OREM — Aaron Orullian loves the stars and the sun and the moon and Mars.

And he loves to talk about them.

So much so that he's willing to donate his time, gas money and effort to making presentations all up and down the state.

He'll drive to and from a girls camp in the mountains, hang around for a pack meeting to get to him and lug a whole assortment of space paraphernalia from churchhouse to city building — all for free.

"I just love doing it. This is just pure joy for me. You do this kind of work for the love of it," said Orullian, a NASA solar system ambassador who is a psychologist in his day job.

Orullian is one of four specially ambassador ambassadors in Utah, chosen by NASA to represent the agency and its programs in a variety of venues.

"I've been an amateur space buff for more than 50 years," he said. "I've done star shows for the past 15. I've been interested in astronomy and space since I was 10."

Orullian shows up in a sky blue jumpsuit adorned with official space patches. He brings along an astronaut's orange space shuttle suit and asteroids and moon rocks. His audiences can listen to the sounds of the stars and the planets and hold pieces of stars.

He discusses everything from the basics of space and space travel for youngsters to a presentation titled "Anybody Can Become an Astronaut" for girls groups to constellations that testify of Jesus Christ for adult firesides.

"I have 20 different presentations I can make," he said.

Right now, he particularly likes discussing Mars and the new data coming to scientists from the space probes and Spirit and Opportunity rovers.

"What is really exciting is to see all the data coming back. The most interesting thing right now is Mars. In 2030, they hope to land on Mars. I wouldn't be surprised if they use the moon as a base jump," he said.

"When I got into this, I was very surprised at the number of missions there are. It's really exciting," he said. NASA supplies some Internet training and updates on the latest findings, but largely, it's up to the ambassadors to self-educate and promote themselves and the program. "It's all volunteer. The purpose is to get the word out about space."

The kids he talks to have a lot of questions. They ask about flying saucers, alien life and life on other planets.

Adults want to know about Pluto and changes in the universe and how it will affect Earth life.

One girl who heard one of his presentations years ago is an astronomer today.

"That's nice to hear. That's rewarding," Orullian said.

To contact Orullian or to schedule a space ambassador visit, call 836-6632 or see www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/.

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com