Last weekend, SMART-1, a European Space Agency orbiter, met its end with a collision into the surface of the moon. The crash was intentional -- after reaching the end of its mission orbiting and mapping the moon, astronomers elected to crash the probe into the surface in order to collect data on lunar composition. SMART-1 was crashed into an area of the moon called Lacus Excellentiae (The Lake of Excellence). We'll talk about the mission, and about why humans spend so much time and effort studying the moon. What is there to learn by studying the moon? Do humans really need to go back there?

We'll also take a look at NASA's pick for a new crew vehicle to replace the aging space shuttle. The spacecraft, named Orion, is scheduled to be built by Lockheed Martin. NASA officials say the first flight with astronauts aboard will come before 2014 -- with a trip back to the moon on the schedule for 2020. Jeff Hanley, of NASA's Johnson Space Center, said that "Our intent is to keep the destination focusing the design but we are not excluding the possibility of using Orion for other things, such as de-orbiting the Hubble Space Telescope in the 2020s or making a trek to an asteroid." We'll talk about what's on the drawing board.

And yet another look at the decision to demote Pluto from planetary status. 300 astronomers have signed a petition protesting the recent nomenclature change. Will the public protests have any effect on the International Astronomical Union? Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Mark Sykes
Director, Planetary Science Institute
Tucson, Arizona

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David Paige
Associate Professor, Planetary Science
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

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Frank Morring
Senior Space Technology Editor
Aviation Week and Space Technology
Washington, DC

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This segment produced by Karin Vergoth