Mars Is The Place To Go This Summer

Short Wave

NPR

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2020

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

The United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars earlier this month, followed by China days later. And tomorrow, NASA is scheduled to launch its own mission to the red planet that includes a six-wheeled rover called Perseverance, as well as a tiny helicopter. Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong talks with NPR's Joe Palca, who explains why these launches are happening now and the goal of the missions when they get there.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to shortwave from NPR.
0:05.2	Emily Kwong here, shortwave reporter, keeping the host seat warm from Maddie.
0:10.0	Today I've got NPR science correspondent Joe Palca here.
0:13.0	Hey Joe.
0:14.0	Hello there.
0:15.0	Okay, Joe, so you're here to talk about a popular destination right now.
0:17.8	Feels like everybody's trying to get there.
0:20.2	It just happens to be an outer space.
0:21.8	I'm talking of course about Mars.
0:23.7	That's right.
0:24.7	If you're planning a visit to Mars, this is the month to go.
0:28.0	United Arab Emirates launched a probe two weeks ago from Japan and it was its first mission
0:32.8	to Mars.
0:34.3	Very cool.
0:37.3	And then a few days after that China sent a mission up to Mars.
0:45.8	And then tomorrow NASA is expected to launch its mission to Mars from Cape Canaveral in
0:50.5	Florida, weather permitting.
0:52.2	Yeah, fingers crossed.
0:53.4	Yes, so if the UAE and China mission successfully reached Mars, they'll be joining an elite group.
1:00.7	Only the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe and India have actually had successful
1:05.5	missions to the Red Planet.
1:07.2	Interesting.
	...

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