Interview with Bradley A. Smith on his relationship with astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of the planet Pluto. Smith discusses meeting and working with Tombaugh on astronomical observation projects in New Mexico during the 1950s. One of the projects, the planetary patrol, was conducted with a 12-inch telescope set up in Smith's backyard in Las Cruces. He discusses working on the Mariner spacecraft missions to Mars during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He also discusses the origins and early history of the Astronomy Department at New Mexico State University.