April 28, 2008
Monday
8-9 a.m.

Space Place Live! Dr. Chris Martin, Program 4 (3-6)
What's In the News: Space Episode 11: Weather Satellites (4-12)
Space Place Live! Donya Douglas, Program 5 (3-6)
Destination Tomorrow™ Twelve (9-Adult)

4-6 p.m. and 8-10 p.m.

Space Place Live! Dr. Chris Martin, Program 4 (3-6)
What's In the News: Space Episode 11: Weather Satellites (4-12)
Space Place Live! Donya Douglas, Program 5 (3-6)
Destination Tomorrow™ Twelve (9-Adult)
Passport to Knowledge: Auroras - Living With a Star (6-8)

Crew that landed on Saturday was in grave danger, news agency says
By MARK K. MATTHEWS and ROBERT BLOCK

McClatchy-Tribune
WASHINGTON — Whatever caused a Soyuz capsule to fall to earth like a rock on Saturday, scaring its crew of three and space enthusiasts around the world, has got NASA and its Russian engineers stumped.

There was smoke inside the Russian-built space capsule as it plummeted to earth. The crew of three — including U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson — were tossed around in their seats, squeezed by a force of up to 10 times gravity. And they hit the ground hard, at least 260 miles off course....

Space Exploration May 'Determine Whether We Have Any Future at All'

By MELISSA CHEE
April 21, 2008

"What is the justification for spending all that effort and money on getting a few lumps of moon rock?"

April 21, 2008
Monday
8-9 a.m.

What's In the News: Space Episode 3: A Force of Nature (4-12)
Destination Tomorrow™ Twenty-One (9-Adult)

4-6 p.m. and 8-10 p.m.

What's In the News: Space Episode 3: A Force of Nature (4-12)
Destination Tomorrow™ Twenty-One (9-Adult)
NASA SCIence Files™: The Case of the Galactic Vacation (3-5)

Check out the lineup this weekend for NASA TV for Educators:

April 4, 2008
Friday
8-9 a.m.

Mars: What Would You Wear (3-12)
Our Home: Earth From Space (9-12)
Unlocking the Mysteries: Science on the Edge of Our Solar System (Adult)

4-6 p.m. and 8-10 p.m.

Mars: What Would You Wear (3-12)
Our Home: Earth From Space (9-12)
Unlocking the Mysteries: Science on the Edge of Our Solar System (Adult)
NASA SCIence Files™: The Case of the Challenging Flight (3-5)

TO THE MOON VIA HAWAII
By Leonard David

It could be a tough mental picture to conjure up. Imagine the lush garden paradise of Hawaii serving as a double for the crater-pocked and bleak Moon.

That’s exactly what is being planned by the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo. Scientists and engineers there are delving into new technologies and techniques to sustain human presence on the Moon and beyond.

Why Go Back to the Moon?
By Leonard David

Astronomically speaking: the Moon is in our face!
Next time it’s in your view, take a look at that cratered and desolate natural satellite of Earth. Even though a dozen humans between 1969 and 1972 walked across the lunar surface during the Apollo Moon landing program – it is far from being a “been there, done that world” in terms of exploration.
Ask Paul Spudis, a leading Moon expert at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, why investigate the Moon?

Jay asked the Coalition for Space Exploration: " Why haven't I heard of NASA or another organization building a large solar reflector for bouncing rays on to the Moon's darkside for energy needed for the long lunar night?"

Answer from Jim Banke at Cape Canaveral:

Jay, you're on to something thoughtful and potentially very cool, but first we have to dispel a commonly held belief that is perpetuated everytime someone picks up a certain Pink Floyd recording, and that is there is no such thing as the Dark Side of the Moon. There is, however, a far side to the Moon, but it gets light just as much as the side that faces the Earth. The Moon's phases should offer proof enough. Remember that the Moon rotates once every 27.3 days, the same amount of time it takes to orbit the Earth. The result is we see basically the same half of the Moon all the time.

So no matter what side of the Moon you're on, the long lunar night is still just shy of 14 days. The sun will come up again, negating the need for solar reflectors. But think about being on the far side of the Moon and needing to communicate with Earth. In that case you will need some kind of satellite in orbit over the Moon to bounce the signals from the far side of the Moon to the Earth and back again. Radio reflectors, not solar reflectors.

Finally, don't lose interest in your solar reflector idea. There are many people who would like to see the idea of a Solar Power Satellite become a reality. In this case, large solar reflectors would concentrate the sun's energy and then the satellite would beam that energy down to Earth in the form of microwaves. Giant receivers on the ground would gather the energy from space and turn it into electricity we all could use. It's a pretty wild idea but has a better chance of becoming a reality every day as new space entrepreneurs seek to drive down the costs of flying into space.

Thanks for asking.

From: The Next Giant Leap For Mankind - 60 Minutes Reports On NASA's Plans To Return Men To The Moon In Preparation For A Manned Flight To Mars

(CBS) NASA is serious, very serious, about launching the most difficult mission ever attempted by the human race - putting an astronaut on Mars. The voyage will cover hundreds of millions of miles and take two-and-a-half years roundtrip. It sounds like science fiction.

To make it scientific fact, the United States needs to first flex its deep space muscles again on familiar terrain - the moon.

It’s been nearly 40 years since Neil Armstrong took one giant leap for mankind and almost as long since the American public was truly captivated by the space program. You may not know it, but as 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon reports, the journey to send humans back to the moon and beyond has already begun.

For more info Check out the full article!

The Coalition's Alexander Stimpson and the entire Gen Y panel is now up and available from the Denver Space Exploration vision meeting.

Mikulski Again Pledges To Fight for $1 Billion NASA Budget Boost

By BRIAN BERGER
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 03 April 2008
12:35 pm ET

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), said she will try again this year to get NASA an extra $1 billion to pay back the agency for what it spent in the aftermath of the 2003 space shuttle Columbia accident.

"Science at NASA saves lives, saves the planet, and creates jobs for the future, so I am puzzled why the President's budget flat-funds NASA science this year and for the next five years. With almost no real growth in NASA's budget, NASA needs more resources to accomplish all of its missions," Mikulski said at the beginning of a hearing about NASA's budget.

April 3, 2008 Tara Trujillo (Udall), 202.225.2161

Subcommittee Examines Progress and Plans of NASA’s Exploration Initiative

(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Science and Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing to review the status of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) exploration initiative. Members of the subcommittee examined NASA’s current implementation issues, focusing both on near-term development challenges and the longer-term plans for the lunar exploration phase of the initiative.