Colbert and DeGrasse drive a 'Mars Rover' around New York and talk science

America’s Late Night Show host Stephen Colbert and popular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson took what Colbert coins as the ‘new Mars Rover’ on a test ride in Manhattan, New York. Colbert and DeGrasse talking rover specs. Image courtesy: Screengrab from YouTube_Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert “They (NASA) let me test drive the prototype of their new Mars rover,” Colbert says. “Before they send it to Mars, they want to see if it can withstand New York’s inhospitable atmosphere of urine-based humidity,” he jokes.

The pair discusses the many features of the rover – which looks more like a Bat-mobile than any of NASA’s rovers present stationed on Mars. DeGrasse points out that the rover’s top speed, close to 3 mph, is still an ambitious target for actual mobile rovers studying the Red Planet. [caption id=“attachment_5280271” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] A sign on the rover. Image courtesy: Screengrab from YouTube/Late Night with Stephen Colbert[/caption] They also discussed the challenges of interstellar space travel, the best chances of our survival over generations on such a journey. All this while driving the Mars-mobile on Manhattan streets and shopping for ‘supplies’ a hypothetical might need. Among the duo’s banter are plans to colonise Mars, potatoes grown from poop, how having a rover like the Mars-mobile might affect one’s dating life and the nuances of travelling to and on Mars.