Red Planet Live

Casey Dreier

🚀 In this episode: Ashton Zeth sits down with Casey Dreier — Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society — joins us to dig into why the search for life should be the guiding star of U.S. space policy. Casey breaks down how advocacy actually works in Washington, how NASA’s science budget is hanging in the balance, and what space lovers can do right now to help protect the future of exploration.We cover:🌌 Search for life as policy: Why astrobiology and exploration aren’t just cool science — they are the most enduring driver of public and political support for NASA.⚖️ Politics & NASA leadership: What it means that Jared Isaacman may bring energy and big expectations to the NASA Administrator role, and the real dynamics of confirmation and bipartisan support.🧠 People pleasing and political strategy: How leaders navigate both sides of the aisle — including big personalities and unexpected allies.📉 NASA Science under threat: From proposals to cut nearly half of NASA’s science funding to grassroots advocacy, we talk real numbers and real stakes. The Planetary Society’s Save NASA Science campaign has mobilized hundreds of advocates and worked with dozens of partner organizations to bring space science defenders to Capitol Hill.Planetary Society : https://www.planetary.org/📣 Planetary Society advocacy tools:2025 Planetary Society Impact Report --➡️ 🔗 https://www.planetary.org/about/our-impact/2025-impact-report➡️ 🔗 Save NASA Science Action Hub — https://www.planetary.org/save-nasa-s...➡️ 🔗 NASA Science Spending Tracker (interactive map) — https://dashboards.planetary.org/nasa...➡️ 🔗 Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition — (check ThePlanetary.org for latest episodes & archives)➡️ 🔗 The Space Advocate Newsletter — sign up at https://www.planetary.org/space-advocate📆 DAY OF ACTION APRIL 19th-20th, 2026: In Washington, D.C., an annual advocacy event where space enthusiasts meet with Congress members to push for strong space science funding and exploration, with registration opening with early bird discounts and offering training and organized meetings with lawmakers. 🎙️ Don’t forget — subscribe to Casey’s Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition and sign up for the monthly policy newsletter to stay informed and get involved. Your voice matters in shaping America’s space future!👇 Hit like, comment your biggest takeaway, and subscribe for more space policy insights!

Dr. Robert Zubrin #4

Dr. Robert Zubrin returns to Red Planet Live with major updates from the Mars Society and unfiltered insight into the future of space exploration. In this wide-ranging conversation, Zubrin shares his candid perspective on incoming NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and raises serious concerns about what he describes as an ongoing assault on science—examining the implications for cornerstone missions including Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope, Voyager, and more.The discussion also explores the state of Mars analog research, with updates on Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), and the newly established HOPE analog station in Ladakh, India. Zubrin closes by previewing the 2026 International Mars Society Convention, returning to USC in Los Angeles.Bold ideas, hard truths, and a relentless focus on the road to Mars. Onto Mars! 🚀

Morgan Connaughton , VP of Marketing & Comms at Rocket Lab

🎙️ Exclusive ESCAPADE Mission Update with Rocket Lab’s Morgan ConnaughtonIn this episode, we sit down with Morgan Connaughton, Rocket Lab’s Vice President of Communications, for a wide-ranging and inspiring conversation about storytelling in spaceflight—and she brought us an EXCLUSIVE update straight from the ESCAPADE mission to Mars.Morgan shares the behind-the-scenes excitement as Rocket Lab successfully completed a brand-new 13-second trajectory correction burn on the Blue spacecraft, with Gold scheduled for December 8. She walks us through how her team plans communications years in advance, and how you can be intimately involved in the success of a mission without ever touching a piece of hardware.We explore Rocket Lab’s famously lean comms team—just seven people creating videos, graphics, mission names, PR, and social content with the same intensity as the engineers designing the rockets. Morgan also talks about the joy and chaos of going public, the challenge of maintaining culture across 3,000+ employees, and the values that guide Rocket Lab’s approach: fierce efficiency and doing the impossible.She reflects on the art of mission storytelling, the importance of visuals in space history (including why the Moon landing broadcast still matters), and the rise of aspiring rocket photographers in New Zealand capturing Electron’s launches.We also dive into fan-favorite topics like:How her team comes up with Rocket Lab’s legendary mission namesThe adrenaline of the helicopter catch attemptESCAPADE’s twin spacecraft, Blue and Gold, and their journey to study Mars’ magnetosphereMorgan’s path is a testament to creating opportunity through passion, vision, and storytelling.This is one of our most inspiring episodes yet—and Rocket Lab’s ESCAPADE exclusive makes it one for the history books.Morgan Connaughton's LinkedIN:https://nz.linkedin.com/in/morgan-connaughton-4a211835Rocket Labhttps://rocketlabcorp.com/Escapadehttps://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/

Dr. Sara Seager

Exploring New Worlds: Dr. Sara Seager on Venus, Exoplanets, and Life Among the CloudsIn this episode of Red Planet Live, MIT astrophysicist Dr. Sara Seager takes us on a breathtaking journey through the frontiers of planetary science—from the acid clouds of Venus to the icy oceans of Enceladus, and even the methane lakes of Titan.Dr. Seager reveals why Venus, often overlooked, is one of the most thrilling destinations for future missions. She discusses the possibility of life within its sulfuric acid clouds, where stable biomolecules could persist despite the harsh chemistry. Her team’s latest findings continue to show a phosphine signal with 4.8-sigma confidence, renewing excitement about potential biological activity in our neighboring planet’s skies.We also explore the power of small but mighty missions, including Rocket Lab’s upcoming Venus probe and Asteria, the CubeSat that proved precision astronomy can thrive on a shoestring budget. Dr. Seager shares her insights on TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which at its peak was discovering up to 100 planet candidates a month—a quiet revolution in the search for other worlds.From Sub-Neptune exoplanets like K2-18b, showing signs of life with dimethyl sulfide in its hydrogen-rich atmosphere, to her visionary idea of Starshade, a large space telescope, Dr. Seager paints a hopeful picture of humanity’s search for life beyond Earth.We also touch on her Seager Equation—a parallel to the Drake Equation—and her book The Smallest Lights in the Universe, which reminds us that discovery is as much about human connection as it is about science.Join us as we uncover why the most “underdog” worlds—and missions—often hold the brightest potential for discovering life in the cosmos.Dr. Sara Seager's Links:https://www.saraseager.com/professionalbiographyVenus :  https://www.morningstarmissions.space/https://www.projectstarshade.com/Sara's memoir The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoirhttps://www.amazon.com/Smallest-Lights-Universe-Memoir/dp/0525576258

James Burk, Executive Director of the Mars Society

🎙 Ashton Zeth sits down with James Burk, Executive Director of the Mars Society, to share updates on the newest analog station HOPE in Ladakh, India (with ISRO as partners), record participation at MDRS, plans for the upcoming 2025 Mars Society Convention at USC, the launch of the new Mars Society Research Journal, and exciting developments from the Mars Technology Institute.🌍 Highlights:Massive participation at MDRS this seasonLaunch of the HOPE Analog in LadakhMars Society Convention 2025 — October 9–11 at USC (don’t miss Rob Manning at the Friday Night Banquet!)Updates from the Mars Technology Institute and new collaborations like Purdue UniversityDiscussing what's next in Mars exploration📅 Preliminary Convention Schedule (subject to change): View Here---Links --Journal of Space Analog Researchhttps://jsar.spaceHOPE analog Announcement:https://www.marssociety.org/news/2025/09/16/indias-first-crewed-mars-analog-launches-with-protoplanet-isro-the-mars-society/The Mars Society Convention 2025https://www.marssocietyconference.orgSponsor the upcoming convention in October: https://www.marssocietyconference.org/sponsorsFour Sponsorship Levels:GoldSilver BronzeLogo Only!Flashline Analog in the Arctichttps://fmars.marssociety.org/