AstronomyTeacher

WTKR.COM YOUR NEWSCHANNEL 3 - Astronaut Faces Very Serious Charges: "Last summer, astronaut Lisa Nowak was soaring 220 miles above Earth, floating in the rarefied air of the international space station. The 43-year-old robotics specialist was in quite a different place Monday night: A dingy jail among suspected drug dealers and prostitutes, where she awaited a scheduled court appearance Tuesday. Nowak, a married mother of three who police believe was in a love triangle with a fellow astronaut, was charged with trying to abduct a woman she saw as her romantic rival, authorities said. "

The AstronomyTeacher says: There's so much here to talk about. Everything from our over-inflated expectations of our hero astronauts to possible discussions of side effects of weightlessness. You can talk about the gender issues--pressures on female, married mother astronauts vs. single male astronauts, for example-- and NASA's role in moving Ms. Nowak across the country. This is, ironically, a new frontier for NASA-- finding itself in the tabloid spotlight instead of in the mainstream. Look for late night talk show hosts to run with this for weeks.