Space Station Astronauts Connect Live With D.C. Students

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To highlight International Education Week (IEW), NASA and the U.S. Department of Education will host a live long-distance call for students with International Space Station residents Scott Kelly, Shannon Walker and Doug Wheelock.

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NASA Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will join students from Hart Middle School and Deal Middle School in Washington to discuss living and working in space with the ISS crew. The downlink is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 23, from 11:20 to 11:40 a.m. EST, and will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Media representatives interested in attending the event should contact Jim Bradshaw at the Department of Education at [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22. The event will take place at the Department of Education's auditorium located at 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W. in Washington.

Both schools have teachers from the Teach for America program who helped develop the event. Teach for America is a network of top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years to expand educational opportunities in urban and rural public schools.

This year's IEW theme is "International Education: Striving for a Sustainable Future." IEW continues a long-standing partnership between NASA and the Education Department that celebrates the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.

Kelly, Walker and Wheelock are living and conducting science experiments aboard the space station for about six months. Wheelock, who is commander of the station's Expedition 25, and Walker are due to return to Earth Thursday, Nov. 25. Kelly will remain on board, serving as the Expedition 26 commander until March.

The live, in-flight education downlink is one of a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA 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.

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, 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 and the crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

SOURCE NASA