Aug. 13, 2007 Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@xxxxxxxx Emily Sturgill Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. 757-864-7022 emily.r.sturgill@xxxxxxxx Rita Karl Challenger Center for Space Science Education, Alexandria, Va. 888-683-9740 rkarl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx MEDIA ADVISORY: 07-104 NASA HOSTS STUDENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE FROM SPACE ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- How do you brush your teeth in space? What is your favorite space food? How would you compare flying in space to flying on an airplane? Select elementary and middle school students from across the country will have the chance to ask these questions during a live conversation with the day's most famous teacher, educator astronaut Barbara R. Morgan. NASA's Teaching From Space Office, at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in Alexandria, Va., will host a 20-minute live conversation with STS-118 mission specialists Barbara R. Morgan and Rick Mastracchio. From their perch aboard the International Space Station, Morgan and Mastracchio will answer 20 questions from student winners of a national poster contest held by the Challenger Center. The downlinked conversation with the students at the center will take place on Thursday, Aug. 16, at 8:51 a.m. EDT. The center is located at 1250 North Pitt Street, Alexandria, Va. It will be carried live on NASA TV and will be available on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv Morgan was selected to become the first educator mission specialist in 1998. Her primary duty is the same as it is for the entire crew -- accomplish the planned objectives of station assembly. She also will take part in several education-related activities, including the upcoming downlink. The Challenger Center for Space Science Education was founded in 1986 by the families of the astronauts of the space shuttle Challenger 51-L mission. It is dedicated to the educational spirit of that mission. Challenger Learning Center programs at 48 centers across the country continue the crew's mission of engaging teachers and students in science, mathematics and technology and foster in them an interest to pursue careers in those fields. Over 25,000 teachers and 400,000 students attend workshops and fly simulated missions annually at Challenger Learning Centers. As part of NASA's commitment to investing in the nation's education programs, NASA allows the shuttle and space station crew members to perform standard-based activities in space to demonstrate basic principles of science, math, engineering and geography. Many of these activities involve video recording and/or still photographic documentation of a crewmember performing demonstrations. Other activities involve crewmembers on board the space station answering questions from students on Earth. NASA is focused on engaging and retaining students in education efforts that encourage their pursuit of disciplines critical to NASA's future engineering, scientific and technical missions. For more information about the Challenger Center for Space Science Education and all the Challenger Centers, visit: www.challenger.org For more information on NASA, visit: http://www.nasa.gov -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
