South Texas Students to Call Space Station

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Sep 23, 2011, 05:17 ET

HOUSTON, Sept. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students in Edinburgh, Texas, will make a special call to the International Space Station and Expedition 29 Commander Mike Fossum on Tuesday, September 27.

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The event, which includes a video link with Fossum, will be broadcast live on NASA Television at 10:10 a.m. CDT. One thousand middle school students are expected to participate, including fifth through eighth grade students from Fossum Middle School in McAllen, Texas, which was named after the astronaut. Fossum is originally from McAllen.

The event, hosted by the University of Texas-Pan American, is part of the Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology Week, a program designed to encourage South Texas students, many of whom are Hispanic, to study science, engineering, technology and mathematics.

Journalists are invited to attend.

The in-flight education downlink is part of a series with educational organizations in the United States and abroad to improve teaching and learning in STEM subjects. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, an agency education program that promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program.

The exact time of the downlink could change. For the latest NASA TV schedule, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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

SOURCE NASA