Looking Back, Looking Forward with the Planetary Society All-Stars

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode is a year-in-review and preview from Planetary Society staff, highlighting 2017’s major space milestones—Cassini’s farewell, Juno’s science, active Mars missions, SpaceX’s rapid launch cadence, and NASA’s policy turbulence—then looking ahead to 2018’s crowded schedule of lunar, Mars, asteroid, and exoplanet missions, plus major policy and budget battles.

Main Topics: Cassini’s end and the changing era of flagship missions (Priority: 5/5): Emily and colleagues frame Cassini’s intentional plunge into Saturn as the year’s most significant and bittersweet event, emphasizing both the emotional farewell and the mission’s scientific legacy. The discussion broadens into concern that classic oversized flagship outer-planet missions are becoming less common as NASA shifts toward leaner architectures. Juno’s Jupiter science and the value of cameras (Priority: 4/5): Juno’s interior science, wind-depth findings, and polar imagery are highlighted as a major 2017 success. The conversation stresses that even small or public-facing cameras can become serious science tools, with JunoCam and other mission cameras enabling both research and public engagement. Mars exploration’s productivity and fragility (Priority: 4/5): The panel reviews a busy Mars year with orbiters and rovers, including Opportunity, Curiosity, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, and broader Mars program longevity. They note Opportunity’s potential to keep going indefinitely while also warning that legacy missions often end suddenly when communications fail. SpaceX’s rapid operational rise and Falcon Heavy anticipation (Priority: 4/5): SpaceX’s 18 successful launches, reused boosters, pad recovery, and commercial crew progress are presented as evidence that the company has entered a high-confidence operational phase. At the same time, the Falcon Heavy demo flight and Tesla Roadster payload raise questions about risk to nearby NASA infrastructure and the broader cultural meaning of billionaire-led spaceflight. NASA human spaceflight policy, Deep Space Gateway, and SLS delays (Priority: 5/5): Jason and Casey discuss the Deep Space Gateway as an intentionally flexible lunar-orbit architecture that could support either lunar return or Mars prep, while also critiquing the lack of concrete plans, funding clarity, and the cascading schedule problems of SLS/Orion. Europa Clipper’s mandated ride on SLS is singled out as a major downstream consequence. 2017 political transition, NASA leadership vacuum, and science advocacy (Priority: 5/5): Casey argues that 2017 was defined by a leadership transition: a new administration, a delayed NASA administrator nomination, the revival of a space council, and a policy directive pushing a return to the Moon. Emily and Casey stress that scientists are increasingly forced to engage politically to defend funding, Earth science, and STEM pathways. 2018 mission bonanza: moons, asteroids, exoplanets, and commercial crew (Priority: 5/5): The panel looks ahead to a packed 2018 with Chandrayaan-2, Chang’e 4, InSight, BepiColombo, Parker Solar Probe, OSIRIS-REx, Hayabusa2, New Horizons’ MU69 flyby, Falcon Heavy, LightSail 2, TESS, and possible U.S. crew launches from American soil for the first time since Shuttle retirement.

Key Arguments: Cassini’s end was emotionally difficult but scientifically successful, and its data will keep producing science for years. NASA is moving away from huge, all-in flagship outer-planet missions toward smaller, more cost-controlled flagship-class projects. Juno and even small cameras on spacecraft prove that imaging instruments can deliver both public excitement and unexpected science. Mars remains scientifically productive, but its success has made it politically easy to underfund or take for granted. SpaceX’s launch tempo in 2017 showed it had become a mature commercial launch provider, though reliability still needs longer-term proof for government users. The Deep Space Gateway is notable less for engineering detail than for showing NASA trying to create a politically flexible human-spaceflight pathway. SLS delays are not one problem but many small problems accumulating into major schedule slips, with consequences for Europa Clipper and other missions. The Trump administration’s space policy changes were symbolically important but operationally limited in 2017 because NASA lacked confirmed leadership and clear budgets. Scientists can no longer assume stable public support; political engagement is becoming necessary to protect research funding and workforce pipelines. 2018 is unusually crowded with major missions across the solar system, making it a high-stakes year for both science and policy.

Data Points: Cassini mission duration: 20+ years - Bruce Betts and Emily refer to Cassini’s long life and its dramatic end at Saturn. Juno wind depth into Jupiter’s atmosphere: 3,000 kilometers - Emily cites Juno’s finding on how deeply Jupiter’s winds extend. Circumpolar cyclones at Jupiter’s poles: 5 at the South Pole, 8 at the North Pole - JunoCam imagery revealed cyclones arranged around the poles. Mars spacecraft operating in 2017: 7 spacecraft - Emily describes Mars as especially busy, with multiple orbiters and rovers active. Opportunity rover operational longevity: Potentially indefinite; may outlive Curiosity - The panel notes that Opportunity could continue until random hardware failures end the mission. SpaceX launches in 2017: 18 successful missions - Jason cites SpaceX’s unusually high launch cadence as a major milestone. SpaceX failure year referenced: 2016 - Casey notes the previous failure occurred in 2016, making 2017’s record stand out. SLS annual expenditure: $2 billion per year - Casey characterizes SLS as a very expensive NASA program. Curiosity mission cost characterization: About $2 billion / over-budget by $800 billion joked in sarcasm - The panel jokingly contrasts modern leaner flagships with cost overruns. Cassini mission cost: About $3.5 billion - Casey compares Cassini’s cost to newer flagship-class missions. Earth science cut in proposed FY2018 NASA budget: 5% cut - Emily says the administration proposed a modest cut rather than eliminating the program. Overall NASA budget proposed cut: 1% - Emily notes NASA fared better than many agencies in the proposed budget. Falcon Heavy engines: 27 engines - Jason references the planned static fire and first flight of Falcon Heavy. BepiColombo flybys: Multiple Venus and Mercury flybys - Emily describes the long cruise before Mercury orbit insertion. LightSail 2 status: Stored at Cal Poly - Bruce says the spacecraft is sealed up in a clean-room cabinet awaiting launch. March for Science year: 2017 - Emily cites the march as part of a broader shift in scientist activism. Europa Clipper mandated launch vehicle: SLS Block 1B - The panel discusses the law requiring Europa Clipper to ride SLS.

Pivotal Quotes: "It was kind of a happy occasion. It was like the kind of family reunion that happens around the death of an elderly member of the family, much loved in time." — Emily Lochdawala: Her description of Cassini’s end and the atmosphere at JPL around the mission’s final plunge. "Flagships are the best. I wish we had more of them." — Casey Dreyer: Casey responds to Emily’s concern that classic outer-planet flagship missions are fading. "if you're not at the table, you're on the menu." — Casey Dreyer: Used in the discussion of why scientists and graduate students need to be politically engaged.

Implications: The episode frames space exploration as entering a new phase: more missions, more commercial competition, but also more political volatility. Success now depends as much on budgets, advocacy, and flexible planning as on engineering.