A winged messenger reaches Mercury this week on planetary Radio. Radio. Hi everyone, welcome to Public Radio's travel show that takes you to the final frontier.

I'm Matt Kaplan. We've had to wait more than three decades

since the last visit to our solar systems first big rock from the sun.

That weight is about to end. Sean Solomon heads the messenger mission to Mercury.

He'll join us in a couple of minutes to describe his spacecraft's long journey

and what he hopes it will tell us about that still mysterious planet.

Bruce Betts will make the night sky a bit less mysterious with another edition of

What's Up, including a chance to win a year in space calendar. And this week we welcome the premiere of a new

regular segment. Bill Nye the Science Guy will share his unique take on the

passion, beauty and joy of space exploration beginning on the sands of Mars.

Speaking of which there's a new update on the sojourn of spirit and opportunity at planetary.org.

Science payload principal investigator Steve Squires says 2007 was a really good year for the

Mars Exploration Rovers.

That may be the understatement of the year. We think you'll agree after you read the report.

Want to see what the star Antares looks like as it passes behind Saturn's rings?

Look no further than Emily Lochuwala's space blog also at planetary.org.

The very cool sequence of images is a nice bonus from the recent ring crossing completed

by the Cassini spacecraft which remains in excellent

health out there a billion miles from home in the silence of interplanetary space.

Or is it so silent after all?

Listen up, as Emily arrives with a Q&A that says the answer is blowing in the wind.

I'll be right back with Sean Solomon. Hi, I'm Emily Loch Duwala with questions and answers.

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