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>

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.

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

Why do we explore space, and why does science matter in the first place?

In this Space Policy Edition rerun, Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier revisits a deeply influential 2020 conversation with philosopher and ethicist J. S. Johnson-Schwartz, author of The Value of Science and Space Exploration. As debates over NASA’s budget and the future of space science continue to resurface, this conversation remains strikingly relevant.

Dr. Johnson Schwartz makes a compelling philosophical case that science itself is not merely useful or beneficial, but a moral obligation. Beyond economic returns, technological spinoffs, or national prestige, the pursuit of knowledge has intrinsic value, and public space agencies play a critical role in representing that shared human interest.

Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/the-moral-case-for-space

Why do we explore space, and why does science matter in the first place?
In this Space Policy Edition rerun, Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier revisits a deeply influential 2020 conversation with philosopher and ethicist J. S. Johnson-Schwartz, author of The Value of Science and Space Exploration. As debates over NASA&rsquo;s budget and the future of space science continue to resurface, this conversation remains strikingly relevant.
Dr. Johnson Schwartz makes a compelling philosophical case that science itself is not merely useful or beneficial, but a moral obligation. Beyond economic returns, technological spinoffs, or national prestige, the pursuit of knowledge has intrinsic value, and public space agencies play a critical role in representing that shared human interest.
Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/the-moral-case-for-space">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/the-moral-case-for-space</a>

Why do we explore space? In this Space Policy Edition rerun, Casey Dreier speaks with philosopher Dr. J. S. Johnson-Schwartz about why space science is a moral obligation, beyond economics or prestige.

Space Policy Edition: The Moral Case for Space Science

The 2025 International Mars Society Convention convened at the University of Southern California this October for three days of passionate discussion about humanity’s future on the red planet. Speakers explored science, policy, technology, AI, synthetic biology, and the long-term path toward becoming a multi-planet species.

In this episode, Mat Kaplan, senior communications adviser at The Planetary Society, shares his conversations with speakers and guests at the Convention. We hear from Robert Zubrin, founder of The Mars Society, who delivered a fiery call to protect NASA’s science programs in the face of unprecedented budget cuts. Humphrey “Hoppy” Price, Chief Engineer for NASA’s Robotic Mars Exploration Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, updates us on the future of Mars Sample Return and new mission architectures. Keynote speaker Dex Hunter-Torricke, a longtime communications leader for SpaceX, Meta, and other major tech organizations, reflects on AI’s promise and peril, and why Mars remains a beacon of hope for humanity’s future.

Biologist and technologist Tiffany Vora, vice president for innovation partnerships at Explore Mars, and Erika DeBenedictis, biologist and founder of Pioneer Labs, reveal breakthroughs in synthetic biology and engineered microbes that could help future Martians survive. Steve Benner, chemist and founder of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME), revisits the Viking lander experiments and makes a provocative case that we may have found Martian life nearly 50 years ago.

Architect Melodie Yashar, CEO of AENARA and a pioneer in 3D-printed habitat research, shares progress in additive construction on Earth and Mars. James Burk, executive director of The Mars Society, discusses advocacy, analog research stations, and the organization’s expanding international footprint.

Finally, we meet Sasha, a 13-year-old presenter whose enthusiasm offers a bright glimpse of the next generation of explorers.

We wrap up the show with What’s Up with Bruce Betts, chief scientist at The Planetary Society, with a discussion of perchlorates in the Martian soil.


Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-mars-society-convention

The 2025 International Mars Society Convention convened at the University of Southern California this October for three days of passionate discussion about humanity&rsquo;s future on the red planet. Speakers explored science, policy, technology, AI, synthetic biology, and the long-term path toward becoming a multi-planet species.
In this episode, Mat Kaplan, senior communications adviser at The Planetary Society, shares his conversations with speakers and guests at the Convention. We hear from Robert Zubrin, founder of The Mars Society, who delivered a fiery call to protect NASA&rsquo;s science programs in the face of unprecedented budget cuts. Humphrey &ldquo;Hoppy&rdquo; Price, Chief Engineer for NASA&rsquo;s Robotic Mars Exploration Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, updates us on the future of Mars Sample Return and new mission architectures. Keynote speaker Dex Hunter-Torricke, a longtime communications leader for SpaceX, Meta, and other major tech organizations, reflects on AI&rsquo;s promise and peril, and why Mars remains a beacon of hope for humanity&rsquo;s future.
Biologist and technologist Tiffany Vora, vice president for innovation partnerships at Explore Mars, and Erika DeBenedictis, biologist and founder of Pioneer Labs, reveal breakthroughs in synthetic biology and engineered microbes that could help future Martians survive. Steve Benner, chemist and founder of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME), revisits the Viking lander experiments and makes a provocative case that we may have found Martian life nearly 50 years ago.
Architect Melodie Yashar, CEO of AENARA and a pioneer in 3D-printed habitat research, shares progress in additive construction on Earth and Mars. James Burk, executive director of The Mars Society, discusses advocacy, analog research stations, and the organization&rsquo;s expanding international footprint.
Finally, we meet Sasha, a 13-year-old presenter whose enthusiasm offers a bright glimpse of the next generation of explorers.
We wrap up the show with What&rsquo;s Up with Bruce Betts, chief scientist at The Planetary Society, with a discussion of perchlorates in the Martian soil.
 Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-mars-society-conference">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-mars-society-convention</a>

Mat Kaplan brings us to USC for the 2025 Mars Society Convention, where leaders in science, engineering, AI, biology, architecture, and advocacy share bold visions for humanity’s future on Mars. 

Inside the 2025 Mars Society Convention

NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft have finally launched on their journey to Mars. Designed to study how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ patchy magnetic fields and drives the loss of its atmosphere, ESCAPADE is NASA’s first dual-spacecraft mission to the Red Planet and a major milestone for the SIMPLEx program’s small, low-cost planetary explorers. The mission began its voyage aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket after several weather and space weather delays, marking the vehicle’s first science launch.

We begin with Ari Koeppel, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow and Space Policy Intern at The Planetary Society, who was at Cape Canaveral for the prelaunch activities. Ari shares what it was like to navigate repeated scrubs and even a powerful solar storm, along with the emotional experience of watching a spacecraft carrying an instrument he helped build begin its voyage to Mars.

Next, we are joined by Dr. Rob Lillis, ESCAPADE’s Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Planetary Science at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. Rob explains how ESCAPADE aims to unravel Mars’ complex space environment using two coordinated orbiters, why its measurements are key to understanding atmospheric escape, and how its innovative trajectory made the mission possible after the loss of its original rideshare opportunity.

Finally, Dr. Bruce Betts, Chief Scientist of The Planetary Society, returns for What’s Up to talk about why Mars produces aurora even without a global magnetic dynamo.


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

NASA&rsquo;s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft have finally launched on their journey to Mars. Designed to study how the solar wind interacts with Mars&rsquo; patchy magnetic fields and drives the loss of its atmosphere, ESCAPADE is NASA&rsquo;s first dual-spacecraft mission to the Red Planet and a major milestone for the SIMPLEx program&rsquo;s small, low-cost planetary explorers. The mission began its voyage aboard Blue Origin&rsquo;s New Glenn rocket after several weather and space weather delays, marking the vehicle&rsquo;s first science launch.
We begin with Ari Koeppel, AAAS Science &amp; Technology Policy Fellow and Space Policy Intern at The Planetary Society, who was at Cape Canaveral for the prelaunch activities. Ari shares what it was like to navigate repeated scrubs and even a powerful solar storm, along with the emotional experience of watching a spacecraft carrying an instrument he helped build begin its voyage to Mars.
Next, we are joined by Dr. Rob Lillis, ESCAPADE&rsquo;s Principal Investigator and Associate Director for Planetary Science at UC Berkeley&rsquo;s Space Sciences Laboratory. Rob explains how ESCAPADE aims to unravel Mars&rsquo; complex space environment using two coordinated orbiters, why its measurements are key to understanding atmospheric escape, and how its innovative trajectory made the mission possible after the loss of its original rideshare opportunity.
Finally, Dr. Bruce Betts, Chief Scientist of The Planetary Society, returns for What&rsquo;s Up to talk about why Mars produces aurora even without a global magnetic dynamo.
 Discover more at: <a href="https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-escapade">https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-escapade</a>

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission is on its way to Mars to study how the solar wind interacts with the planet’s magnetic fields and atmosphere. This week, we talk with Ari Koeppel and PI Rob Lillis about the mission’s launch and science goals, and examine Martian aurora in What’s Up.

The Giant Magellan Telescope takes its next big step

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