Roughly 4,000 NASA workers — over 20% of the company — have left previously six months. In unique interviews, The Planetary Society spoke with a number of scientists who’re talking out concerning the influence of the company’s mass departures. Their tales are various — some had been fired or retired early, and others took voluntary buyouts. However all of them paint a standard image: certainly one of pointless waste, discarded experience, and haphazard selections. Picture credit score: NASA/The Planetary Society.
Within the face of funds threats, NIAC scientists and engineers are nonetheless trying to the long run. Every year, NASA’s Revolutionary Superior Ideas program (NIAC) funds visionary concepts that might form the way forward for area exploration. This week’s Planetary Radio brings you to the 2025 NIAC Symposium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, the place host Sarah Al-Ahmed introduces among the ideas introduced at this 12 months’s occasion.
Chief of Area Coverage Casey Dreier has been nominated for a SpaceNews Icon Award. The chief of The Planetary Society’s area coverage and advocacy program has been nominated within the Individual Achievement category, alongside Jarrett Jones (who led improvement of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket) and Josef Aschbacher (head of the European Area Company). The ultimate awards shall be introduced in early December.
Catch Casey Dreier on the Good Lady Dumb Questions podcast. Casey joined host Nayeema Raza to debate area coverage, the explanations we discover, and the science that drives all of it. You could find the present on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts.
Heading to TwitchCon in San Diego, CA? Planetary Radio host Sarah Al-Ahmed will be a part of Moohoodles for a reside panel, NASA & The Planetary Society: Area, Time, and You, on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. PT within the NomNom Theater. Collectively, they’ll discover area triumphs previous, current, and future, and the way on a regular basis folks may also help form the following frontier. In case you’re not on the occasion, it’s also possible to watch reside at twitch.tv/nomnom.
