On Wed., Feb. 20, 150 of NASA’s social media followers and their guests will have the unique opportunity to talk to three of the six crew members aboard the International Space Station, and speak with agency scientists and engineers about the ground-breaking research taking place daily on the orbiting laboratory, some 240 miles above Earth. The space station is the gateway to the rest of the universe, enabling important discoveries that benefit humanity and vastly increase our understanding of how humans can safely work, live and thrive in space for long periods.

The day-long event will take place in two parts, with the morning at NASA Headquarters, 300 E. St. SW in Washington. A portion of the morning will be broadcast on NASA TV from 10:00 a.m. to noon EST.

In the afternoon, NASA has partnered with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (@airandspace) so participants will take part in a special tour of the museum and have opportunities to interact with museum experts.

Participants will have the opportunity to:

• Engage in a live chat with NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, currently aboard the space station.
• Speak with NASA astronaut Don Pettit, @Astro_Pettit, and agency scientists and engineers.
• Tour the NASA Headquarters Space Operations Center with live views from the International Space Station.
• Learn about:
  • Current scientific experiments underway aboard the space station and new experiments planned to launch on the next SpaceX cargo resupply mission in March.
  • Commercial and educational research opportunities enabled by the station’s microgravity environment.
  • How researchers study the effects of a weightless environment on the human body to help protect astronauts for long-duration spaceflight missions in the future.
  • How the space station is being used to test groundbreaking, new technologies that will help astronauts safely reach new deep space destinations, including an asteroid and eventually Mars.

Registration for the event will open from 9:00 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Feb. 5 until 5:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 7. NASA will randomly select 150 participants from the registrants. Additional applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT AT: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/social/social_ISSscience_feb2013.html

VENUE INFORMATION:
NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20546