We now know which astronauts will be carried by the first operational mission by SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle. Speaking of Perseverance, NASA has created a review board to analyze the agency's ambitious plan to bring bits of Mars to Earth. Both successfully completed small course adjustments and both are still set to arrive at Mars in February, along with China's Tianwen-1. Perseverance and the UAE's Hope spacecraft are doing just fine. Okay, the color was added to heighten the texture, but still. To celebrate, the August 21st edition of the downlink is topped by a real stunner of an MRO image, rippled powder blue dunes on the surface of the red planet. It has been 15 years since the launch of our spy in the Martian sky. Happy birthday, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. You might win a copy of Katie's book in the space trivia contest.

Then we'll join Bruce Betts for a look at the especially crowded night sky. We'll take you through the five ways the universe and everything in it could end just possibly at any moment. It's called The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). I'm Mat Kaplan of The Planetary Society with more of the human adventure across our solar system and way beyond.Ĭosmologist and science communicator Katie Mack joins us to talk about her truly delightful new book.

Katie Mack on our impending cosmic doom and other cheerful topics this week on Planetary Radio.

The SuperCam laser operates at two wavelengths: 1064 and 532 nanometers. What is the wavelength of the SuperCam laser you’ve been hearing about? Question from the 12 August space trivia contest: Be sure to include your name and mailing address.Īs of August, 2020, what is our Mat Kaplan’s single credit in the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)? The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie MackĪssuming a combined Greek and Roman pantheon mythology, within this mythology, which planet (in our solar system) is named after the earliest (oldest) god?Ĭomplete the contest entry form at or write to us at no later than Wednesday, September 2nd at 8am Pacific Time. The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking).

The end of everything katie mack