Texas High School Students to Talk Live with Space Station Crew Members

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Jan 21, 2014, 10:14 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio and their congressional representative will speak with Expedition 38 crew members aboard the International Space Station at 10:25 a.m. CST Thursday, Jan. 23.

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Media are invited to attend and cover the 20-minute Earth-to-space call, which also will be broadcast on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Students will ask NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio questions about life, work and research aboard the space station. Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, will open the downlink with a voice check call up to the station.

Media interested in covering the event must contact Colin Lang at 210-820-8850 or [email protected]. Alamo Heights High School is located at 6900 Broadway in San Antonio.

The students participating in the downlink are involved in SystemsGo, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiative developed to promote engineering studies through research. SystemsGo helps students to develop work force skills and encourage them to study subjects that lead to careers in the engineering industries. The school has incorporated NASA activities into classes in preparation for the conversation. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides them with an authentic, live experience of space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel and possibilities of life in space.

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

To keep up with Hopkins' research and life on the station through Twitter, follow:

http://www.twitter.com/AstroIllini

To follow Twitter updates from Mastracchio, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/AstroRM

The exact time of the downlink could change. For NASA TV streaming video, schedule 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

SOURCE NASA