Media invited to interview astronaut, tour simulated Space Station

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281/483-5111



Report #J04-057

MEDIA INVITED TO INTERVIEW ASTRONAUT, TOUR SIMULATED SPACE STATION

Media may tour a simulated Space Station and interview a veteran astronaut
who has lived aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at
Space Center Houston, the visitors' center adjacent to the Johnson Space
Center.

The opportunities kick off the International Space Station Trailers exhibit,
Space Station Imagination, which will be at Space Center Houston throughout
the holidays, Dec. 21-Jan. 2. On Tuesday, the exhibit and Astronaut Peggy
Whitson, who lived aboard the Station in 2002, will be available from 6
a.m.-8 a.m. CST for media interviews, tours and live remote feeds. The
exhibit normally travels throughout the country and is rarely available in
Houston.

Space Station Imagination provides a glimpse of how astronauts live and work
aboard the International Space Station. Assembly of the Station and the
long-duration spaceflight research that is conducted on the complex are a
crucial stepping stone in plans to return humans to the Moon and journey on
to Mars. The exhibit is housed in two 48-foot trailers that form two
Station-like modules: a living quarters, or Habitation Module, that shows
how astronauts sleep, eat and tend to personal hygiene aboard the Station
and a Laboratory Module that offers examples of various experiments
performed in orbit.

The exhibit is free and will be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. It will close at
5 p.m. CST on Christmas Eve and be closed on Christmas Day. The exhibit is
located in the parking lot of Space Center Houston, 1601 NASA Parkway.

Whitson logged 184 days in orbit during her flight to the International
Space Station on the Expedition 5 mission. During her stay, Whitson helped
install the Mobile Base System and truss segments and performed a spacewalk
to install shielding on the Zvezda Service Module. She was named the first
NASA Station Science Officer, conducting 21 investigations in human life and
microgravity sciences.

Media who want to arrange an interview with Whitson and a tour of the
exhibit should contact the JSC Newsroom by 5 p.m. CST Monday, Jan. 21.

For Whitson's complete biographical information, visit:

www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/whitson.html

For more information on NASA and its programs, visit:

www.nasa.gov


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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info