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Space exploration has stirred imaginations and piloted hopes and dreams, but the future of space travel looks very different from the age in which Neil Armstrong made it to the moon.

Since NASA is no longer doing manned missions, astronaut hopefuls have turned their sites on the private sector.

Private Adventurism

In Philadelphia in 1972, an immigrant couple of Kalmyk origin gave birth to a boy they named Erdne. A few years later, the Dalai Lama renamed him Telo Tulku Rinpoche and identified him as one in a long line of reincarnations of an ancient Buddhist saint. The boy was then taken to a monastery in the mountains of southern India to learn the teachings of the Buddha.

Telo Rinpoche was one of the first of his kind: someone from the West learning thousand-year-old traditions a world away from his family.

It's 7:30 a.m. on a recent weekday, the sun is still rising and the kids at Pulaski Elementary School in Meriden, Conn., are already dancing.

They are stomping, hopping, clapping and generally "getting the shakies out," as fifth-grader Jaelinne Davis puts it.

"If we're like hyper, if we do this, then we can get better at, like, staying mellow and stuff like that," she says.

By 9 a.m., Jaelinne will be back at her normal school day with its core curriculum that is graded by a state test at the end of the year.

Islam in America is growing exponentially. From 2000 to 2010, the number of mosques in the United States jumped 74 percent.

Today, there are more than 2,100 American mosques but they have a challenge: There aren't enough imams, or spiritual leaders, to go around.

Guns, immigration, support for diplomats abroad, and the nation's financial situation.

These are key issues facing President Obama as he delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term on Tuesday night, Feb. 12.

Surprisingly, these were also key issues facing President George Washington some 223 years ago, when he gave the very first state of the union speech.

The Chinese table tennis player who was instrumental in the pingpong diplomacy that paved the way for President Nixon's groundbreaking visit to China has died. Zhuang Zedong was 73.

Here's more from the BBC about the 1971 incident that led to pingpong diplomacy:

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin. New England is digging out from as much as three feet of snowfall today, and at least five deaths have been blamed on a powerful winter storm that swept through the region Friday night and yesterday morning. The snow has stopped falling, but more than half a million people still don't have electricity. And in some coastal areas, residents are also dealing with flooding. NPR's Jeff Brady visited the small town of Scituate, Massachusetts.

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It's that time of year when dogs put on their best smiles for the judges at the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin speaks with David Frei, the official commentator at the show. Frie has been the official announcer for more than 20 years and certainly knows his boxers from his bulldogs. The 137th annual dog show starts on Monday, Feb. 11 at Madison Square Garden.

Gun violence and gun control are the topics of a series of hearings currently being held in the U.S. Senate. Since the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., the White House and gun control advocates have pushed for stricter gun laws to help reduce gun violence, but many congressional Republicans remain skeptical. Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin speaks with Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The success of President Obama's second term agenda will rest in part on his ability to work with Congress. For more on that, Ross Baker joins us. He's a professor of political science at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He joins us from the studios there.

Thanks for being with us.

ROSS BAKER: Thanks, Rachel. Nice to be with you.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A whole lot of college basketball went down last night and it seemed like most of it was played by Notre Dame and Louisville. The two colleges went toe-to-toe last night for five overtimes until they had a winner. Notre Dame claimed the victory in the end.

NPR's Mike Pesca caught the whole thing and he joins us to talk about it. Hey, Mike.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hey, how are you doing?

Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin talks with Dan Pashman, host of the podcast, The Sporkful, about the benefits of dining alone and ways to make the experience enjoyable.

This week, President Barack Obama delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term, a key moment in the Washington calendar and in the often difficult relationship between the White House and Congress. NPR White House correspondent Ari Shapiro has a preview and talks with Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin.