Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science - HERA Heroine Julielynn Wong and Printing Medical Tools in Deep Space

Episode Date: March 8, 2016

Julielynn Wong came directly from her 30-day long HERA IX deep space simulation to our microphone. We talk with her about the experience, and her progress toward 3D medical device printing solutions for astronauts and Earthbound humans.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes you don't have to go to space to go to space. This week on Planetary Radio. Welcome to the travel show that takes you to the final frontier. I'm Matt Kaplan of the Planetary Society. Would you live in a simulated spacecraft habitat for a month, cut off from friends, family, and gulp the net? I bet you would. And Julie Lin Wong did. She'll tell us about her NASA adventure, her 3-D printing for space medicine, and much more. Bill Nye celebrates the return of an astronaut and the launch of a spacecraft built by kids.

Later, Bruce Betts will join us for another What's Up tour of the night sky. Emily Lakdawalla is the Planetary Society's senior editor. Emily, we didn't get to talk about it last week, so we're a little bit into March now, but I think we should still bring up your look forward, your What's Up in the solar system for March. Let's start at Mars, where I guess it's winter for a lot of the stuff down on the ground. That's right, because both of the rovers are in the southern hemisphere. It's winter in Mars' southern hemisphere right now, and it's pretty much the depths of winter. The solstice happened back in January, which means that Opportunity in particular is moving very slowly,

but still getting fantastic views off the rim of Endeavour Crater down into Marathon Valley, doing little bits of science here and there while perched on a crazy angle tilted toward the north, catching sunlight that's coming in from a more northern angle since it's winter there. Curiosity is a little less affected by the weather, although Curiosity still has to warm the actuators, the motors, before driving. So colder winter temperatures do affect Curiosity as well.

What's going on overhead? Well, there's still four orbiters active there, but there's one that's hopefully going to be launching there very soon, a week from today. ExoMars, Trace Gas Orbiter, is set to launch. That's a European spacecraft. We'll have the usual 10-month trip to get to Mars, and it's carrying a landing demonstrator called Chiparelli that will only operate for a couple of days on the Martian surface, but it'll demonstrate landing capability for ESA. Good luck, ESA. You also mentioned that a camera has been turned back on. This is in a March 4th blog entry. That's right. The visual monitoring camera, the VMC, otherwise known as the Mars webcam, is back on for the first

time in six months, and it's got a really nice view of a gibbous Mars with the north polar cap fully visible, because of course it's summer in the far north. And there's even a little glimpse of Gale Crater on the southern edge of this photo. It's really pretty. Very pretty image. How about out at Comet 67P? Now that the comet is getting a little farther away from the sun, Rosetta is able to get much closer and has been capturing really gorgeous images. Some of those are of areas that it wasn't able to image before because the seasons shift on comets as well as they do on planets. And now there's more sunlight getting into the comet's southern hemisphere. So Rosetta is getting really pretty glimpses and starting to map the southern

hemisphere of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Well, there is much more in Emily's What's Up for March piece that was published or posted on February 29th, but just one more mention, and it's an anniversary at Ceres. That's right. Today's the one-year anniversary of Dawn entering orbit at Ceres, and they just posted a really nice picture of Ahunamans, this strange mountain that I think looks like a limpet sitting on the surface of Ceres. And they still don't know what made it. It's one of the various mysteries that has made this mission kind of fun at Ceres. Lots to look forward to. Thanks, Emily.

Thank you, Matt. Senior editor for the Planetary Society and our planetary evangelist. She is also a contributing editor to Sky and Telescope magazine. Let's talk now with the CEO of the Planetary Society, Bill Nye, the science guy. Bill, a couple of stories in the news this week, and both of them related to stuff and people in low-Earth orbit. Yes, so the big thing is Scott Kelly spent 340 days in space, and he's the twin brother of Mark Kelly. So from what I understand, being an astronaut involves a great many medical tests. Yes.

You are human guinea pigs. And so everybody's going to check this guy out by everybody. Physicians are going to check this guy out and see, did he suffer any radiation difficulties? He says his skin is very sensitive because it hasn't had to rub up against anything in a year. We will learn more about long-duration spaceflight. And he said Scott Kelly reports that he can imagine people being in that kind of situation for two years, the time you would need to get to Mars. I certainly hope that the scientists doing those tests reach the same conclusion. At the same time, where he lived for nearly a year,

they're about to do something historic for some kids. They're going to launch a CubeSat, a 10 centimeter by 10 centimeter by 10 centimeter satellite that gets sproinged out of the, I'm coining a verb there, it gets ejected from the International Space Station and put into orbit. Kids are going to take some pictures, beam it back down to Earth on ham radio frequencies. And the thing is, these are elementary school kids. These are people 12 years old and lower who raised $50,000 and accomplished the vibration tests and assembled this thing. It's really something. It's very cool. We're democratizing

space. I just love that theme, that it's becoming accessible to even kids at an elementary school. As long as you got a rocket and a space station, yeah. Right, right. Thank you, Bill. And by the way, congratulations on picking up the Distinguished Service Award from the Space Grant Foundation. That's it. It's very cool. It was a very cool ceremony. And there's a lot of people.

Nobody was introduced by his or her name. It was all what state they're from. This is Idaho. I'd like you to meet North Dakota. And it was very cool. And then I was given the Distinguished Service Award, which I'm very proud of. And it wouldn't have happened without you, Matt, and the Planetary Society. So it was a really nice night.

I somehow suspect it might have happened without me, but just the same, thank you, Bill. Thank you, Matt. He's the CEO of the Planetary Society. That's Bill Nye, the Planetary Guy. Thank you, Bill. Thank you, Matt. He's the CEO of the Planetary Society. That's Bill Nye, the planetary guy.

On now to talking to somebody you met, Bill. Do you remember Julie Lin Wong at the Humans Orbiting Mars conference the Planetary Society did last year? Sure, oh, yeah. Yeah, she's our guest this time. Watch out, Matt. She's got a lot of energy. She really does.

Watch out. That's what people are about to hear moments away. Julie Lin Wong is a medical doctor and a public health professional. No, wait. She's a high-tech entrepreneur. Sorry, sorry. she's really an engineer and a pilot and the co-founder of Singularity University's Digital Health and Wellness Program. Did I mention that she's a 3D printing expert? And of course, a puppeteer. Okay, she's all of these. And as of a few days ago, she's also the veteran of a spaceflight analog mission at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

In fact, when we spoke a few days ago, it was just hours after her return from Houston, Texas. Julie Lynn Wong, welcome back to Earth. Thank you, Matt. I'm happy to be back home. Not really. I mean, you never left the planet, sadly. Tell us a little bit about this HERA mission that you were on. That's correct. HERA stands for Human Exploration Research Analog. And it's a three-story cylinder-shaped habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center. This research lab contains an airlock, work area, medical station, flight deck, crew bunks, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

flight deck, crew bunks, a kitchen, and a bathroom. And the goal of this research facility is to examine how living and working in close quarters under stressful conditions affects work performance and team dynamics. And so blood and saliva samples were collected for scientific study, and I completed surveys evaluating personal behaviors, team cohesion, cognition, and communication. I read that this was the longest ever stay by pseudo-astronauts in the HERA station. That's correct. So this was the first 30-day simulated asteroid mission. Prior HERA missions were 7 and 14 days. So yeah, so our mission was HERA 9, and it was actually the first to have a 3D printer

on board. And so guess who got to 3D print the first object during our mission? Yours truly, the crew flight engineer, who also happens to be a 3D printing expert. All of the crew members, you and your colleagues, were women. Yes, there were four female crew members of very diverse, but mutually sort of beneficially overlapping disciplines. So our crew commander is Michelle Courtney, who's an aerospace engineer who works for Virgin Galactic. And our first mission specialist is Lachelle Spencer, and she's a NASA scientist.

And she actually works to discover better ways to keep the air and water clean on the space station and how to grow food and flowers for astronauts. And our second mission specialist, Leah Honey, she's a mechanical engineer and roboticist who works as a flight controller at NASA Johnson Space Center's Mission Control Center. And I was the crew flight engineer, who happens to be a medical doctor, researcher, educator, pilot, and inventor. Yeah, you certainly cover a lot of bases, and we may not want to get back to that. We will certainly get back to that use of a 3D printer, since that's something you're devoting

so much of your life to right now. These analog missions, and this wasn't your first one. I want to note that you also were living in the Mars Society's Mars Mission Desert Research Station in Utah for a couple of weeks. They obviously are seen as being of value by NASA and others. I mean, what role do you think these analog missions play in our preparations, particularly preparing humans for flights to places like Mars? These analog missions, I believe, are a direct benefit to help future astronaut crews. So many of our HERA9 experiments are in orbit or slated for orbit. As I mentioned before, right, we were the first mission to have a 3D printer on board, and there is currently a 3D printer on board the space station. I was a crew 145 health and safety

officer at the Mars Desert Research Station, and I brought my 3D printer with me inside a carry-on suitcase to make medical supplies on site. And since the International Space Station is powered by solar panels, I used solar energy to power my printer to make medical supplies. And then when I returned home, I had my 3D printed medical supplies tested by clinic staff to see if they worked properly, which they did. And these results are now published in last September's issue of the world's leading space medicine journal. last September's issue of the world's leading space medicine journal. So I'm now scheduled to uplink and 3D print medical tools on board the International Space Station using the next generation made-in-space 3D printer, which is slated for launch this spring.

That's extremely exciting. You must be thrilled. Absolutely. This experience, spending these 30 days with these three other astronauts, basically, was it a challenge? I mean, I would think 30 days locked in a relatively small space, but one that is a good analog for the kind of habitat or hab that might take people to another asteroid or to Mars.

Did you find it challenging? To be honest, Matt, I had a blast, if you'll pardon the pun. There were no major issues. I worked with a fabulous team, both on the ground and inside the habitat. So it was a isolated, confined and controlled environment, which meant that I lived with three crew members inside the habitat for 30 days straight during our simulated mission to a near Earth asteroid. We had no access to cell phones, internet or social media. So except for weekly phone chats with our friends and family,

our only communication outside the habitat was with our friends and family, our only communication outside the habitat was with mission control and the space doctors and psychologists. But every mission day was carefully planned out with a busy schedule, similar to a day on the space station. And a typical day included meals, exercise, planning meetings, science research, simulated mission operations, training drills, housekeeping, and education and public outreach activities. So they kept you busy. Yes, they did. Did you have much free time? I mean, just to sit around and socialize?

Typically, at least one day a week is generally a day off on the space station, as well as for us during our hair mission. Definitely, we had some recreational downtime. I love that phrase you used, which is an official one, apparently, from NASA, isolated, confined, and controlled. Knowing how much most of us are plugged in nowadays, did you find it difficult to sort of become disconnected from the worldwide web and the net? No, actually, you know what? We found that it was a real stress relief not to have to answer your cell phone or check your email. Wow. There is a great article about this mission that you've now just completed.

It was written at the beginning. It's on the site, the website Rocket Women. And the link is far too long for us to read out here. But we'll provide it on the show page where we will also provide links to a couple of your sites, 3D4MD.com and JulieLinWongMD.com. I wonder if you have anything else to say, though, about the value of these analog missions as we prepare humanity for really long space flights. As most of the people who listen to this show know, a mission to Mars is going to mean sort of the experience

that you had, except actually in space, in microgravity, for two or three years. Analog missions like HERA, they're basically like a cross between a well-controlled laboratory setting and as well a high-fidelity spaceflight environment like the International Space Station. A lot of the data that's going to be collected will be a huge benefit for future space missions, especially deep space missions, which I know the Planetary Society is a huge proponent of with their recent Humans to Mars Orbit report that you guys released last fall. I guess for me, what's really exciting about these analog environments is not just participating as an analog astronaut, but as somebody who conducts scientific research to also

propel development in the spaceflight sector. You know, I've learned a lot from this, and I've taken away a lot of really exciting ideas in terms of how we can make human space flights a safer and healthier environment. And so as you mentioned before, I founded a social enterprise called 3D4MD, and our mission is to create 3D printable medical supplies to deliver healthcare in the most challenging places to those who need it the most. My work is focused on showing how 3D printing can impact healthcare for astronauts on deep missions, as well as the over 1 billion people with disabilities, and the over 1 billion people who lack access to grid electricity and who live in medically underserviced regions. And we're always looking for talented individuals, partner organizations, and corporate funders

who share our vision of creating an innovative, crowdsourced, open source, and impact-driven way to deliver better healthcare on Earth and in space. NASA has recently closed their call for their next round of astronaut candidates. And for those of you listening who are keen about blasting off to space someday, you may want to try living and working like an astronaut in a simulated space mission beforehand. So NASA is currently recruiting volunteers to participate in their future 51-day HERA studies at Johnson Space Center. Just like I did, subjects will spend 30 days in

confined habitation in the HERA facility, and researchers will collect blood, urine, and saliva samples, and will be studying personal behaviors, team cohesion, cognition, communication. So volunteers must be U.S. citizens, healthy, non-smokers between 30 to 55 years of age, take no meds, have no dietary restrictions, have a body mass index of 29 or less, be 74 inches or less in height, no history of sleepwalking, and they must pass a physical and psychological assessment to qualify. They're looking for subjects with highly technical skills and a master's degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics discipline, or equivalent years of work or military experience. And volunteers will be compensated.

Your listeners can email their CV for a qualification review to jsc-hera at mail.nasa.gov. And if their CV is approved, then they'll be contacted for further screening. And if your listeners have any questions, they are welcome to call 281-212-1492 and leave a voicemail. That is a great opportunity. I'll tell you what, we'll put that website or that email address and phone number up on the show page as well at planetary.org slash radio. Sounded like you were coming straight from a NASA hiring brochure there. This is a formal program, isn't it, that is offered by NASA at the Johnson Space Center? Yeah, that's correct. I think it's not just a great opportunity for advancing human space exploration, but a great opportunity for people who are passionate about the space sector

to experience what it's like to live and work like an astronaut. That's Julie Lin Wong. She'll be back after the break. You're listening to Planetary Radio. This is Robert Picardo. I've been a member of the Planetary Society since my Star Trek Voyager days. You may have even heard me on several episodes of Planetary Radio. Now I'm proud to be the newest member of the board of directors. I'll be able to do even more to help the society achieve its goals for space exploration across our solar system and beyond. You can join me in this exciting quest. The journey starts at planetary.org.

I'll see you there. Do you know what your favorite presidential candidate thinks about space exploration? Hi, I'm Casey Dreyer, the Planetary Society's Director of Space Policy. You can learn that answer and what all the other candidates think at planetary.org slash election2016. You know what? We could use your help. If you find anything we've missed, you can let us know. It's all at planetary.org slash election2016. Thank you. election 2016. Thank you. Welcome back to Planetary Radio. I'm Matt Kaplan. My guest is Julie Lynn Wong, MD, inventor, entrepreneur, public health professional educator, and I could just keep going. But let's go back to my conversation with her that began right after her return from a 30-day stay

in HERA, the Human Exploration Research Analog at the Johnson Space Center. In fact, I was the first journalist to talk with her after the month-long experience. You talk about the science, the data that you collected and the science that was being conducted during your mission. I read that there were more than 20 principal investigators that you folks were doing work for, you and your three colleagues. Yes, it was very busy because there were a lot of science experiments being run. But that's very similar to what's occurring on the International Space Station, which is our, you know, orbiting science laboratory. Yeah. Did you also do a virtual reality spacewalk? I heard that was being tested. Well, I fly drones and I'm a licensed glider and single engine pilot.

was being tested? Well, I fly drones and I'm a licensed glider and single engine pilot. So I was selected to pilot the multi-mission space exploration vehicle, which is a digital spacecraft that is designed to fly around an asteroid to drop off two crew members wearing virtual reality goggles. These space flyers use video game controllers to maneuver to different sites on the asteroid to collect samples, take pictures, and deploy scientific sensors. Let's turn now back to the work that you're doing at 3D4MD because that is going to be such an important part of keeping astronauts alive and healthy on these long-duration spaceflights when they will be way too far from Earth

for anybody, at least hands-on, any doctor on Earth to be able to help out. There's been a lot of talk about remote medicine, guidance from doctors on Earth, but somebody's going to have to lay hands on a fellow astronaut who might be ill or, God forbid, injured. That has a lot to do with why you brought along your 3D printer, right? That's correct. So astronauts can't take everything they will need with them on a long space mission. So they may have to 3D print medical supplies, tools, and even equipment spare parts on demand. And so that's why I'm so interested in testing 3D printing technologies for delivering crew-administered autonomous health care for deep space missions. This little printer that you brought along, tell us a little bit more about it.

Is it a fairly standard off-the-shelf printer, and it's really just what you create with it that's unique? That's correct. My 3D printer that I brought with me to the Mars Desert Research Station is an off-the-shelf printer. I purchased it for about $500. It's a slightly older model, but it's very portable and lightweight. And I actually also brought that same printer with me to the Humans Orbiting Mars conference

last spring. I want to demonstrate how this technology works at this conference because there's a 3D printer on board the space station. For the Planetary Society conference, I actually brought my 3D printer inside an R2-D2 suitcase. And your colleague, Merck Boyan, who's the Planetary Society's creative director, asked me if we could 3D print the Planetary Society logo that was designed by Bill Nye. And so I told Merck how he could create a 3D model of the logo using free online 3D design software. And then I converted that 3D model into a printable file and we 3D printed the logo during the conference. Have you seen the terrific little video? It's sped up, of course, because 3D printers are a little slow for video purposes.

Of this logo being created and Bill Nye sort of hovering over it with you. Yes, there's been over 27,000 views of that video. And the best part was is that we used glow-in-the-dark 3D printer material. So in the video, you can actually see Bill's hand holding the glowing logo during the conference. Very cool. And great fun. But the kind of stuff that you're hoping astronauts will use

this kind of technology to create, what sorts of things might they be creating with their printers? The first thing I think of are surgical tools. Yes, well, when you think about it, having a 3D printer is like having a 3D photocopier. There is an incredible range of objects that you could make. You just have to ask yourself, well, what would be useful on the space station? So an example of that would be on a recent space station mission, the mission commander commented that he really wished that he had a tool that was of a specific dimension.

My colleagues who put the first 3D printer in space heard this and they were able to digitally design a tool that this mission commander wanted to the exact dimensions that he wanted. They then uplinked that file to the space station and they 3D printed that tool in space. And what's even more exciting is that this file is actually available for download for free on the NASA website. So what that means is that if we are creating 3D printable files for space missions, everybody in the world can actually take advantage of it. And so that's why I'm so excited are creating 3D printable files for space missions, everybody in the world can

actually take advantage of it. And so that's why I'm so excited about applying 3D printing technology, not just for space missions, but for global health. Yeah, I'm glad you're going there because of course your focus is not just off Earth. I'm thinking in particular of this very cool little solar powered 3D printer kit that you've developed. Tell us about that. Sure. When I brought my 3D printer with me to the Mars Digital Research Station to make medical supplies,

I realized that the space station is powered by solar panels. So I decided to use solar energy to power my printer to make medical supplies during my simulated Mars mission. And so when I got back home, I was inspired to design an ultra-portable plug-and-play solar-powered 3D printing system that fits inside a carry-on suitcase. So imagine now healthcare workers visiting remote communities

can bring this with them to make medical supplies on site. And what's even better is, what if these workers leave these 3D printers behind after teaching the local community how to design and print their own solutions? It really is very exciting when you consider the limitations of medicine in the bush, for example, and in other parts of third world countries of the potential for this. What do you hope to accomplish in the coming years at 3D4MD? 3D4MD? Our vision is to create a digital library of 3D printable medical supplies to deliver healthcare in the most challenging places to those who need it the most. Do you consider it a

compliment or an insult if I call you a space geek? I didn't become a space geek. I was born a space geek. I've always loved science and technology. So I'm so lucky to be able to apply space science and technologies to improve life here on Earth. You know, as long as I can remember, I've always loved astronomy and space sciences. And so I guess the very first badge I ever earned as a Girl Scout was the Astronomer badge. A number of years later, actually, I was very lucky. I was working at our local science center running overnight camps for Girl Scout groups that were coming in. And it was really nice to be able to design these camps so that these Girl Scouts could qualify for their astronomer and scientist and engineer badges. The scientist and engineer badges did not exist when I was a Girl Scout, but they do now. How did you end up getting your own sort of Muppet alter ego? So I'm a professional puppeteer, and I'm a huge fan of Sesame Street.

I actually trained in television puppetry with a four-time Emmy Award-winning Sesame Street Muppeteer. And I actually designed my own Muppet alter ego, which was made by the F. E. O. Schwartz Toy Store in New York City. And my goal is to use Muppet-style puppetry to inspire, teach, and empower people to live healthier lives and to develop science, technology, engineering, and mathematic skills. Just one more question. If NASA came back to you someday and said, gee, Julie Lim, we think you're a good candidate. Want to come up to the ISS with us and do a little 3D printing in medicine? Absolutely. As long as I get to bring my Muppet along as well, too.

I think that'd be a very important thing to bring along for the outreach portion of your mission up there, which I have no doubt you would be heavily involved with. Thank you so much for taking a few minutes to talk to us on Planetary Radio. Best of luck with all of these plans. Well, thank you, Matt. And as well, I think everybody appreciates the contributions made by the Planetary Society to advance human space exploration. That's very kind. Thank you for adding that. We've been talking with Julie Lin Wong, Dr. Julie Lin Wong. She's an MD. She's a public health professional as well, and a puppeteer, we've learned, as well as an analog astronaut with her recent experience in the Human Exploration Research Analog at the Johnson Space Center and before that with the Mars Society at their Mars Mission Desert Research Station.

You've heard about some of the pioneering work that she's doing with 3D printing. And again, you can read more about that on her website. It's julielinwongmd.com or just go to 3d4md.com. She's the founder of that company, which is looking to spread 3D printing in all the sorts of places that she was just talking about. We'll spread a little cheer for the night sky when we talk to Bruce Betts in our regular What's Up segment. It's time for What's Up on Planetary Radio. Bruce Betts is standing by on the

Skype line. Still have that gift for you from JPL at some point. It's unfortunate you're not going to be with us as we're speaking. I know, it's sad. Tomorrow night when we do this live Planetary Radio Live, I'm really sorry that you won't be with us. Among other things, I could have given you your present. Now you're just taunting me.

Well, anybody who hears this very soon after it's posted, we will have that live Planetary Radio Live. live. All These Worlds, Planet 9 and our expanding solar system starts at 7pm Pacific time on Tuesday the 8th, which won't do most of you any good, will it? What's up, Bruce? Well, as long as you're mentioning that, I'll mention if you pick this up right after it comes out, there's a total solar eclipse. It's hanging out in visible parts of Indonesia, the Pacific Ocean, and a partial solar eclipse visible from eastern Asia, much of Australia and Hawaii on March 8th or 9th, depending on your time zone. And I noticed that NASA and some other groups are providing live video of that. Yeah, they are. So even if you're not there, you can watch it, assuming they don't have clouds wherever they're shooting from.

But hopefully there'll be enough locations. they don't have clouds wherever they're shooting from, but hopefully there'll be enough locations. Whenever you hear this Jupiter looking stunning in the evening sky, March 8th, Jupiter's at opposition, the opposite side of the earth from the sun, meaning it's rising right around sunset, setting right around dawn, rising as things do in the east. So in the early evening east, the super bright object, that's Jupiter. If you're up later in the night, you'll see Mars rising in the middle of the night, followed by Saturn. And then Venus, getting tricky to see, but it's so bright that you've got a decent chance in the pre-dawn east looking super bright. We move on to this week in space

history. Another spacecraft passes the decade mark at Mars. This is the 10th anniversary of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arriving at Mars. 2006, still cranking out amazing data, amazing images, amazing other kinds of spectroscopy data. So impressive.

On to Random Space Fact. I think Mel Blanc is safe. On to random space fact. I think Mel Blanc is safe. Hey, I wasn't doing my Mel Blanc impersonation. See. On to the fact. Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko just returned to Earth about a week ago after 340 days in space on the International Space Station.

Highly publicized. That was the fourth longest human spaceflight. The longest was by Valery Polyakov, who spent 438 days, so almost 100 days more, on Mir in 1994-95. Absolutely amazing. Gives us hope, as I said to Bill Nye earlier today, that maybe we really can survive a two and a half year trip to Mars. I vote that we send you. I'm ready as long as there's a return ticket. I'm not doing that one-way trip. All right, we'll work on it. I hear they're pricey, though. And the delays are murder. All right, we move on to the trivia contest. Mercury has the most elliptical or non-circular orbit of any of the eight planets.

In millions of kilometers, how far from the sun is Mercury at its closest and farthest points in its orbit? How do we do, Matt? I'm going to give it to you straight. We have a very nice response for this. People going after a T-shirt, an OK Go T-shirt, signed by band members Damian Kulash and Tim Nordwin, our guests a few weeks ago here on the show, along with a lovely Planetary Radio t-shirt. Lots of people had apparently no problem finding this. One of them was Paul Ferretti of Leesburg, Virginia, I believe a first-time winner. He said at Perihelion, Mercury is 46 million kilometers away. And at aphelion, did I pronounce that correctly?

Aphelion. Aphelion is 70 million kilometers away. How did he do? Close enough. Close enough for government work. Paul, congratulations. Or solar system work. But I just thought that was, I find it impressive.

I mean, that's a big difference, 47 to 70 million kilometers. Both will cook things really that's a big difference, 47 to 70 million kilometers. Both will cook things really easily, but big difference. Stephanie Lundy in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, she said, Mercury, proof that humans did not invent barbecue. I think you'd have to include Io and Venus with that, right? Yeah. Well, yeah. I mean, Io's got some silicate volcanism, so I suppose. But mostly Venus. Venus will cook your food without even having to see the sun. I'd hate to give the impression that this is now just a regular part of the show, but it seems to be a regular part of the show. It is this week's poem from Dave Fairchild in answer to the question. Here you go.

this week's poem from Dave Fairchild in answer to the question. Here you go. Mercury in orbit doth approach at perihelion, 46 kilometers if multiplied by millions, and when you're at aphelion, then 70's my notion, as Kepler said, elliptical is planetary motion. Nice. He just keeps outdoing himself. What can I say? Try this one on for size. We talked about who had the longest spaceflight. Who had the second longest spaceflight?

And how long was he up there in one flight? Go to planetary.org slash radio contest. Get us your entry. And do get it to us by March 15. That would be Tuesday, March 15 at 8 a.m. Pacific time. The prizes will be a Planetary Radio t-shirt, a 200-point iTelescope.net account, that non-profit worldwide network of telescopes, and get this, a mystery prize. You're getting rid of old socks again, aren't you?

No, I really just, I haven't decided what it is yet. So it's a mystery prize. It's a mystery to me. We're done. All right, everybody. Go out there. Look about the night sky. And I can't function if I don't do it right.

I have to try again. Please. Okay, everybody. Go out there. Look up in the night sky and think about air bubbles underwater. Thank you and good night. If at first you don't succeed, listen to What's Up with Bruce Betts. Three again.

He's the Director of Science and Technology for the Planetary Society, who joins us every week here for What's Up. Planetary Radio is produced by the Planetary Society in Pasadena, California, and is made possible by its multi-talented members. Josh Doyle created our theme music. Arriving on our pale blue dot just last week to the great joy of associate producer and mom, Danielle Gunn, and proud dad, Dave, we welcome James Gunn. Live long and prosper, little guy. I'm Matt Kaplan.

Clear skies.