Aug 21 2008
Students from Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif., who are taking part in a 48 hour space station simulation, will get an extra boost when they receive a call from the real International Space Station.
Students at the school will participate in a live in-flight education downlink with the International Space Station on Monday, Aug. 25, from 11:35 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. CDT. The live question-and-answer session will feature Expedition 17 astronaut Greg Chamitoff.
The students are participating in the Columbia Project, a simulated space station experience that exposes them to the challenging endeavor of human space exploration. The program, currently in its third year, is coordinated by a district educator who is a member of NASA's Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers Project which helps incorporate NASA education resources into school curriculum.
To prepare for the downlink, Columbia Project participants engaged in creating mock-ups of the space station and mission control, rocket fabrication, astronaut selection and training, and mission control and station operations.
NASA's education downlinks support the agency's efforts to encourage students to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. These events, facilitated by NASA's Teaching From Space Office use the unique experience of human space flight to promote and enhance STEM education.
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