Katie Mack on our impending cosmic doom and other cheerful topics this week on planetary radio.

Welcome, I'm at Kaplan, of the Planetary Society with more of the human adventure across our

solar system and way beyond.

Cosmologist and science communicator Katie Mack joins us to talk about her truly delightful

new book.

It's called The End of Everything, Asco Physically Speaking, will take you through the five

ways the universe and everything in it could end,

just possibly at any moment.

Then we'll join Bruce Betts for a look at the especially crowded night sky. You might win a copy of Katie's book in the space trivia contest.

Happy birthday Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

It has been 15 years since the launch of our spy in the Martian sky.

To celebrate the August 21st edition of the Downlink is topped by a real stunner

of an MRO image, rippled powder blue dunes on the surface of the red planet.

Okay, the color was added to heighten the texture, but still.

Perseverance and the UAE's hope spacecraft are doing just fine.

Both successfully completed small course adjustments

and both are still set to arrive at Mars in February

along with China's Chan Wen 1.

Speaking of perseverance, NASA has created a review board

to analyze the agency's ambitious plan

to bring bits of Mars to Earth.

And we now know which astronauts will be carried by the first operational mission

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