Recently Returned International Space Station Astronauts Speak at NASA Events around Washington

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Mar 19, 2014, 03:36 ET

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two astronauts recently returned from the International Space Station will be in Washington for a series of events, which are open to the media, March 24-26.

Karen Nyberg of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency served as flight engineers aboard the space station during Expeditions 36 and 37, from May to November 2013.

At 3 p.m. EDT on Monday, March 24, Nyberg will participate in a NASA Social to answer questions and share her experience being an astronaut, engineer, artist, fitness lover and mother. The event will take place at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW, Washington, and will be broadcast live on NASA Television. Registration for the Social is open now until 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 20. NASA will randomly select 100 participants from the registrants. For more information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/social

At 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, Nyberg will provide remarks at the outset of NASA's Asteroid Initiative Opportunities Forum. The forum, which is open to industry, academia and interested individuals, will provide status updates from ongoing asteroid redirect mission studies and summarize how responses to a 2013 Request for Information are helping improve mission planning activities. The event also will highlight opportunities for public engagement in the mission and activities associated with the Asteroid Grand Challenge. Seating is limited. Individuals who plan to attend must register online. The forum will be carried live on NASA TV and streamed online for virtual participants. To register, or for more information on how to view the event, go to:

http://socialforms.nasa.gov/asteroidforum

Reporters interested in covering the NASA Social or the Asteroid Initiative events in person should contact Joshua Buck at 202-358-1100 or [email protected].

At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nyberg and Parmitano will give a presentation about their mission and answer questions from the audience at the University of Maryland's College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences. The event will be held in room 1101 of the Biosciences Research Building (BRB/#413). The event will not air on NASA TV. Reporters interested in covering the event in person should contact Abby Robinson at 301-405-5845 or [email protected].

In addition to her time on the orbiting outpost, Nyberg also flew aboard space shuttle Discovery during its STS-124 mission in 2008. She earned a master's degree and doctorate in engineering from the University of Texas, Austin. Nyberg also gained a bit of acclaim during her mission by sharing some of her personal life and hobbies through social media. She has logged 180 days in space.

Parmitano holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in experimental flight test engineering. He graduated from the Italian Air Force Academy in 2000. Parmitano has logged 166 days in space, including 7 hours and 39 minutes outside the station during two spacewalks.

During their time in space, Nyberg, Parmitano and the rest of their crewmates spent hundreds of hours conducting fundamental research in areas such as human biology, life sciences, physical sciences, Earth sciences, astrophysics and technology research.

For more information about Nyberg, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/nyberg-kl.html

and

http://www.twitter.com/AstroKarenN

For more information about Parmitano, visit:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Astronauts/Luca_Parmitano

and

http://www.twitter.com/astro_luca

For a map of the University of Maryland campus and location of the Biosciences Research Building (Building 413), visit:

http://maps.umd.edu/map/

NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv