Robert A. Black, Mathematical Storyteller

This Christmas season is a special one in space history. It was 40 years ago, Christmas 1968, when Apollo 8 sent the first human beings to the Moon. They didn't land - the Lunar Modules weren't ready yet - but they made ten orbits and sent back the first TV transmission from another world. For the first time, people could see the entire Earth as a planet floating in space. They also read from the King James Bible on Christmas Eve. There are lots of online commemorations you can check out if you're interested: National Public Radio ran a story on Morning Edition that you can listen to here . There's also an online video bonus story. David Livingston welcomed space historian Robert Zimmerman to Monday's edition of The Space Show , to talk about Apollo 8 and the Bible reading in particular. You can listen to that here . Finally, NASA-TV is running Apollo 8 coverage all day today and tomorrow. You can check out the schedule here . Merry Christmas, everybody!

If you were interested in my interview on The Space Show, but didn't have time for the entire program, I now have the highlights posted on my author website. You can find them here: http://www.rablack.com/Space_Show/Space_Show_Clips.html Meanwhile, India has reached the Moon! The Chandrayaan-1 probe went into lunar orbit this past week, and is now getting ready to begin its exploration. You can find out more here: http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Nov08_2008.htm

I had a pretty fun time on The Space Show this past Sunday. The first half-hour or so turned out to be more about my time writing for You Can't Do That On Television than anything else, but eventually we got around to Lunar Pioneers . I hope everyone who heard me enjoyed the program. The podcast is now online at the Space Show website. You can find it here . Meanwhile, I'll have some excerpts posted in a few days.

The PBS series Nova has turned out some really great episodes about the space program over the years, and last night's episode was no exception. "Space Shuttle Disaster" took a look at the 2003 Columbia accident - not just the accident itself, but the social and political factors around it, through the past and into the future. They made a good case for the claim that the Columbia accident was a product of the environment that made the Shuttle what it was in the first place, and then explored the ways that the accident has changed NASA's plans for the future. If you missed it, you can look for your local PBS station to rerun it, or go here to watch it online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/columbia/program.html Meanwhile, I've got a space show of my own to do. The Space Show, in fact: I'll be on the air from 12:00noon to 1:30pm Pacific Time this Sunday , talking about Lunar Pioneers . You can hear the show streamed live from the Space Show website or do...

I'm working on lining up a guest appearance on The Space Show , and I seem to be making some progress. They read an email of mine the other night, and it sounds like they were interested in what I said: Audio Clip from The Space Show Meanwhile, this week I've also learned that junior high and high school students can now sign up for this year's Team America Rocketry Challenge . The goal is to design a model rocket that will lift an egg to 750 feet and keep it in the air for 45 seconds - and the egg has to be lying on its side, like an astronaut sits. Winners get to go to next year's international air show in Paris, among other prizes. I had a great time with model rocketry as a kid, and even won a regional tournament once. It's definitely something all young space enthusiasts should look into.