Guest: Dr. Jason Reimuller; Topics: Project PoSSUM, Citizen Science, Mesospheric research, Noctilucent Cloud research & more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed back to the program Dr. Jason Reimuller for an update on the research and educational programs facilitated by Project PoSSUM ( http://projectpossum.org). During the first segment of our nearly 90 minute program, Dr. Reimuller introduced us to Project PoSSUM, mesospheric atmospheric research, noctilucent cloud research, suborbital research and most of all, programs to enable our being citizen scientists. We spent most of the first segment going over these programs and research projects in detail. Listen carefully as they are key to understanding the balance of our program today plus your understanding of the opportunities available school kids and teachers for research, science projects, science education and even in science communication.
Additional topics included Mars, the Moon, detecting CO2 and Methane in the upper atmosphere and research funding opportunities for the field of Aeronomy. Citizen science educational programs with Project PoSSUM continued to be a major part of our discussion. In addition, listener Paul asked for a definition of the mesosphere and why it was important to study it. Listeners also wanted to know the best times and locations for seeing noctilucent clouds so Jason told us about the "cloud season" so to speak for both the northern and southern hemisphere. Another topic we focused on were the PoSSUM academic programs at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
In the second segment, Jason introduced us to SciArt (science art). He said this was about the art of communicating science via science exploration and artistic interpretation. He talked about his interest being music but mentioned other areas of interest as well. He said this definitely influenced educational choice and the implementation of good science policy. Later in the segment and in response to another listener, he said the citizen science projects do not compete with regular academic science projects.
For much of this segment, we talked about science education being at a critical juncture at this time in the U.S. He was asked about science studies being made available to younger and younger students these days when compared to a decade or more in the past. I asked him for his thoughts on the public interest & knowledge level in science plus the quality of science teachers in our public school system. Don't miss what he had to say in response to these questions. Before the program ended, Robert wanted to know what he thought about citizen science projects for Mars and the Moon. Again, don't miss what he said about this.
We got one call (I discovered toll free line technical problems late in the show) from Tom, asking about his experience with pad abort, Constellation, and the Falcon 9. Listen to how risky a pad abort would be and what the stats were considered as being accurate by those planning the systems. 20g's is a lot to pull in a fraction of time!
Please post your comments/questions on TSS website blog page for this program. You can reach Jason through me or his website address which I listed earlier in this summary. You can also visit their Project PoSSUM Facebook page for updates as to their Antarctic balloon campaign.
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