Missouri and Pennsylvania Students to Talk Live with Space Station Crew

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Crew members of Expedition 38, currently aboard the International Space Station, will make space-to-Earth connections with students and faculty in Pennsylvania and Missouri this week to share what it is like to live and work in space.

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Both calls will be broadcast on NASA Television and live-streamed on the agency's website.

Students from Temple University's School of Media and Communication and College of Engineering will speak with NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata at 11:50 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 27.

On Friday, Feb. 28, Mastracchio and Hopkins will talk with students and teachers at Hopkins' alma mater, School of the Osage, in Osage Beach, Mo., at 10 a.m. EST.

Media are invited to cover both events. Journalists interested in covering the event at Temple University should contact Paul Gluck at 215-204-2807 or [email protected]. The event will take place at the TUTV-Temple University Television Studios located at 2020 N.13th Street in Philadelphia.

To attend the event at School of the Osage, members of the media should contact Bryce Durbin at 573-348-0115 or [email protected]. School of the Osage is located at 636 Hwy. 42 in Osage Beach, Mo.

Linking students directly to space station astronauts provides them with an authentic experience of space exploration, scientific studies and the possibilities for future human space exploration. NASA activities have been incorporated into classes at the schools in preparation for these conversations.

These in-flight education downlinks are part of a series with educational organizations in the United States to improve science, technology, engineering and math (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 ISS through Twitter, follow:

http://www.twitter.com/AstroIllini

To follow Twitter updates from astronaut Mastracchio, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/AstroRM

Downlink times are subject to change. For downlink information, and NASA TV streaming video and schedules, 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