We're off to Pluto and its three moons this week on planetary radio. I'm Matt Kaplan. Hi everyone, welcome to Public Radio's travel show that takes you to the final

frontier.

I'm Matt Kaplan.

Alan Stern returns to our microphone to talk of the ninth planet, and what we used to think

was the outer edge of the solar system.

Alan is in Florida making final preparations for launch of the New Horizons mission

our first human emissary to Pluto. He'll also talk about his recent co-discovery of two new moons

circling that cold ball and Bruce Betts hungers for your

attention and lunch in what's up. We've also got a planetary radio t-shirt for

this week's space trivia contest winner.

Let's see what's happening around the solar system.

Our first stop is a rock about 180 million miles away from home.

Has Hiausa touched down on asteroid Idakawa?

The answer to that question was unclear as we were assembling this week's show.

We do know that the troubled but plucky little Japanese probe got close and may have even

succeeded at collecting some bits of Ida Kawa. Even as scientists continue to

analyze incredibly complex radar data from the European Space Agency's

Mars Express orbiter, the spacecraft has switched from looking for

subsurface water to an examination of the Martian ionosphere.

You can learn more about the status of its extended mission at planetary.org.

The latest NASA Ambassador of Exploration

got his moon rock last week. Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly Mercury,

...