NASA CELEBRATES WORLD SPACE WEEK WITH WEBCAST

NASA will host a webcast Thursday, October 9, with students and others around the world, giving them a peek inside America’s space program, in celebration of World Space Week 2003.

The webcast, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EDT, will originate from one of NASA’s astronaut training facilities in Houston. The event will feature live discussions and opportunities to ask questions of astronaut and International Space Station (ISS) Program Scientist Don Thomas and Robotics Flight Controller Royce Renfrew.

“What better way to exemplify World Space Week than literally using technology to bring youth from around the world in to see and share in the excitement of the International Space Station,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, International Space Station Program Manager.

To view the webcast on the Internet, visit:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/education/index.html

Poised inside the Japanese Experiment Module, “Kibo,” Thomas will explain what it is like to live and work in space, and elaborate on the scientific research being done on the ISS. Renfrew will describe how robotic systems are helping build and maintain the ISS, and grant viewers a sneak peek into his career as a Robotics Flight Controller. Students can submit questions in advance or during the webcast through the above Web site.

World Space Week, declared by the United Nations as an international celebration of space held October 4-10 each year, has a primary goal to excite children about science and mathematics.

For information about NASA’s Education programs on the Internet, visit:

http://education.nasa.gov

For information about World Space Week:

http://www.spaceweek.org