Move over Virgin. Another rocket ship is coming. This week on planetary radio. Hi everyone, welcome to Public Radio's travel show that takes you to the final frontier.

I'm Matt Kaplan.

Here and there across North America and in a few

other places around the world small companies with big dreams are struggling to

build rockets that will carry you and me into the realm called space.

One that is having some success is X-Corps aerospace.

We'll talk with Douglas Graham of that Mojave California company

about their just announced links. It may be flying in just two years.

Bill Nye, the science and planetary guy, is gearing up for the May 25 landing of Phoenix

on Mars.

Emily Lachdawala will tell us how much of Pluto, the new horizon spacecraft will and

won't reveal.

And Bruce Bats will join me to reveal what's up in the current night sky. We've also got a

t-shirt for our latest space trivia contest winner. Let's take a look at

headlines from around our solar system beginning with one of the prettiest

landmarks on Mars.

Emily's blog has pictures of White Rock taken by three of the Mars Reconnaissance

Orbiters cameras.

Go to planetary.org and see if you don't oo and awe.

Remember our show about the J2X engine that will bring humans back to the moon in a few years?

NASA says it has successfully completed a series of tests.

The Space Agency is also awarded a $263 million contract to build the Ares I Mobile

...