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Robeson Planetarium and Science Center Offering Mars Rover Programs This Saturday

Author Don Chase
In this concept illustration provided by NASA, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands on the Red Planet's surface as NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover (partially visible on the left) rolls away. NASA's Perseverance (Mars 2020) rover will store rock and soil samples in sealed tubes on the planet's surface for future missions to retrieve in the area known as Jezero crater on the planet Mars. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. (Photo illustration by NASA via Getty Images)

As a youngster, did you find yourself gazing at the heavens above and wondering about the stars and the planets and the moon and the sun and the Earth and the rotation and all that is floating around in our solar system? So did I. Now, if you still have questions, I happen know a gentleman by the name of Ken Brandt.  Ken is the director of the Robeson Planetarium and Science Center in Lumberton, North Carolina and let me assure you, Ken is more than capable of answering all of your questions.

Recently Ken and I were talking and he asked me Don, did you know there is a helicopter in space? I answered no. Ken told me that the the helicopter named Ingenuity is indeed on the surface of Mars as we speak and has been there going on 3 years now.

You can learn all about the Opportunity Mars Rover this weekend at the planetarium, as they feature education sessions on Saturday at noon and 1 p.m.

“The Robeson Planetarium and Science Center will host a free public program on Saturday, January 20, at noon and 1 p.m. The program is all about the Opportunity Mars Rover.”

Here’s another question for you. Were you aware that there are two Mars Rovers in operation on the surface of the Red Planet. Me neither. Amazing right? The Rover Curiosity landed in 2012. In 2021, the Rover Persistence also successfully landed on the surface of Mars. Check this out. Strapped to the belly of the Rover Persistence was the helicopter Ingenuity. Incredibly, all three lunar vehicles are still in operation as we speak.

Now, here is the cool part. Ken and his team consistently offer various planetarium programs to schools, school kids and adults as well. Ken tells me the best way to keep up with what programs are being offered, is to simply check the Robeson Planetarium and Science Center Facebook page. Just click here.

Here are a few more facts about the Robeson Planetarium and Science Center:

  • The center has been designated as a Blue Star Museum offering military, veterans and their families entry free of charge from Armed Forces Day through Labor Day
  • Blue Star families, simply call 910-671-6000 x 3381 for a list of program times for you, your family or community group.
  • The center is also a member of the North Carolina Science Network and the North Carolina Science Trail
  • Reservations are required and can be made by contacting Joy Ivey at 910-671-6000 x3381 or joy.ivey@robeson.k12.nc.us

Don Chase is living out his dreams, anchoring The Big Wake-Up with Don Chase & Sarah weekday mornings on KML. With over 35 years with Beasley Media, Don believes that the best is yet to come. The unofficial Mayor of Fayetteville radio, Don Chase writes about Fayetteville and North Carolina news, as well as entertaining perspectives on music, culture and more.

Netflix New Releases for January 2024

Streaming giant Netflix has a lot of highly-anticipated movies to offer their subscribers. From comedies to grisly dramas, the streamer’s January releases feature some of our favorite actors and producers. With the writers and actors strikes over, streamers and production companies are releasing projects that have been held off due to production being shut down in the latter half of 2023.

New Film and Television Series in 2024

For Netflix, one of the streamer’s highest-profile new series, 3 Body Problem, was bumped out of 2023 and into 2024. This is the first post-Game of Thrones show from creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss, arriving in the Spring. The sci-fi drama has been in the works since 2020, starring Eiza González, Benedict Wong, and Game of Thrones alums John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, and Jonathan Pryce. Additionally, the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series is just as highly anticipated for fans of the beloved original Nickelodeon animated series. It will be coming to the streamer in late February.

Sofia Vergara stars as real-life Colombian cartel boss Griselda Blanco in a miniseries, looking completely unrecognizable. In it, she creates one of the most profitable cartels in history. With six episodes that are each an hour long, Griselda creator Eric Newman said Vergara was perfect for the role “not only because she, like Griselda, is a single mother who came to America from Colombia with nothing and built an empire, but because it was unexpected of her to do. Sofia has been thought of one way, a beautiful and brilliant comedic actress, and she is so much more than that.”

For the movie fanatics, Netflix has a few standout films kicking off January alone. Another standout project is Society of the Snow, the harrowing story of the Uruguayan rugby team that crash-landed in the Andes mountains in 1972. Kevin Hart offers a new comedy in a heist film, and Dan Levy directs and stars in a dramedy titled Good Grief. Coming in March, Millie Bobby Brown stars in a fantasy action movie called Damsel. Later in the month, Lindsay Lohan stars in her second rom-com, Irish Wish. April brings Zack Snyder’s sequel, Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver.

Take a look below at the new additions that will be released in January 2024 on Netflix:

  • 'Society of the Snow'

    Spanish director J.A. Bayona’s thriller Society of the Snow debuts on Thursday, January 4. The film is the latest cinematic retelling of the miraculous story of the Uruguayan rugby team that crash-landed on a glacier in the heart of the Andes in 1972. The survivors join forces and become each other’s best hope as they navigate their way back home, resorting to extreme measures to stay alive.

  • 'Good Grief'

    The following day on Friday, January 5, Netflix debuts dramedy Good Grief, written, directed, and starring Schitt’s Creek‘s Dan Levy. In it, he plays a London-based artist who spends a year mourning his husband before making a startling discovery about their relationship on a trip to Paris with his best friends.

  • 'Lift'

    One week later on Friday, January, Kevin Hart stars in a plane heist comedy film called Lift. The story centers on Cyrus Whitaker (Hart), the leader of an international heist team who gets enlisted to steal $500 millions worth of gold from a mid-air passenger plane before the fortune ends up in the wrong hands. The ensemble cast includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno and Sam Worthington.

  • 'Griselda'

    Sofia Vergara will shock all her Modern Family fans as she dramatically shifts away from comedy with this miniseries. Debuting on the streamer on January 25, Vergara plays the ruthless Colombian “Godmother,” Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most profitable cartels in history. The six one-hour episodes come from the creators and executive producers of Narcos and has been described as a “cousin” to those two shows.

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