Some 5th graders are going to be making one very long distance call on Tuesday afternoon – all the way to space.
The students will be talking science with Jeff Williams, commander of the International Space Station, as he orbits 200 miles above Earth. Williams is one of two people living and working on the space station.
The students are from McAlister Intermediate School in Suffield and East Hartford Glastonbury Elementary Magnet School.
The students will get their glimpse into space from the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks.
When they chat with Williams, they will be asking questions about the butterflynaughts, or painted lady butterflies, onboard the ISS. The students are studying how the larvae that hatched in November are dealing with microgravity, according to the Butterflies in Space program Web site.
The questions are all focused on activities to help them identify problems that need to be solved for people to live and work in space.
NASA's education downlinks support the agency's efforts to encourage students to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
NASA's Teaching From Space office promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of human spaceflight.
