STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Scientists at NASA are eager to get their hands dirty while examining the dust scraped off an asteroid.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Touchdown. SRC has touched down.
INSKEEP: OSIRIS-REx came home after sampling the surface of a big rock in outer space and traveling more than 1 billion miles with a little help from a rock star.
(SOUNDBITE OF QUEEN SONG, “WE WILL ROCK YOU”)
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
That’s Brian May, the lead guitarist for Queen. And he’s an astrophysicist who worked with NASA on the mission.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRIAN MAY: This asteroid can tell us untold secrets of the origins of the universe and the origins of life itself.
INSKEEP: Mr. May’s experience got us thinking about other celebrities with side hustles, like Tom Selleck.
(SOUNDBITE OF WILLIAM MOORE’S “MAGNUM (HIGGINS…
