A big eye in the Martian sky this week on planetary radio. Radio. Hi everyone, welcome to Public Radio's travel show that takes you to the final

frontier.

I'm Mad Kaplan.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is slowly settling into an

orbit that will put its big camera just 300 kilometers above the surface.

Project scientist Rich Zurich returns to our microphones with an update on the spacecraft's health and the great gobs of data it has already begun to send us.

Later, it's giant stars and Interstellar Drier Lint on What's Up

with Bruce Betts, along with the new space trivia contest. Here's some

space headlines. Columbus arrives in the new world this week, this time setting out not from

Spain but Germany.

It's the European Space Agency's Laboratory module for the International Space Station.

After the space shuttle carries Columbus to orbit,

ISS astronauts will use it to conduct research in the life, physical and material sciences.

Here's a heads up about a couple of stories on Emily Lactawala's blog.

It happens that they're both Mars-based and both have gorgeous pictures.

First is a Mars Odyssey image of Gail Crater that will knock your socks off.

It's not just beautiful, it's loaded with evidence of past surface water.

Then from the European Space Agency come artist renderings of ESA's own Mars rover.

ExomARS is on track for a 2011 launch.

It resembles Spirit and Opportunity, but whoa, is Chrome making a comeback comeback check it out at planetary.org

no we haven't quite been taken over by the Martians here's Emily to explain just how

miraculous the Huygens probe was. I'll be right back with Rich Zurich.

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