There must be a scientific study somewhere that states the percentage of kids that, when asked, give “Astronaut” as their chosen, future vocation. I’m sure it ranks at least in the top five (including for yours starry-eyed truly).

Technology has made it easy for armchair astronomers to retain their sense of wonder about outer space and even to actively participate in its exploration. The landing of the Mars Phoenix rover was broadcast live via HDTV, and slickly-produced videos with highlights from the project are up on YouTube.

The rover itself (via Veronica McGregor, the news services manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena at NASA) is broadcasting messages from Mars to over 28,000 people using Twitter, the online micro-blogging tool. On June 19th, Twitter followers were treated to the almost real-time exultation “Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!” As any good wannabe astronomer knows: ice means potential life.

The rover’s Twitter presence also allows for two-way communication with the scientists at NASA. Ask a question of @marsphoenix and there’s a good chance you’ll get a thoughtful, though brief, response (Twitter has a 140 character limit).

The website Slooh.com takes interaction with outer space to another level. For a monthly fee, members of Slooh can access state-of-the-art observatories located in the Canary Islands, Chile and Australia. With photo galleries, family-safe chat rooms and forums, Slooh actively uses social media tools to encourage kids and grown-ups alike to engage directly with the final frontier.

Slooh COO Tierney O’Dea says “What’s great about Slooh is that it unites people from all over the world in a very apolitical way.” She adds, “Looking at the universe in real-time with people all over the globe drives home the reality that we’re all on this little ‘pale blue dot’ together.” Since its launch in 2004, Slooh members have discovered three Supernovae — not bad for a bunch of amateurs.

For an increasingly wired generation, talking directly with Martians and controlling robotic giant telescopes from your home computer is an excellent way to encourage science literacy. Great news, as long as it’s interspersed with a healthy amount of Slooh’s tagline, which is simply to “Look up”.