Educators will talk with orbiting International Space Station astronauts during a special conference call at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., July 15.
Five competitively selected NASA Explorer Schools’ teams will participate in a downlink with the Space Station. Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA Station Science Officer Ed Lu will answer the educators’ questions. Dryden is hosting the video and audio downlink during a workshop.
The five schools are: Black Mountain Elementary and Middle School, Golden Valley, Ariz.; Flagstaff Middle School, Flagstaff, Ariz.; Kennedy Elementary School, San Diego; Edwards Middle School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; and Gifford C. Cole Middle School, Lancaster, Calif.
The schools are participants in a new NASA education initiative that establishes a three-year partnership between the agency and 50 NASA Explorer School (NES) teams, consisting of teachers and education administrators from diverse communities across the country. The aim of the program is to increase middle school students’ interest, participation, and ability to apply science, mathematics and technology concepts.
In addition to the interface with the crew, participants will take a virtual tour of the Station through video teleconferencing with NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston. Team members will observe NASA’s mission of aeronautical and earth science research at Dryden through interaction with pilots, engineers, scientists and education specialists. Activities, including tours of aircraft, simulators and facilities, are incorporated into the workshop, which runs July 12-18.
The NES teams will work with NASA personnel to develop an action plan that addresses local needs in mathematics, science and technology and incorporates NASA data and materials in their curriculum.
The Space Station program, provided via NASA downlink, is one in a series of downlinks to educational organizations across the country and abroad, and an integral component of NASA’s Teaching from Space Program. The Teaching from Space Program, managed from JSC, facilitates educational opportunities that use the unique environment of human space flight. The program builds partnerships with the education communities to create unique learning opportunities through the use of NASA research and educational technology.
Media wishing to observe the downlink, from 12:10 to 12:30 p.m. EDT on July 15, may call Leslie Williams at: 661/276-3893. The downlink will be carried on NASA TV. NASA TV is broadcast on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band, located at 85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.
For information about the NASA Explorer Schools Program visit:
http://explorerschools.nasa.gov
For information about NASA’s Teaching from Space Program visit:
http://education.jsc.nasa.gov/Educators/tfsp.htm