24 Sep 2021--------------M21-110

Students from Iowa will have an opportunity next week to hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call will air live at 10:30 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 27, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will answer prerecorded questions from students who participated in Astro Camps across the state this past summer. The downlink event is a collaborative effort between the Iowa Space Grant Consortium, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and Iowa 4-H Youth Development.

The Student Innovation Center at Iowa State University and other locations across the state will host watch parties for this virtual event.

Media interested in attending or covering the downlink event should contact Valyn Bodensteiner at: 515-294-1082 or valynb@iastate.edu.

Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance, and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Network’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.

[Image]

NASA astronauts and Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur work on a Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) that will be installed on the outside of the International Space Station on an upcoming spacewalk. The FPMU is a device that measures electrical charges that can build on solar arrays and surfaces on spacecraft for astronaut safety and to promote safe deep space exploration.