WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Elementary school students from Missouri and Colorado will talk live with an astronaut on the International Space Station next week. Both Earth-to-space calls will air live on NASA television and the agency’s website.

NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor will answer questions posed by 4th grade students from Katie Harper Wright Elementary School in St. Louis at 1:15 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 15. The downlink is in association with the National Park Service’s recognition of both the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System and NASA’s 60th anniversary.

A National Park Service mascot, Seaman Jr., a plush toy replica of the original Newfoundland dog, Seaman made its way to the International Space Station. Seaman explored the trail with his owner, Capt. Meriwether Lewis and colleague 2nd Lt. William Clark on their Corps of Discovery Expedition across the Louisiana Purchase from 1804 to 1806. From the space station’s unparalleled perspective of Earth, Seaman Jr. tracked the 3,700 mile Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Seaman Jr.’s travels abroad the station will debut during the downlink.

The event will be held the Gateway Arch National Park at 11 North 4th St, St. Louis. Media interested in covering should contact Erin Hilligoss-Volkmann at erin_hilligoss-volkmann@nps.gov or 314-655-1615.

Auñón-Chancellor also will answer questions from Frontier Academy and Dos Rios Elementary School students at noon on Thursday, Oct. 18 in Evans, Colorado. The downlink will be hosted by High Plains Library District based in Greeley, Colorado, in collaboration with the Space Science Institute and its National Center for Interactive Learning. Students will participate in hands-on science and engineering activities surrounding the downlink, and the event will be streamed live to other public libraries and schools across the country.

The event will be held at Riverside Library and Cultural Center at 3700 Golden St, Evans. Media interested in covering should contact Kelli Johnson at kjohnson@highplains.us or 970-506-8560.

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 (STEM). 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 (TDRS).

Follow the astronauts on social media at:

https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts

See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

Follow Seaman Jr’s blog at:

https://www.nps.gov/lecl/planyourvisit/seaman-jr-lewis-and-clark-pups.htm

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SOURCE NASA