Three…two…one…blast off! South Plains College will be hosting a first-ever live downlink with NASA’s International Space Station astronauts for more than 250 area high schools and college students on March 1.

“ This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students in this area to communicate directly with astronauts in space,” said Dr. Phil Anderson, professor of mathematics and chairperson of the Math and Engineering Department, who is coordinating the downlink.

“This is a rare thing to have at a college. It normally takes place in middle schools. That is where NASA really does most of their public relations work. It is very rare.”

The educational downlink is only one of a handful conducted worldwide every six months by NASA, with a long waiting list for the highly competitive process.

This significant event will take place between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Sundown Room of the Student Center.

“We have invited high schools to bring teams of up to four students from their advanced science and math courses to participate in the downlink,” Dr. Anderson added. “We hope we will get a wonderful response.”

The crew members on board the space station have been conducting experiments to research new AIDS vaccines, conduct space walks, and study plant growth. They are also performing experiments on the human heart at rest in spaceflight, health hazards posed by space radiation, photographing man-made or natural changes on earth, such as the recent Asian tsunami, and the effect of prolonged spaceflight space flight on human skeletal muscle.

Questions could focus on what experiments the crew members are doing right now in space and how that can impact our lives here on earth, said Dr. Anderson.

The participating schools have asked their students to write a question concerning their interest in space that the students would like American astronaut Leroy Chiao and Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov to answer during the 20-minute-question-and-answer session. NASA education specialists also will be at the college to answer any remaining questions.

The top 25 questions were picked, and if time permits, all will be answered. The questions vary in categories, such as general ideas of living in space, advice for those students who want to become an astronaut or someone having to deal with NASA’s programs, and about the research being conducted in space to benefit people on Earth.

College students are allowed to attend, depending on how much room is available.

The students will receive a packet full of information dealing with aerospace engineering and space travel from NASA.

“We will have NASA specialists here that day who will conduct all kinds of interesting experiences for the students, different activities like creating Mars rovers,” Dr. Anderson said. “They are going to give a presentation on the history of the International Space Station and what its general purpose is for and what the vision in the future is. So these students will get the chance to experience all of that and then go back to their local high schools and share with the rest of their classmates,” explained Dr. Anderson.