WASHINGTON, July 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Students in New York City will have an opportunity next week to talk with NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call will air live at 10:15 a.m. EDT Monday, July 8, on NASA television and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch will answer questions posed by kids participating in the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Youth Strategies Divisions programs. The programs aim to reduce youth violence, prevent drug use, promote child safety and improve relationships between police and young people in their communities through inspiration and learning.

NASA will provide for the event a model of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket, which will carry an Orion spacecraft on the Artemis 1 lunar test mission, and a virtual reality chair that will allow users to visit Jupiter and its moon Europa. A panel of scientist and interns will discuss NASA’s plans to put the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, in preparation for human exploration on Mars. Guest speakers include retired NASA astronaut Mike Massimino and former NASA Chief Technology Officer Jim Adams.

The event will take place at NYPD Headquarters at One Police Plaza in New York City and be streamed to the Police Academy in Queens, New York, where approximately 700 students will be in attendance to watch. Media interested in covering this event should contact Detective Denise Moroney at [email protected] or 646-610-6700.

Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest 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 NASA 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

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SOURCE NASA