Deflecting the big rock with our name on it this week on planetary radio.

Hello everyone and welcome back.

So a Tyrannosaurus, a triceratops, and aidon walk into a bar. The

Tyrannodon is just about to say something about the T-Rex's hat

when they all get hit by a 10 kilometer asteroid and that's that.

Do we humans have a better chance? First we have to find that rock,

then we have to deflect it. Stay tuned for our conversation with near-Earth object expert Alan Harris.

We'll get a little Shakespeare on what's up with Bruce Betts,

and guess who's back and readjusting to Earth time.

Here's Emily with Q&A. Hi.

Hi.

Hi.

Oh. Hoh. Hi, I'm Emily Lochuwala with questions and answers. A listener asked, in

1974 Mariner 10 went into a solar orbit so that it flew by Mercury every second Mercury year.

Is Mariner 10 still visiting Mercury?

Mariner 10's last known flyby of Mercury took place on March 16, 1974, and the last of the gas for the attitude

control jets was depleted eight days later, ending the mission.

Mariner 10 is no longer tracked, so we don't know its location.

Presumably though, it continues along its orbit of roughly two mercury years.

However, it no longer actually visits mercury.

How does that work? Stay tuned to planetary radio to find out.

And we thank Emily for her great work with the student astronauts over the last several weeks.

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