Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science · The Planetary Society

Looking back: Space exploration in 2025

·1 hr 9 min·5 clips

Host Sarah Al-Ahmed previews 2025's breathtaking space exploration tests and achievements in this year-end special.

This episode is a retrospective on the major space exploration events and achievements of the year 2025. Host Sarah Al-Ahmed of The Planetary Society is joined by several society staff members to review the year. The guests include Public Education Specialist Kate Howells, Senior Communications Advisor Matt Kaplan, Science Editor Asa Stahl, and Digital Community Manager Amber Trujillo. The discussion covers the results of The Planetary Society's global "Best of 2025" public voting on images and accomplishments. It reviews specific events including lunar landing missions and the return of samples from asteroids. Other topics are significant solar storm activity and milestones in the discovery and characterization of exoplanets. The year's launches of new spacecraft and the deployment of a new generation of telescopes are also examined. The episode features the quarterly magazine *The Planetary Report* and its special year-in-pictures edition. The final segment, "What's Up," features Chief Scientist Bruce Betts looking ahead to 2026. Kate Howells reveals the public's selected best images and missions from the year's space activities. The panel reflects on how 2025 presented serious challenges that tested the space exploration community. Despite these tests, the year is noted for delivering what the host calls "truly breathtaking achievements." The conversation spans activities across the solar system and includes research extending beyond it. The staff members provide their collective analysis on which stories had the biggest impact. The tone is conversational, educational, and celebratory, structured as a panel discussion among colleagues. The style is informative and accessible, aimed at space enthusiasts of all levels. This episode is ideal for listeners who enjoy annual recaps of space news and achievements from a public engagement perspective. Those seeking highly technical, mission-specific deep dives or breaking news might find the broad overview less suited to their interests.

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