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Exploration: It\u2019s exciting, it\u2019s novel, and you can\u2019t always count on a round-trip ticket.\xa0You can boldly go, but you might not come back.\xa0That\u2019s no showstopper for robotic explorers, though.\xa0Spacecraft go everywhere.\nWhile humans have traveled no farther than the moon, our mechanical proxies are climbing a mountain on Mars, visiting an ice ball far beyond Pluto, plunging through the rings of Saturn, and landing on a comet.\xa0Oh, and did we mention they\u2019re also bringing rock and roll to the denizens of deep space, in case they wish to listen.\nWe consider some of the most daring explorers since the 16th\xa0century \u2013 made of metal and plastic - venturing to places where no one else could go.\xa0What have they done, what are they doing, and at what point do they declare \u201cmission accomplished\u201d and head for that great spacecraft graveyard in the sky?\nGuests:\n\n\nMatt Tiscareno\u2013 Planetary Scientist at the SETI Institute\n\n\nMark Showalter\u2013 Senior Research Scientist, SETI Institute\n\n\nJonathan Amos\u2013 BBC Senior Writer and Science Correspondent\n\n\nAshwin Vasavada\u2013 Curiosity Project Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices