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Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Talking with JPL's Blaine Baggett and Ed Stone About "The Stuff of Dreams"

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

The Planetary Society

Technology, Science

4.81.4K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2014

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

JPL’s Blaine Baggett and former JPL director Ed Stone talk “The Stuff of Dreams,” a documentary about an era in planetary exploration that was both exhilarating and exasperating. Emily Lakdawalla explains why Curiosity has joined the fraternity of backward driving rovers on Mars, and Bill Nye considers the not-too-distant future when airliners and spaceliners will share the sky.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Transcript

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0:00.0

The best space movie you can't see this week on planetary radio. Welcome to the Travel Show that takes you to the Final Frontier.

0:20.0

I'm Matt Kaplan of the Planetary Society.

0:22.0

Today we'll welcome back former JPL director Ed Stone,

0:25.8

who has been the Voyager Mission's Project Scientist

0:28.6

for more than 40 years.

0:30.7

Joining Ed will be Blaine Baggot, director of a new documentary about what was probably the most difficult time in the history of the lab.

0:39.0

We catch Bill Nye just before he gets on an airliner that may soon be sharing the sky with space liners.

0:45.0

You should also prepare yourself for somewhat zanier than usual addition of what's up with Bruce Betts.

0:51.0

Much less zainy, though quite illuminating, is our opening conversation

0:55.8

with the Planetary Society's senior editor and chief blogger Emily Loch Duwala.

1:00.7

Emily, is there some kind of rover club on Mars and driving backwards as part of the hazing?

1:05.6

It's pretty funny. We now have the third rover on the surface of Mars that is trying to solve some

1:10.4

driving problems by driving backwards.

1:12.8

But it's for different reasons for every rover.

1:15.1

But yeah, Curiosity has joined the club and is now capable of actually quite long distances

1:19.1

driving backwards and they've been really racking up the meters recently.

1:22.0

And why have they made this choice? Well

1:24.8

apparently and for reasons that I can't quite explain the problems that tend to

1:29.6

cause holes to appear in curiosity wheels don't seem to be as bad when they're driving

1:34.8

backwards.

1:35.8

Honestly, I really don't know why that is, but it seems to be the case.

1:40.4

I actually read a planning document at some point that said that the rocker

...

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