Segment Summary:
When the Mars Space Probe crashed off the coast of Chile, 4 batteries holding up to a half a pound of deadly plutonium were released into the ocean, an amount that could potentially destroy the entire eco-system of the area. Carl Grossman, producer of the documentary “Nukes in Space: Nuclearization and Weaponization of the Heavens”, maintains that plans are still in place to send even larger amounts of plutonium into space and discusses the planned Cassini Space Probe mission. This mission would launch 72 pounds of plutonium into orbit around Venus and back, enough to expose 99% of the earth’s population to radiation if it were accidentally released into the atmosphere upon re-entry. Grossman has been covering this issue for a decade, but laments his failure to get wider recognition of the issue due to media sponsorship of energy corporations such as Westinghouse and GE (“the Coke and Pepsi of nuclear power”).

Segment Subjects (keywords for the segment):
Mars Space probe, plutonium, radiation, Carl Grossman, Cassini Space Probe