OSIRIS REx: Ready for a Voyage to Bennu

OSIRIS-REx will launch toward Near Earth Asteroid Bennu soon. In an early celebration of Asteroid Day, mission leader Dante Lauretta tells us how learning about asteroids may teach us about our own origins, and help us avoid a cataclysmic impact. Emily Lakdawalla has prepared a minute-by-minute timeline for the high anxiety July 4^th arrival of Juno at Jupiter. Bruce Betts and Mat Kaplan invent a new kind of quilting party under a spectacular summer night sky.

Related Links:

• OSIRIS REx Mission
• OSIRIS REx Shipped to Florida for September Launch
• Timeline of Juno Jupiter Orbit Insertion Events
• ExoMars Sights Mars

This week's prizes are a Planetary Radio t-shirt, a Planetary Society rubber asteroid and a 200-point iTelescope.net astronomy account.

This week's question:

What is the approximate ratio of the mass of Earth’s Moon to the mass of Pluto?

To submit your answer:

Complete the contest entry form at http://planetary.org/radiocontest or write to us at [email protected] no later than Tuesday, June 28th at 8am Pacific Time. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Last week's question:

What was the name of the first human spaceflight of the Chinese space program? (In English, please.)

Answer:

The answer will be revealed next week.

Question from the week before:

How many NASA field centers are named after former astronauts?

Answer:

Two NASA centers are named after astronauts: The John Glenn Research Center and the Neil Armstrong Flight Research Center.