Feb 28 2017

From The Space Library

MEDIA ADVISORY M17-025 Houston Students to Speak to NASA Astronaut on International Space Station

Students from Hartsfield Elementary 4-H Club of the Houston Independent School District in Texas will speak with a NASA astronaut currently living and working aboard the International Space Station at 10 a.m. EST Friday, March 3. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson will answer questions from students assembled on the campus of the Animal and Environmental Sciences Magnet at Hartsfield Elementary. Whitson launched to the space station on Nov. 17, 2016.

Media interested in covering the event should contact Ashley Anthony at aanthon3@houstonisd.org. Hartsfield Elementary is at 5001 Perry St. in Houston.

Expeditionary Skills for Life, a NASA and 4-H partnership, highlights important skills including teamwork, cultural competency, leadership, followship and communication. The program is designed to take participants through educational expeditions that will help them learn and practice skills that can be applied to almost every aspect of life. Whitson, a 4-H alumna, has played a major role in this partnership.

This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of the NASA Office of Education’s efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station through the agency Office of Education’s STEM on Station activity provides authentic, live experiences in space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel, while introducing the possibilities of life in space.