http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-935240.mp3
Albany, NY – EDUCATIONAL HEADLINES AND UPDATES FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE AND SPACE -
Remember playing with Lego's as a child? Well, a Lego Space Shuttle headed to orbit with the launch of the space shuttle STS-133 mission. NASA and the Lego Group signed a Space Act Agreement to spark children's interest in STEM - science, technology, engineering, and math. Listen to the show to find out about NASA's educational materials in conjunction with this project.
Next, the International Space Station is celebrating ten years of humans living and working on board it.
And then another landmark is achieved as astronomers from 12 countries on six continents mark the 50th anniversary of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, better known as SETI.
More on all of these stories above, inside the show. So listen.
Glenn Busby reports. (3:35)
ASTROBIOLOGY RESEARCH AND EDUCATION SERIES
"TITAN AS A PREBIOTIC LABORATORY: DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEX ORGANICS IN AN ABIOTIC ENVIRONMENT"
Part Two: Do Manned Scientific Missions Have a Future? -
And that brings us to our next story. In many respects, Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is one of the most Earth-like worlds found to date. With its thick atmosphere and organic-rich chemistry, Titan resembles a frozen version of Earth, several billion years ago, before life began pumping oxygen into the atmosphere.
Last week, we learned that Titan is of great interest to scientists (and our next guest) because it has a substantial, active atmosphere. Since the arrival of the Cassini mission six years ago, many of Titan's secrets have been revealed, including rivers and lakes of liquid ethane and methane which form clouds and rain.
An update from last week's show NASA Program Manager, Bob Mitchell, says the Cassini spacecraft is behaving exactly as it should since it went into that "safe mode" we told you about. He's confident by the time this show airs, that they'll restore the software from the backup and restart it without problems.
This week, we wrap up our story about Titan, including a discussion about the future of such scientific missions, and cost factors for trying to find the origins of life.
Our guest scientist is Dr. Mark Smith, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Glenn Busby reports. (11:03)
The preceding was made possible by the NASA Astrobiology Institute, through support of the New York Center for Astrobiology, located at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - in partnership with the University at Albany, the University of Arizona, and Syracuse University.
**(For additional information about this story, or any of the other more than 180 stories featured in this current exclusive Astrobiology series and our past Origins of Life radio series, or if you would like to hear them again via your computer, the website given at the conclusion of the above segment is: www.origins.rpi.edu.)**
GUEST COMMENTARY:
"IMPROVING STEM EDUCATION REQUIRES A LONG TERM COMMITMENT" -
In concert with our science-themed show today, earlier this year, "Time" magazine featured Thomas Edison, whose imaginative mind and the inventions he created, changed the course of a young America. It was Edison's inventions that helped lead the country into the 20th century through technological revolutions that created what our nation is today.
With thoughts on that, here's our guest commentator, Dr. Mel Schiavelli, President and CEO of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
Dr. Mel Schiavelli comments. (3:13)
THE ACADEMIC MINUTE
"EVOLUTION AND DARWIN" -
This week's episode features Dr. Charles Ross, Assistant Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Hampshire College.
The Academic Minute is hosted by Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, a celebrated philosopher and medical ethicist, and President of Mount Holyoke College. (2:30)