A close call with a call with a big rock this week on planetary radio. Welcome to the Travel Show that takes you to the Final Frontier.

I'm Matt Kaplan of the Planetary Society.

Jaime Nomen returns to our show, Days I'm Matt Kaplan of the Planetary Society.

Jaime Nomen returns to our show days before an asteroid called 2012 DA14 returns to the

immediate vicinity of our vulnerable planet.

I'm with Lassagra Observatory in Spain, the discoverer of this very near-Earth object.

We'll talk with him in a few minutes.

Bruce Betts gives us another take on that 40 or 50 meter

asteroid along with his usual update on the night sky, a random space fact and a new

space trivia contest. And Bill Nye will provide more evidence that we are

entering a new era of commercial space development let's get underway with

planetary evangelist Emily Lochuwala Emily great to talk to you again although the first topic that we have

is a tribute to one of the saddest events that has taken place in the history of

space exploration. Yeah so last Friday I posted an article about panorama from the Spirit

Rover in honor of the Columbia astronauts.

And the reason that I was posting something from Spirit is because shortly after Spirit Landen, they named

some hills that were on the distant horizon for the seven astronauts who were lost in that disaster,

which is something that people do. you know, they name things after fallen heroes.

I find that, you know, I'd rather have the heroes than have things named after those heroes.

Sure.

What Spirit eventually did, though, was Spirit climbed the central hill in that line of mountains,

the one named for Rick Husband, who is the commander of the mission.

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