Quick Takes: Song goes the distance

The Curiosity rover transmitted the first-ever feature song from the surface of Mars on Tuesday — a track penned by singer and producer will.i.am to celebrate the NASA robot’s successful landing on the Red Planet.

The song, called “Reach for the Stars,” was beamed back to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where will.i.am took the stage to answer questions from students from Boyle Heights, where he grew up.

“There’s no words to explain how amazing this is,” the singer, of Black Eyed Peas fame, said to the gathered audience, standing on stage with NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, the agency’s associate administrator for education.

The number features a 40-piece orchestra and isn’t your standard urban hip-hop anthem, the singer pointed out, because it’s meant to weather the test of time and be easily translated across cultures.

—Amina Khan

Foundation gives MOCA payment

The Broad Foundation has made a $1.5-million payment to L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art, bringing it out of arrears on Eli Broad’s pledge to provide $3 million a year for MOCA’s exhibitions through 2013.

Earlier this month, foundation spokeswoman Karen Denne had said that scheduled payments had been withheld because $2.1 million previously given under the agreement had not yet been spent.

Broad’s $30-million pledge is split between $15 million for exhibitions over five years, and an additional $15 million for the museum’s endowment, to be given bit by bit, with no timetable or deadline, whenever MOCA can come up with matching endowment contributions from other sources.

—Mike Boehm

Couric talk show discloses guests

Katie Couric’s syndicated talk show isn’t scheduled to launch until Sept. 10, but producers of “Katie” announced Tuesday her upcoming guest lineup. Not surprisingly, given Couric’s place in history as the first woman chosen to anchor a nightly network newscast on her own, the list skews toward alpha females, including Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Lopez and Heidi Klum.

According to a news release, the premiere episode will feature appearances by Jessica Simpson and Sheryl Crow.

Other guests “Katie” has in the wings: “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara, comedian Chelsea Handler, actress Susan Sarandon and E.L. James, author of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series.

—Meredith Blake

Winfrey leads list of earners

Oprah Winfrey may not have her daily syndicated talk show dumping truckloads of cash at her feet anymore, but with OWN and other ventures, she’s still bringing home enough to top Forbes magazine’s list of the highest-paid celebrities for the fourth straight year.

Though the magazine estimates that Winfrey’s income dropped by $125 million last year, her total haul from May 2011 to May 2012 is estimated to be $165 million.

Following close on Winfrey’s heels is Michael Bay. Thanks to his cut from “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” the filmmaker took in an estimated $160 million last year.

Rounding out the top five were producer-director Steven Spielberg, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and music producer-rapper Dr. Dre.

—Patrick Kevin Day

KPCC dropping Morrison show

After a six-year run, KPCC-FM (89.9) is dropping “The Patt Morrison Show” from its weekday afternoon lineup next month to expand one of its morning programs and add an hourlong show focused on international news.

Morrison, a veteran Times reporter and columnist, will continue to have a role at the Pasadena-based public radio station, officials said. She’ll be the substitute host for Larry Mantle on “Airtalk” and also may host a weekend program.

Starting Sept. 10, KPCC will expand its local public-affairs program “Brand & Martinez” from one hour to two, airing weekdays from 9 to 11 a.m., followed by “Airtalk” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. “The World,” currently heard at noon, will move to 2 p.m., with “BBC Newshour” joining the lineup from 1 to 2 p.m.

—Lee Margulies

Finally

Ailing: Classical pianist Van Cliburn, 78, has been diagnosed with advanced bone cancer and is resting comfortably at his Texas home, his publicist said.

Airing: ABC has acquired the television rights to Spike Lee’s upcoming Michael Jackson documentary about the making of “Bad” and will broadcast it on Thanksgiving.