Mars and Hawaii, more in common than you think this week on planetary radio. I'm at Kaplan at the Planetary Society.

Kat Scanlon is the graduate student who is lead author of a paper that says precipitation

on the red planet, read rain or more likely snow, help shape at least some of its mountains and valleys.

We'll talk with her in a few minutes and we'll learn why Bill Nye has the knack.

With what's up in another space trivia contest waiting for our big finish.

First up though is the Planetary Society's Emily Lachto-walla.

Emily you have just been itching for those wheels on curiosity to get to rolling across the Red Planet.

Are you feeling pretty good today?

Yes I am.

They finally started making tracks and they have at last made it west of their original

landing positions, so that's big news. Of course they took a major

excursion eastward to go to that spot called Yellowknife Bay where they found some really cool rocks but it's

was farther away from their eventual destination so now they've made up for all that lost time and they're headed southwest to the toe of Mount Sharp.

And one year in, one Earth year anyway, as people hear this show, we will have hit that anniversary.

It's kind of interesting to take stock because you know it has been a year and they've

gone just over one kilometer and have drilled two holes.

So summarize that way it does not sound like a whole lot.

But they've certainly gotten their feet under them.

They figured out how to use all the instruments on this incredibly complicated machine. And so they are really ready. And so they are really

ready and now they are really making tracks they're actually really not

stopping for science much along the way on this drive.

They are stopping here and there though and all along the way taking beautiful pictures.

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