Mars rover Opportunity is on the verge of completing a long journey, now resting just a few hundred feet from Victoria Crater on the red planet. The geology of the crater, 750 meters wide and 70 meters deep, is especially interesting to Mars scientists looking for signs of water. We'll talk with the principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover mission about the trip to Victoria, and why scientists have been so keen for the rover to reach Victoria. The mission is now in its third year. It was originally planned to last just three months.

We'll also talk about life expectancy here on Earth. A new study says that life expectancy in the US is very segmented, to the point that researchers say that they see 'eight Americas' defined by race, location, and income. Differences in the predicted life expectancy of the groups can be as much as 18 years. We'll talk about the findings and what they mean.

And what's for lunch? Nutritionists have their eyes on school lunches in the U.S., and aren't happy with the heaping helpings of tater tots, greasy pizza, and lack of balanced nutrition seen in many school cafeterias. We'll talk about improving nutrition in schools. Could changes to school lunches help stem the tide of childhood obesity in the U. S.? Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (3-4 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Majid Ezzati
Associate Professor, International Health
Harvard School of Public Health
Boston, Massachusetts

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Ann Cooper
Chef
Author, "Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children" (Collins, 2006)
Director, Nutrition Services
Berkeley Unified School District
Berkeley, California

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Steven Squyres
Principal Investigator, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission
Professor, Astronomy
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Books/Articles Discussed:

Murray CJL "Eight Americas: Investigating Mortality Disparities across Races, Counties, and Race-Counties in the United States." PLoS Med 3(9):e260. DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030360

"Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children, " by Anne Cooper. Collins, 2006.

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This segment produced by Karin Vergoth