Young Kansans to Call Space Station from Eisenhower Presidential Library

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Jun 29, 2018, 01:43 ET

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kansas Boy Scout troops and students will participate in a live downlink event with astronauts aboard the International Space Station next week as part of NASA's Year of Education on Station. The call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

NASA Expedition 56 astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold will speak directly with the scout troops and students at 1:25 p.m. EDT Monday, July 2. Young people in attendance will have a chance to ask questions about life aboard the space station, NASA's mission and upcoming science investigations.

The event will be hosted at the National Archives and Records Administration's Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Space Act establishing NASA in 1958, making the opportunity to host this downlink 60 years later a significant event for the astronauts, library and scouts participating. NASA considers its birthday to be Oct. 1, 1958, the day the agency opened for business.

Media may attend in person at the library's visitor center auditorium at 200 South East Fourth St., Abilene. To cover this event, media should contact Samantha Kenner at 785-263-6764 or [email protected]. Limited space also will be available to members of the public.

Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA's Mission Control Center on Earth 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS).

Follow the astronauts on social media at:

https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts

See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

SOURCE NASA