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| Questioning Pluto |
| Topic: Outer Solar System |
02/09/06 |
| Summary: As the New Horizons mission to Pluto prepared for launch in January, NASA presented a webcast in which scientists answered questions from public. In this edited transcript, David Kusnierkiewicz, mission systems engineer for New Horizons, talks about technology that will take spacecraft to Pluto and beyond. |
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| The Lessons of Exposure |
| Topic: Extreme Life |
02/06/06 |
| Summary: In this interview with Gerda Horneck, she shares her concerns about sending humans to Mars. She also explains why our own bacteria, after being exposed to the harsh radiation of outer space, won´t come back to haunt us. |
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| Swarming for Success |
| Topic: Extreme Life |
12/12/05 |
| Summary: Dr. Penelope Boston and Dr. Steven Dubowsky are working to develop "hopping microbots" capable of exploring hazardous terrain, including underground caves. If the project pans out, hopping microbots may some day be sent to search for life below the surface of Mars. In Part II of this interview, Dr. Boston talks about the swarm-like behavior of large groups of microbots that enables them to perform sophisticated research tasks. |
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| Exploring Caves with Hopping Microbots |
| Topic: Extreme Life |
12/08/05 |
| Summary: For the past several years, NASA has been encouraging scientists and engineers to think outside the box, to come up with ideas just this side of science fiction. One of the projects that received funding earlier this year was a collaboration between Dr. Penelope Boston and Dr. Steven Dubowsky to develop "hopping microbots" capable of exploring hazardous terrain, including underground caves. |
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| Latching onto Lichen |
| Topic: Extreme Life |
12/05/05 |
| Summary: Lichen, those colored crusts that sprout on bare rocks, dead wood, frozen soil, and other inhospitable sites, can tolerate the extreme conditions of outer space. In this interview with Astrobiology Magazine, Rosa de la Torre talks about the potential for lichen to travel between the planets and to colonize Mars. |
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| Expectations for a Final Theory? |
| Topic: Missions |
10/24/05 |
| Summary: Martin Rees is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge and Britain´s Astronomer Royal. He is the author of numerous popular science books, including the bestselling Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe. |
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| Weighing the Benefits of the I-suit |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
10/20/05 |
| Summary: Considering that space suits can weigh upwards of 200 pounds, you'd think that the lighter the suit, the easier it would be to work in. Not necessarily so, says geologist Dean Eppler. In this interview he explains why other factors can be more important than weight. |
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| Making a List, Checking It Twice |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
10/13/05 |
| Summary: When you're on the moon, trying to fix some broken equipment, you don't want to waste time fumbling around in oversized gloves trying to read the instruction manual. NASA's solution: make the operations checklist electronic, and mount a display inside an astronaut's helmet. Geologist Dean Eppler, who recently tested just such a system (albeit on Earth), says it works pretty well. |
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| Learning to Work in the Suit |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
10/10/05 |
| Summary: What's it like to walk around on Mars in a space suit? No-one knows for sure. But geologist Dean Eppler has come as close as anyone. In this interview, he talks about his experience working in the Mark III experimental suit, as part of this year's Desert RATS field season. |
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| Sunshine on Comets: Part 2 |
| Topic: Meteorites, Comets and Asteroids |
10/06/05 |
| Summary: Jessica Sunshine is the Deep Impact mission scientist responsible for the onboard infrared spectrometer. In the second half of this two-part interview, she discusses whether Deep Impact has altered our ideas of how comets are formed and how important they've been in Earth's history. |
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