Tasting the Air of Distant Worlds

There will soon be one thousand confirmed exoplanets, but how do we learn more about such distant worlds? We talk to the leader of a team that has recently developed technology capable of revealing the spectra of these planets, which allows us to tease apart their composition. Emily Lakdawalla invites you to find the next “face” on Mars, while Bill Nye says another asteroid flyby is good news.  Our special What’s Up space trivia contest prize will put your picture in orbit!

Related Links

• Project 1640 Exoplanet Reconnaissance
• Ben R. Oppenheimer
• BLOG: Finding Faces and Animals on Mars
• BLOG: Hope Johnson's Natural Satellite (Moon) Song
• Planetary Resources Arkyd Kickstarter Page
  

Trivia Contest

This week's prize is a HD Space Selfie to be taken by the Planetary Resources Arkyd 100 citizen space telescope!

This week's question:
Approximately how many jellyfish flew on STS-40?

To submit your answer:
Complete the contest entry form at http:planetary.org/radiocontest or write to us at [email protected] no later than Monday, June 10th, at 2pm Pacific Time.  Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Last week's question:
In what year did more humans launch into space than any other year?

Answer:
The answer will be revealed next week.

Question from the week before:
What planet in our solar system has the longest solar day?

Answer:
Mercury has the longest SOLAR day.