Hey, it's Flora Lichtenen, and you're listening to Science Friday.

Happy Big Budget Sci-Fi movie release day to all who celebrate.

If we do nothing, everything on this planet will go extinct, including us.

Project Hail Mary comes out this weekend.

You may have seen ads of a dazed Ryan Gosling in a spacesuit,

or maybe you know the book that it's based on.

Here's the premise.

A microbial alien species is dimming the sun,

and the Earth is going to turn into a frozen, lifeless tundra

unless someone figures something out and quick.

The solution? Put failed molecular biologist and middle school teacher, Rylan Grace, on the case.

I put the knot an astronaut. I've never done anything. I've never done a space. I can't even

moonwalk. This is your warning. There will be spoilers. So our protagonist finds himself in space. He meets a new

buddy, Rocky, an alien from the planet Arid, who is very cute despite having no face and looking

like a pile of rocks. It is super fun to see a scientist and his alien sidekick try to save the world.

And the movie raises lots of interesting questions about alien life, which is why I'm so happy we're

talking about it with the perfect guests, author of the book Project Hail Mary and the Martian,

Andy Weir, and astrobiologist and planetary scientist Mike Wong.

Andy and Mike, thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me.

Yeah, this is going to be fun.

Okay, Andy, kick us off.

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