© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Exploring Mars For A Half-Century

NASA/JPL/MSSS

There was much excitement in India yesterday when that country’s first effort to send an orbiter to Mars succeeded. 

Analysts say the craft, nicknamed MOM, will do as much to boost the stature of Indian scientists and engineers as it will for gathering data on the red planet.

Only 21 of 51 efforts to reach Mars by various countries have been successful. But our astronomy contributor, Jean Creighton, tells Lake Effect’s Bonnie North that we’ve actually been exploring the planet for a half-century.

Bonnie North
Bonnie joined WUWM in March 2006 as the Arts Producer of the locally produced weekday magazine program Lake Effect.
Dr. Jean Creighton has always been inspired by how the cosmos works. She was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Athens, Greece where her mother claims she showed a great interest in how stars form from the age of five.