Catalyst: Shaping the Future

When the next rover lands on Mars, most of the pictures it sends back will be taken by cameras designed at Arizona State University. For the first time, a rover will give us a 3-D view of features on the red planet, thanks to cameras that let us see in stereo.

Planets orbit faraway stars - could some of those planets have the right recipe for supporting life? Plus, we'll look for water on the moon: what is the mission to find that water, and why it matters for getting us to Mars and beyond.

A little less than half of those who die trying to cross the southern U.S. border die in Arizona. Those sobering numbers present a scientific challenge: identifying the person who died so that loved ones can know what happened. An ASU researcher is using technology to meet this challenge. It’s an effort funded in part by a grant from the U.S. justice department.

Science keeps finding new connections between our bodies and our minds. Food, exercise, what we eat and what we think all intersect in some way. Meet a highly competitive distance runner who is also transitioning from one gender to another - and allowing scientists to track the ongoing changes as her body changes. Then, discover how life in space changes our genes.