Astronauts Speak with University of California Students from Space Station

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Jan 30, 2015, 06:58 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering students at the University of California, Davis will have a rare opportunity to speak with Expedition 42 crew members currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at 12:45 p.m. EST (9:45 a.m. PST) Thursday, Feb. 5. The 20-minute Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Media interested in covering the event must contact Andy Fell at 530-752-4533 or [email protected] in advance. UC Davis is located at 1 Shields Avenue in Davis, California.

NASA astronaut and ISS Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, flight engineer Terry Virts and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will connect live with the students, who will be joined by former astronaut Stephen Robinson. Robinson, whose 36-year NASA career included four shuttle missions and three spacewalks, currently teaches in the engineering department at UC Davis.

This education downlink is the first for a University of California system campus. Prior to the space chat, the students will spend time learning more about the space station and Expedition 42.

These in-flight events are an integral component of efforts by NASA's Office of Education to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides them with an authentic, live experience of space exploration, space study, the scientific components of space travel and possibilities of life in space.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

To follow social media updates from Expedition 42 astronauts, visit:

http://instagram.com/iss

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SOURCE NASA