Image Courtesy : www.nasa.gov

Massachusetts students will have a golden opportunity this week to hear from the crew members aboard the International Space Station, including a NASA astronaut.

The Earth-to-space call will air live at 12:10 pm.on Wednesday, July 20, on the NASA app, the agency's website, and NASA Television. NASA astronaut Bob Hines who graduated from Boston University, and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will answer prerecorded questions from local students. Participants include students from Boston University Academy and students from grades k-12 outreach programs such as Alexander Twilight Academy, Upward Bound from the greater Boston area, and The Calculus Project. The K-12 students will attend space-related presentations, tour the STEM facilities, participate in hands-on activities, and attend the event.

Astronauts who live in space on the orbiting laboratory intercommunicate with NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Near Space Network Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). Associating learners directly with astronauts aboard the space station provides authentic and unique experiences designed to develop student performance, learning, and interest in STEM.

Astronauts have continually lived and worked on board the space station, performing science, acquiring skills required to explore a long way from Earth, and testing technologies. The agency will send astronauts to the Moon with eventual human exploration of Mars through NASA's Artemis Program. The Artemis Generation assures that America will always continue to lead and be on the top in matters of space exploration and discovery.