OSIRIS-REx Readies for Asteroid Bennu

Dante Lauretta heads the most ambitious mission to an asteroid ever mounted. With one year left till launch, he returns to Planetary Radio with an update. Emily Lakdawalla marvels at the best New Horizons Pluto images released thus far. Bruce Betts and Mat Kaplan are back from their flight on the SOFIA 747 with a game to give away. “Xtronaut” lets you manage your own robotic mission across the solar system.

Related Links:

• OSIRIS-REx
• Dante Lauretta’s Blog
• Xtronaut Game Kickstarter Campaign
• Pretty Pictures: Downlink of the Full New Horizons Data Set Has Begun
• VIDEO: Planetary Radio on SOFIA

This week's prize is a prototype version of “Xtronaut,” Dante Lauretta’s game about directing planetary science missions. You’ll also get to join a chat session with Dante, and receive the final version of the game when it’s released.

This week's question:

Who provided the voice of the robot in the classic 60s TV series,“Lost in Space?”

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, September 22nd at 8am Pacific Time. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Last week's question:

SOFIA’s telescope has an effective diameter of 2.5 meters, but it’s actually somewhat larger than that. What is the actual diameter of its mirror?

Answer:

The answer will be revealed next week.

Question from the week before:

What moon in our solar system is closest in size to Earth’s moon (besides Earth’s moon)?

Answer:

Jupiter’s Io is the moon that is closest in size to THE Moon—the one that orbits Earth.