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Study Up For 'Think': A Look At The Rover On The Red Planet

intelfreepress / Flickr
This summer marks the second year since the Curiosity Rover's landing on Mars.

Two summers ago, the Mars Curiosity rover made its landing on the red planet. Approximately thirty-five million miles from Earth, the $2.5 billion robot has had faced its ups and downs. At noon, Marc Kaufman, author of Mars Up Close: Inside the Curiosity Mission, talks with Krys Boyd on Think about the rover’s journey so far.

Kaufman, a science journalist, has spent the past two years following the progress of the mission with NASA scientists and engineers themselves. He’s written extensively on the subject for National Geographic and The Washington Post. One recent post takes a look at the rover’s expedition to Mount Sharp -- a journey that started more than a year ago -- and the challenges faced along the way.

Caltech put together the following video documenting the Curiosity’s progress so far and looking forward to the plans still yet to come.

The Curiosity is still in the middle of Mars and more rovers are expected to launch soon. But it turns out a human-led mission to the planet may not be too far off into the future. Kaufman wrote just last year about NASA’s hope for human exploration and Mars One, a Dutch project aimed at human settlement starting in 2024. While both are still in the works, for now, you can follow the Mars Curiosity on Twitter.

Listen to Think, Monday through Thursday at noon and 9 p.m., on KERA 90.1 FM or via online streaming.