Space Science in Action: Space Exploration

Assuming, of course, that you're not some kind of weird fetishist, how would you like to have 39°F water running through your underwear? Technically known as the "full cold" (or, in layperson's terms, "shriveled nuts") setting, this temperature control feature of an astronaut's suit is just one of the little extras those wacky guys and gals at NASA dreamed up to keep our space travelers comfy on extraterrestrial missions. Space Exploration, one of nine new titles in the Space Science in Action series, follows Malcolm and Stanley, a pair of bumbling but dedicated would-be astronauts as they look at the ways we learn about our universe (such as telescopes--from Galileo's handheld invention to the Hubble supermodel--and personed and unpersoned space missions), review the space race (Russians first in space, Americans first on moon), and remind viewers how much of the universe (lots) remains to be explored. In addition to interviews with, among others, astronaut Kathryn Thompson, the program features cool footage (for example, astronauts eating in no gravity conditions...which looks suspiciously like playing with your food), interesting facts (in space, a 5' 11" person is 6'), and a neat experiment for measuring rocket thrust. The other titles in the series are: Astronomy, Earth, Earth's Atmosphere, Moon, Planets & The Solar System, Stars, Sun and Universe. Highly recommended. Aud: I, J, P. (R. Pitman)