Aug.

13, 2007

Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761
sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov

Emily Sturgill
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-7022
emily.r.sturgill@nasa.gov

Rita Karl
Challenger Center for Space Science Education, Alexandria, Va.
888-683-9740
rkarl@challenger.org

MEDIA ADVISORY: 07-104

NASA HOSTS STUDENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE FROM SPACE

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- How do you brush your teeth in space? What is your
favorite space food? How would you compare flying in space to flying
on an airplane? Select elementary and middle school students from
across the country will have the chance to ask these questions during
a live conversation with the day's most famous teacher, educator
astronaut Barbara R. Morgan.

NASA's Teaching From Space Office, at the Johnson Space Center,

Houston, and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in
Alexandria, Va., will host a 20-minute live conversation with STS-118
mission specialists Barbara R. Morgan and Rick Mastracchio. From
their perch aboard the International Space Station, Morgan and
Mastracchio will answer 20 questions from student winners of a
national poster contest held by the Challenger Center.

The downlinked conversation with the students at the center will take
place on Thursday, Aug. 16, at 8:51 a.m. EDT. The center is located
at 1250 North Pitt Street, Alexandria, Va. It will be carried live on
NASA TV and will be available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Morgan was selected to become the first educator mission specialist in

1998. Her primary duty is the same as it is for the entire crew --
accomplish the planned objectives of station assembly. She also will
take part in several education-related activities, including the
upcoming downlink.

The Challenger Center for Space Science Education was founded in 1986
by the families of the astronauts of the space shuttle Challenger
51-L mission. It is dedicated to the educational spirit of that
mission. Challenger Learning Center programs at 48 centers across the
country continue the crew's mission of engaging teachers and students
in science, mathematics and technology and foster in them an interest
to pursue careers in those fields. Over 25,000 teachers and 400,000
students attend workshops and fly simulated missions annually at
Challenger Learning Centers.
As part of NASA's commitment to investing in the nation's education
programs, NASA allows the shuttle and space station crew members to
perform standard-based activities in space to demonstrate basic
principles of science, math, engineering and geography. Many of these
activities involve video recording and/or still photographic
documentation of a crewmember performing demonstrations. Other
activities involve crewmembers on board the space station answering
questions from students on Earth. NASA is focused on engaging and
retaining students in education efforts that encourage their pursuit
of disciplines critical to NASA's future engineering, scientific and
technical missions.

For more information about the Challenger Center for Space Science
Education and all the Challenger Centers, visit:

www.challenger.org

For more information on NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

-end-