In 1996, a controversial claim of fossilized life in a Martian meteorite ignited a golden age of Mars exploration. Nearly 30 years later, a potential biosignature detected by the Perseverance rover at Jezero Crater has sparked…no major policy changes. Why? Lou Friedman joins the show to present his view.
Oct 28
How Perseverance drove itself into the record books
NASA’s Perseverance rover has driven farther than any other vehicle on another world. On Oct. 11, 2026, its odometer reached 45.22 kilometers (28.10 miles), passing the record Opportunity spent about 15 years setting. Perseverance did it in about five and a half years. To celebra ... Show More
1 h
Oct 21
Meet the Winners of The Planetary Society’s 2026 STEP Grants
Every two years, The Planetary Society funds research through our STEP Grants (Science and Technology Empowered by the Public). This year, all three winning projects focus on small bodies in our Solar System, like asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects. Each one tackles a differen ... Show More
1h 6m
Oct 16
Book Club Edition: Dinner With an Astronaut by Leroy Chiao
Leroy Chiao was one of the youngest astronauts ever selected. He would spend 229 days in low-Earth orbit, command the International Space Station, and perform three spacewalks. His book, “Dinner with an Astronaut,” chronicles his journey from Chinese American kid born in Milwauke ... Show More
1h 14m
Jun 2022
Lost Worlds: Life on Mars?
Mars was once a very different planet, with rivers, lakes, and — potentially — life. NASA’s latest Mars rover is on a mission to find traces of past life. What happens if it does?
This is the third episode of our new four-part series, Lost Worlds.
For more, go to http://vox.com/u ... Show More
30m 22s
Jan 2021
Mission To Mars | Seeing Red | S36-E1
Even after the Apollo program put astronauts on the moon, Mars remained out of reach. Then, in 1990, an ambitious engineer hatched an ingenious plan to send the first humans to the red planet. But will anyone at NASA buy into his idea?You can binge all episodes of American Innova ... Show More
35m 4s