Saying Goodbye to the Space Shuttle Program

Where will the space program go in 2011? In the short term, we have just completed the second to last mission of the space shuttle program and the last mission will take place in July. Looking long term, the ultimate goal will be traveling to Mars. The misconception held by many is that manned missions are completely going away. Manned missions will still take place in partnership with the Russians. This process is really an evolution of the space program from launching objects into low earth orbit to the big challenges, which are large manned missions out into the solar system. However, it’s not likely we will see a  man on mars until the 2030’s. This and more on this week’s Sky Talk.[audio: st20110606.mp3]