JUST POSTED: StarTalk Radios Cosmic Queries: Space Probes” with guest host Dr. Amy Mainzer of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratories, and comedic co-host Chuck Nice. Listen now on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, TuneIn & bit.ly/1mylG2Q ***From Jeffrey Simons write-up on the StarTalk Website***: Discover how different propulsion systems like ion drives work, why the nuclear fuel on spacecraft like Cassini and Curiosity is safe and why “slingshotting” is so vital to space exploration. Find out how expensive it is to get into space in the first place, why it’s so hard to come back from Mars, and why it’s just easier to use robots than people. You’ll get to explore the asteroid belt, Venus, Europa, Titan and the nearest solar system 4 light years away, and learn about asteroid sample return missions like Japan’s Hayabusa probe and NASA’s pending OSIRIS-Rex mission. -NDTyson
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:04:16 +0000