Solar sail dead or alive this week on planetary radio. Hi everyone, welcome to Public Radio's travel show that takes you to the final frontier.

I'm Ad Kaplan. Is Cosmos One a failure? We'll get answers from

Project Director Lou Friedman and others on the Solar Sail team, including

more of Emily Lock

to Wallace's solar sail diary.

We'll also hear how that team is already looking to the future.

And Bruce Betts will once again reveal what's up with the solar system

and his latest trivia contest.

Before we get to our special Cosmos 1 coverage, here's a look at other space news.

There's no question about the success of Mars Express. The European Space Agency's orbiter has now completed

deployment of all three giant booms or antennas with a total length of more than 150 feet.

Testing of the ground penetrating radar instrument

has begun with the first look beneath the surface of the red planet scheduled

for the 4th of July. More details at planetary.org.

NASA will be sharing some final considerations regarding the readiness of space shuttle

discovery.

The agency has scheduled a press conference and is expected to announce the official launch date,

which is likely to be in mid to late July.

Meanwhile, Discovery sits on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in final preparation for return to flight.

And all systems are go for deep impact to live up to its name.

Many of Earth's biggest telescopes will be pointed at Comet Temple 1 on July 3rd or 4th, depending on your time zone.

They'll be watching for the flash of light that will indicate an explosively successful collision.

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