GuestSearch: Robert Pearlman. Topics: Collecting space memorabilia, art, and pop culture items. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Robert Pearlman of collectSPACE.com back to the show to discuss collecting space memorabilia both as an investment and a hobby. We started our discussion talking about Space Shuttle memorabilia. Our guest talked about flags flown on each shuttle mission, autographs, and other collectable items from each mission. We also talked about collectables from Soyuz missions, rockets (even the V2) and related space items. In responding to listener questions on how best to start collecting space items, Robert said to discover what you like and specialize. Several listeners asked about hardware and propulsion collecting and he said there were lots of people specializing in these areas. He talked about having a Gemini Thruster in his own collection, plus rocket parts. As to be expected, the cost is based on the supply of any given item. Space Shuttle tiles were discussed in detail and a listener asked him about NASA diapers based on the Lisa Nowak incident. Don't miss what Robert had to say about this. We also talked about Buzz & other astronauts signing baseballs & sports items. Robert suggested ways to tell if something is authentic or not but strongly advocated getting expert opinions regarding authenticity. The Texas drought came up because of the recent discovery of Columbia debris made visible by low lake levels. This prompted a discussion about NASA property, Moon rocks, and the new book, "Sex On The Moon." Robert had much to say about collecting items with Moon dust, Russian tiny Moon rock samples and more. In the second long segment, we talked about space tourism and what it might take to saturate a collectable market and lower prices of collectable items. We also talked about various space artifact auctions, the difference in collecting space memorabilia, pop culture items, Americana items, and fine art. As you will hear, art is a crossover item. We had quite the discussion on comparing the collecting of fine space art by Bean or Bonestell compared to art by Pablo Picasso. I know you will find most interesting what Robert had to say about space art collecting. One thing that was most interesting was his comment about paintings by Alan Bean. He told us how the artist has ground up his mission patches and placed tiny specs of lunar dust into his paints so each of his paintings carries with it some lunar dust in the paint. Lunar retrieval for collection purposes was talked about and at the end, we talked about "safeing" the shuttles, shuttle parts as memorabilia, and then the shocker, what was being done with shuttle launch pads A&B. Post comments & questions on the blog URL above. You can contact Robert through www.collectSPACE.com.