author Kim Stanley Robinson this week on planetary radio. Hi everyone, welcome to Public Radio's travel show that takes you to the final frontier

and sometimes back to our own planet. I'm Mad Kaplan.

He has guided us through the monumental terraforming of Mars and shown us what civilization

might have been like if the black plague had wiped out Europe.

Now Stan Robinson saves Planet Earth, or at least shows us what it might take to stave off the ravages of climate change.

He returns to Planetary Radio to talk about completion of a new trilogy of novels about that global

challenge and the kind of leadership that may be required inside the famous beltway surrounding

Washington, D.C. We've also got a brand new Q&A from Emily Lachto-walla that will have you turning

topsy-turvy and this week's

what's up view of the night sky from Bruce Betts along with the new space trivia

contest. Just time enough for one bit of space news.

NASA has announced target dates for the next several space shuttle

launches beginning on June 8 with a mission for Atlantis.

Not yet on the schedule is next year's expected repair trip to the Hubble Space Telescope.

You'll find much more news at planetary.org, including a story about why you never want to start a solar system too close to any hot-headed

neighbors. Emily has some great stuff on her blog too including new pictures

from Cassini and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Here's her Q&A contribution.

I'll be right back with Kim Stanley Robinson.

Hi, I'm Emily Loch Duwala with questions and answers. A listener asked, how can Pluto have a greater than 90 degree tilt?

Pluto and its giant moon Sharon both have axes that are tilted more than 90 degrees.

About 122.5 degrees, in fact, meaning that their north poles are both pointed toward the south side of the solar system.

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