SpaceX's Falcon 9 during a previous test flight. Photo credit: SpaceX/Chris Thompson

Testing, testing … 3, 2, 1. History might just be made tomorrow as a private company is set to be the first ever to make a trip to the International Space Station (ISS). Until now, only governments’ space agencies have done so.  Even then not many countries have gone. It’s not so easy!

The company, SpaceX, is partnering with the US government’s space agency (NASA) to make it happen. They’re sending up a rocket, called the Falcon 9, with a capsule, called Dragon, attached to it.

There aren’t going to be any astronauts on board, it will be an unmanned flight. In fact, they’re considering it to be a bit of a test mission. If it doesn’t quite work out this time they won’t see it as a failure, rather they plan to learn from it … and then do it again (and again) if they need to.

The hardest part will be joining up with the Space Station, according to reports. NASA astronaut Donald Pettit will be controlling a robotic arm from the ISS and will need to be painstakingly accurate to attach it to the capsule, according to The New York Times.  This is after SpaceX’s Dragon capsule has to pass all sorts of systems tests in the on its way there, which should take about 3 days.

There’s about 1,000 pounds of cargo on board the capsule including food and clothes. There are also 11 student experiments that were done through the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and NanoRacks. You can read more about the experiments at NASA’s site. But some include how fast fish and spiders can grow in weightlessnes. You can see a news report about another one of the experiments below:

Wait, didn’t we just retire the Space Shuttles last summer and see them recently delivered to museums around the country? Why isn’t NASA making more, or new, shuttles?

Part of the reason is that NASA’s plan is to focus more on trips deeper into space than “low-Earth orbit” where the International Space Station is. If private companies can do this, then that’s a big help.

The launch is expected to take place Saturday morning at 4:55 am, and will be on SpaceX’s website, if the weather co-operates. Yikes, that’s early.

In the meantime, you can see more on SpaceX’s Vimeo site. And to see a CBS 60 Minutes profile on SpaceX’s young founder, Elon Musk, you can click here.

Gennesaret Sealy is set to graduate on June 5th with perfect school attendance from K-12. Photo credit: AP/Dave Martin

Have you ever missed a day of school because you were sick? Or your family took an extra day of vacation?

Probably, right?

Amazingly, 17-year old Ciara Cetraro will be graduating from her high school in Hawaii at the end of this week and has never missed a day of school … since Kindergarten!

That’s over 2,000 school days in a row in the 13 years between Kindergarten and 12th grade! Wow.

She told West Hawaii Today,  “I never did this for the recognition or awards. It’s always been a personal choice and a hard habit to break. School is very important to me and I like it. I’ve always been afraid of possibly missing something. I just wanted to try my best, learn as much as I can and continually improve myself.”

She is also reportedly a class valedictorian (a speech usually given by the top student), senior class vice president, vice president of the Go Green Environmental Club, president and treasurer of the school’s National Honor Society, and captain of the school’s cheerleading squad.

Her brother, Nicolas, graduated last year with the same perfect attendance and as a valedictorian, as well.

It seems to run in the family.

Another student, Gennesaret Sealy, from Alabama, is also set to have a perfect attendance record when she graduates in a couple of weeks, on June 5th. Her brother, Sosthenes, did the same thing before her, too.

In Gennesaret’s case, she’s never even been late … not even when they got into a car accident, or when she had to leave extra early to take the city bus to school for a while, according to an interview with the Associated Press. Though Gennesaret is reportedly a member of the National Honor Society and on the debate team, she also added, “I do actually do other stuff than study.”

Some people say trying for perfect attendance isn’t all good. They say that some kids who go for perfect attendance might end up going to school even when they’re sick, and then get other kids sick.

But most agree that good attendance is really important to doing well in school. You can read more about that at Attendance Works, a national organization that focuses on this issue.

On the whole, these students seem super-motivated, seem to really love school, have moms who encouraged them on the days they weren’t sure they could do it … and they might just have really strong immune systems. For them, making it to school every day just became a tradition.

Happy graduation to Ciara and Gennesaret.

President Barack Obama announced on national television yesterday that he supports every adult’s right to same-sex marriage — that a woman should be allowed to marry a woman and a man should be allowed to marry a man.

This is the first time in history that a sitting president has ever officially expressed such support. According to The New York Times, President Obama took a stand “on what may be the great civil rights struggle of our time.”

It is considered a matter of basic civil or citizens’ rights because in much of the country, couples of the same gender are not treated equally, either under the law or in the way society and culture thinks about them — both important considerations.

President Obama said his decision had a lot to do with his children, Sasha and Malia: ” They’ve got friends whose parents are same-sex couples … There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table. And we’ve been talking about their friends and their parents. And … it wouldn’t dawn on [Malia and Sasha] that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them. And, frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change of perspective. You know, not wanting to somehow explain to your child why somebody should be treated differently when it comes to the eyes of the law.”

The topic of same-sex marriage has been controversial in the United States for many years. It is an issue that many people and families feel very strongly about, one way or the other, and often because of religious views. President Obama had been unsure of his own position for many years and said his views had been “evolving”. You can click here to see his interview with ABC News.

Although a lot people are talking about President Obama’s announcement yesterday, it doesn’t change any laws for the time being. There is a federal law called the the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. But, historically, the decision of whether same-sex couples are allowed to marry is something decided by each individual state. Six states, such as New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and the nation’s capital have legalized the right of same-sex couples to marry. Other state legislatures, such as Maryland and Washington, have passed similar laws that have yet to take effect.

A few states, like California, have gone back and forth. Other states permit “civil unions” and “domestic partnerships”. These recognize committed same-sex relationships but get complicated.

Thirty one states have constitutional amendments (made changes to the law) that make this kind of marriage against the law. You can see a current map here.

There is a legal difference between a “marriage” and a “civil union”. For example, couples in a civil union may not be allowed to visit their loved one in the hospital or make a medical decision to help save their life. And a same-sex couple who is “married” in one state may not be considered married in another. These are just a few examples of why this is an important and complicated subject for the country.

There is also more to it than just legal rights. The word “marriage” has strong meaning to most people. Those who oppose same-sex marriages believe that marriage is an “institution” — a long-standing, important, and sacred tradition and that it should only be between a man and a woman. Some people, however, think it’s fine for a same-sex couple to be together as long as they don’t get to use the word “married”. Same-sex couples who want to get married feel just as strongly about the importance of marriage and their right to have what all married couples enjoy. So there is a range of strong opinions.

Many people have noted that President Obama clarified his view while he’s running for re-election. When a candidate — especially one trying to represent all Americans — takes a clear stand on an issue that generally divides people, it can help win … and lose … votes.

President Obama already has the support of many of the groups who support same-sex marriages. While the president had opposed same-sex marriage when he ran for president in 2008, he did believe in civil unions and worked toward giving same-sex couples many of the same rights as couples in traditional marriages. So, what impact this will have on his re-election remains to be seen, but The New York Times reported today that seven of nine states that are expected to be close in the presidential election are against same-sex marriage.

That may work to the advantage of Mitt Romney, who is expected to be President Obama’s challenger from the Republican Party. Mr. Romney does not support same-sex marriage or civil unions (that convey the same legal rights as a marriage would). And just two days ago, a majority of voters of the state of North Carolina voted to ban all same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships.

Citizens make their choice for president for many reasons and this may or may not be important to many voters. Either way, the economy — trying to make sure people have enough jobs and money — will likely remain the biggest election issue.

Some legal experts believe that because of the many legal differences among states, the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately make a ruling for the whole country in the future. The Supreme Court already ruled once, in a landmark case in 1967, that “marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man.”

No matter which side of this issue people are on, or what their politics are, we can generally agree with what President Obama said about sharing the “underlying values that we care so deeply about when we describe family, commitment, responsibility, looking after one another, and … teaching our kids to be responsible citizens.” But for now, opinions on how to achieve that will vary and the definition of marriage and family will continue to be a hot topic of news and political discussion across this diverse country.

HTE World and Politics Editor Lukas Haynes contributed to this report.

France's 2012 President-elect Francois Hollande. Photo credit: Flickr user Parti socilaiste/Phillipe Grangeaud

Francois Hollande (pronounced Ol-ahnd) was elected as France’s new president over the weekend.

Many people had predicted Mr. Hollande would beat out President Nicholas Sarkozy, France’s president for the past 5 years. Mr. Sarkozy was hoping to be re-elected for 5 more years.

The results were a bit closer than expected, but Mr. Hollande won just over half the votes.

French voters’ main concern was the country’s economy, which isn’t doing that well. France owes a lot of money, as do many European countries right now, and that has produced a simmering crisis. Some people didn’t believe Mr. Sarkozy did an adequate job to try and fix it.

France is a small country geographically (about the size of Colorado and Wyoming put together), but it’s the 2nd largest economy in Europe and the 5th largest economy in the world, according to The Christian Science Monitor newspaper,  so there’s a lot at stake.

Mr. Hollande’s ideas on how to produce more jobs and business activity are different from Mr. Sarkozy’s. Mr. Hollande is a socialist. That means he believes that the government should have more control over businesses and economic decision making. At its most basic, the idea is that when government ensures that the wealth of the country is shared more equally, then everyone does better in the long run. This is not the first time France has had a socialist government.

In more capitalist countries, like the U.S., government has less say in how its citizens’ businesses are run and how the fruits of everyone’s labors are distributed through taxes and other government regulations. Capitalism can allow for more innovation, but it also tends to produce a bigger gap between the very rich and the very poor. Socialism and capitalism are difficult to put into practice.

Some of Mr. Hollande’s plans include making wealthier people pay higher taxes and spending money to try to help grow the economy. Not everyone who voted for him agree this is the right way to go, but many believed it was time to try something new.

Internationally, Mr. Hollande wants to end France’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan, bringing French troops home by the end of this year. President Obama, on the other hand, announced last week that U.S. will be out of Afghanistan in 2014 — two years from now. That is as fast as he feels comfortable leaving.

The war in Afghanistan has been going on for ten years and began as a search for terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden. He was believed to have planned the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. from there. Bin Laden was killed one year ago. Both the U.S. and France are members of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — a group of European and North American countries who decide together which international conflicts to get involved in and protect each other.

President Obama has reportedly already called the “president-elect” to congratulate him. That’s Mr Hollande’s official title until he’s formally sworn-in as president at his inauguration May 15 or 16. President Obama has also invited him to the White House. It will be one of Mr. Hollande’s first stops as France’s new president. He’s expected to come to the U.S. later this month.

2011's Super Moon. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

by HTE Space Writer Jason Kendall

Look! Up in the sky!  It’s Super Moon!

Well, the news is all abuzz about a Super Moon tomorrow night — Saturday, May 5th — when the moon will be full and will look way bigger than normal.  What’s the big deal? Because two things will match up that don’t match up very often:

First, the Moon will be the closest it’ll be to Earth in all of 2012. The nearness of the Moon’s orbit, or perigee, happens about once a year. The size of the moon doesn’t change, of course, but it’ll look bigger because it’s closer.

Image credit: Science@NASA

And, second, it’s a Full Moon.  A Full Moon is a phase of the Moon when you see it as a perfect circle. This happens about once a month. To do an experiment with the Moon’s phases, click here.

So, when these two things happen at the same time, we call it a Super Moon, And it will be the “biggest” Full moon of 2012.

How does it get that way?  Well, first, it’s a good time to understand how and why the Moon changes in the sky.

Let’s play a game.  If you take a ball at the end of a rope and swing it fast above you in a circle, the ball will orbit your head!  Now imagine that you’re the Earth, and the ball is the Moon.  Since your arm can’t extend as easily behind you as in front of you, the ball-as-Moon is probably farther away from your head when the ball is in front of you than when it is behind you.  Try it, and you’ll see!  The real Moon’s orbit is like this too. Sometimes it’s closer to the Earth and sometimes it’s farther, depending on where it is in its elliptical-shaped orbit.

Full moons are fun to look at through a telescope, whether they are super or not, because you can see lots of craters and mountains and rays, but if you can, try to go out and see this super sight on Saturday night!

Jason Kendall is a NYC NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, teaches astronomy at William Paterson University, writes about Space for HTE, and just totally gets Space! Have questions for Jason? He’ll answer them. Thanks, Jason!

Photo credit: Flickr user roboppy via Creative Commons

You’ve probably heard of Nutella, right? It’s that creamy, yummy, chocolately spread that you can put on bread … or, um, sometimes eat right out of the jar.

Do you think it’s a healthy snack? Or more unhealthy?

I asked a class of third graders the other day who concluded that it probably wasn’t healthy … that it can be a ‘sometimes’ food … but that it sure tastes good.

Last year, some mothers said they were fooled by Nutella’s makers into thinking it’s healthier than it is. And they fed it to their kids as if it was healthy.

They ended up suing the company that makes Nutella … and recently got over $3 million!

The problem is that Nutella’s TV ads, for example, say that it can be part of a healthy breakfast if you eat it with healthier foods like whole wheat toast and fruit. But the ads also only mention Nutella’s better ingredients like hazelnuts, skim milk and a ‘hint of cocoa’. They don’t mention that the first two ingredients are large amounts of sugar and fat, which are listed on Nutella jar’s label instead.

The moms who brought the lawsuits said that’s not good enough if the ads seem to be untruthful and misleading. One of the moms said she was shocked to learn that it wasn’t really any better than a candy bar.

The two sides “settled”. That means that the moms and Nutella’s makers (both sides with the help of lawyers) came to an agreement without having to go through a trial and have a judge decide. A trial takes up a lot more time and costs a lot more money and is usually what happens if you can’t find a compromise.

Even though Nutella is paying up, they still say they didn’t do anything wrong. They have, however, agreed to change what it says in their Nutella ads.

The moms don’t keep all the money by the way. In fact, if you bought a jar of Nutella in the U.S. you might be able to get part of that money — anywhere between $4 (the price of one jar) up to $20 (or 5 jars). You don’t even need a receipt. If you want to learn more about that and you’re under 13 years old, please ask your parent or caregiver to click here for more information.

Are you surprised to learn that Nutella isn’t healthy? Or are you more surprised that the moms didn’t seem to know it wasn’t?

Mitt Romney. Photo credit: Flickr user Austen Hufford via Flickr/Creative Commons

by Amie Parnes

After a busy primary season, the Republicans are coming closer to choosing the man who will run against President Obama: His name is Mitt Romney.

Romney, who is a former governor of Massachusetts, a former businessman and the father of five boys, was chosen after Rick Santorum, another candidate who competed in the Republican race, dropped out almost two weeks ago.  Since then, competing against two remaining Republican opponents, Romney won five primaries, including Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. By doing so, he helped inch closer to the general election, building more support from Republicans.

Romney’s other opponents won’t likely be in the race much longer. Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, will be suspending his campaign on Tuesday. It is unclear when Romney’s other challenger, Ron Paul, will drop out of the Republican race but he has no chance of winning. But Romney is well on his way to being crowned his party’s leader and receiving the nomination. The Republican party will make it official later this summer at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.

But before that happens, Romney will have his attention focused on Obama. Recently, with the other candidates leaving the race, he has shifted focus to the general election. Romney has been on the campaign trail telling voters that President Obama hasn’t done enough to help the economy. He says he has better ideas to help more Americans get jobs.

President Obama in January 2012. Photo by Flickr user Intel Photos/via Creative Commons

But President Obama disagrees and he is making the opposite arguments against his likely opponent. Beginning on Saturday, when Obama’s campaign holds its first official campaign rallies in Ohio and Virginia, the president will make his case for a second term. His supporters think he has a good chance of winning because they say the economy has improved since he took office. They also point out that Obama helped pass a big new law to help more people get healthcare, ended the long war in Iraq and finally found Osama bin Laden, the man who was responsible for planning the September 11 attacks.

But for many voters this election is all about the economy and which man will have a better leadership plan for the next four years.

The two politicians will meet later this year, when they take part in several presidential debates.  Until then, expect to see them all over the news, as they compete for the highest office in the land.

Amie Parnes with HTE's Claudia Heitler

Amie Parnes is a White House Correspondent for The Hill. Thanks, Amie!

Japanese soccer ball washed to shore in U.S. Photo credit: NOAA/David Baxter

A soccer ball washed away in last year’s tsunami in Japan has been found a year later … over 3,000 miles (5,100 km) away in Alaska!

Even more incredibly, the man who found the ball on the beach, David Baxter, and his wife, Yumi, who speaks Japanese, were able to track down its owner to let him know, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The ball apparently belongs to 16-year old, Misaki Murakami. His name was written on the ball he got as a goodbye present when he transfered to another school in 3rd grade, seven years ago. The ball also had words of encouragement on it for him.

Front page of The Japan Times, April 23, 2012. Misaki Murakami, left. David and Yumi Baxter, right. Photo credit: Flickr user Nemo's great uncle via Creative Commons

Murakami says he lost his home and everything he owned when the tsunami swept it away. He told Japanese news station NHK that, “It was a big surprise. I’ve never imagined that my ball has reached Alaska. I’ve lost everything in the tsunami so I am delighted. I really want to say thank you for finding the ball.”  A Japanese reporter also helped make the connection, according to the AP.

Mr. Baxter also found a volleyball washed up on shore with only a first name on it. The AP is today reporting that its owner has been found too, even though there was less information to go on. That ball reportedly belongs to 19-year old Shiori Sato. Her reaction, when interviewed by NHK was, “I think it’s a miracle.”

The ball's approximate route from Japan to Alaska. Original map/imagery: Google/NASA/TerraMetrics/INEGI/TeleAtlas

A lot more debris is expected to wash up in places along the west coast of Canada and the United States as waves move across the Pacific Ocean. The soccer ball and volleyball seem to be some of the first, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who also tracks debris. Much more of it is expected in 2013 and 2014.  These were also probably some of the few items that can be reunited with its owner because they were labeled.

The soccer ball is going to be sent back to its owner soon, likely the volleyball too.

It’s a little bit of good news in an otherwise enormous tragedy.

For One Day On Earth: A family on a road side Afghan camp in Pakistan. Photo credit: UN Development Programme via Flickr/Creative Commons

For the first time ever, a movie has been made featuring video from every country in the world — and all of it was all filmed on the same day!

The movie is called “One Day On Earth” and it will be shown for the first time this Sunday, April 22, in honor of Earth Day – a day when everyone is encouraged to do something good for the Earth.

All the footage for “One Day On Earth” was shot on October 10, 2010 (10/10/10), most of it by thousands of regular people like you, in 192 countries. Over 3,000 hours of video in 70 different languages was submitted to the organizers to edit into the movie. But “One Day On Earth” organizers said it was a nailbiter. They had to scramble at the last minute to make sure they got something from the country of Congo!

Even if you can’t get to the theaters it’s being shown, you can explore their great website, and get a glimpse of what it’s about from the short video below.

One Day on Earth – Motion Picture Trailer from One Day on Earth on Vimeo.

The organizers of “One Day On Earth” describe their ambitious project as attempting “to tell a story of the entire world”. In an article in The Christian Science Monitor newspaper they added, “I hope the message is that the world is this enormous, beautiful place that we have to take care of … (and that) people feel interconnected.”

They did the same thing on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11) which is also being made into a movie. And they invite everyone, including you, to pick up your video cameras on December 12, 2012 (12/12/12).

They ask, “If you have one message you could put in the world’s time capsule, one story that you could put in the record of history, what would it be?”

Dick Clark, 1961. Photo Credit: American Bandstand. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Of course, there’s no such thing as the world’s oldest teenager, but Dick Clark was often called that. Mr. Clark was one of the most famous and important TV personalities of the past 50 years. He looked youthful and boyish throughout his life, which is how he got his nickname.

Very few people have impacted our culture the way Dick Clark has. If you’re young and know who he is, it’s probably from seeing him host the New Year’s Eve countdown on TV in New York’s Times Square. He hosted that show for about 40 years and became synonymous with New Year’s Eve.

But his incredible fame began with a show called American Bandstand. It would be nearly impossible to find someone your parents’ age who hasn’t seen that show or doesn’t know about it. It was a show where teenagers danced to the latest music, including musicians and bands who performed on the show. It sounds like a simple idea but it worked. Millions and millions of people watched the show. Mr. Clark’s characterization of it was simple too, saying, “I played the records, the teenagers danced, America watched.”

Just being on the show made many of the musicians famous, and he introduced Michael Jackson and Madonna to viewers before they were huge stars.

American Bandstand was also one of the first shows that really represented teenagers and their interests. Now, of course, we have channels like MTV and shows like American Idol, but Dick Clark and American Bandstand paved the way.

Dick Clark in 1990 at the Grammy Awards. Photo credit: Alan Light

He also made sure that black artists were on the show in addition to white artists, something that wasn’t, according to news reports, the case until he took over hosting the show in the late 1950s. That was groundbreaking for its time. Even rock ‘n roll music in general was controversial back then.

In addition to American Bandstand and his New Year’s show, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Mr. Clark also hosted and owned many other TV programs, including game shows and TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes. He was consistently smiling on our TVs one way or another for over half a century.

Songwriter Hank Ballard once reportedly summed up Mr. Clark’s popularity by saying, “The man was big. He was the biggest thing in America at the time. He was bigger than the President.”

Mr. Clark died of a heart attack at age 82. He will be missed, but his enormous influence on pop culture will continue to be felt for a long time to come.

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