and how it behaves.
In this episode of Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed is joined by David McComas, professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University and principal investigator of NASA&rsquo;s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) missions, along with Matina Gkioulidou, a heliophysicist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, former IMAP-Ultra instrument lead, and current IMAP project scientist and co-investigator.
Now stationed at the Sun&ndash;Earth L1 Lagrange point, IMAP uses 10 instruments to study the heliosphere &mdash; the region where the solar wind collides with material from interstellar space. The mission does this by tracking energetic neutral atoms, particles that travel in straight lines from distant regions of the heliosphere, allowing scientists to map areas of space that spacecraft can&rsquo;t directly sample.
McComas and Gkioulidou explain how IMAP builds on the legacy of Interstellar Boundary Explorer, what makes this mission different, and why understanding the Sun&rsquo;s influence across space matters not just for fundamental science, but for space-weather forecasting and protecting technology and astronauts closer to home.
Discover more at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-imap">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-imap</a>

Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with David McComas, principal investigator of IMAP and IBEX, and Matina Gkioulidou, IMAP project scientist, about how energetic neutral atoms let us map the heliosphere.

Space Policy Edition: The Challenges of Change at NASA

In 1 playlist(s)

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips