Ann Marie Trotta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1601
ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov

Rachel Kraft
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-056

TEXAS STUDENTS TO CHAT LIVE WITH SPACE STATION CREW MEMBERS

WASHINGTON -- Students at O. Henry Middle School in Austin, Texas,
will learn about living and working in space by speaking with
Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank and Flight Engineers Don Pettit
and Andre Kuipers aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday,
April 3. The live question-and-answer session will take place at
11:20 a.m. EDT and be broadcast live on NASA Television. Media
representatives are invited to attend.

More than 100 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students will
participate through their science classes. Texas Congressman Lamar
Smith is expected to join the group for this special event.

Reporters planning to attend should contact Helena Wright, media
relations contact for the Austin Independent School District, at
helena.wright@austinisd.org or 512-414-0024. O. Henry Middle School
is located at 2610 West 10th St. in Austin.

The students will participate in a variety of space-focused science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational
initiatives and explore other NASA resources in preparation for the
space station downlink.

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

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

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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

To follow Twitter updates from Burbank and Pettit, visit:

http://twitter.com/AstroCoastie   

and

http://twitter.com/Astro_Pettit