Emily Lakdawalla At Her Favorite Conference While Alan Stern Stirs Up the Solar System

A busy show, as Emily shares highlights from last week’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, and Alan Stern provides updates on the Rosetta comet mission and his New Horizons probe that is nearing Pluto. Alan also addresses the controversy around Uwingu’s Name a Martian Crater project. Bill Nye makes gravity waves about the big cosmology discovery announced last week. Bruce Betts shoots for the moons on this week’s What’s Up.

Related Links:

• LPSC 2014: Plate tectonics on another world: Europa
• LPSC 2014: Water on...Vesta?
• Uwingu
• Postcards from Pluto
• Bruce Betts' Online College Intro Astronomy Course 2014

This week's prize is the new and improved Planetary Radio t-shirt.

This week's question:

What major moon orbits Saturn at about the same distance our Moon orbits the Earth?

To submit your answer:

Complete the contest entry form at http://planetary.org/radiocontest or write to us at [email protected] no later than Tuesday, April 1, at 8am Pacific Time. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Last week's question:

How many of Jupiter’s moons are larger than Earth’s Moon? Extra points: name it or them.

Answer:

The answer will be revealed next week.

Question from the week before:

What was the first time astronauts flew in a spacecraft not designed to safely re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer:

Spider, the Apollo 9 Lunar Module that was tested in Earth orbit back in March of 1969, was the first human spacecraft not designed to return safely through the atmosphere.