Sarah Stewart Johnson is a planetary scientist who has worked on several Mars missions and is also the author of The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World. She talks to us about her book, the latest mission to the Red Planet—the Perseverance rover—and why our closest neighbor holds such fascination for us Earthlings.

*Wild Thing premium members get access to all of season 2, ad free, plus early access to bonus interviews. Sign up now to listen and support the show. https://wildthing.supportingcast.fm/

*Season 2 of Wild Thing is produced by Laura Krantz and Scott Carney. Editing by Alicia Lipinski Lincoln. Music and mixing by Louis Weeks.