MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — Journalists are invited to join a group of Las Vegas students who “struck it rich” and have an opportunity to chat with NASA Expedition 18 astronauts Mike Fincke and Sandra Magnus, who are aboard the International Space Station. The live chat will take place on Thursday, Jan. 8, from 10:10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. PST, at the Jim Bridger Middle School, 2505 North Bruce Street, in Las Vegas.

A live educational downlink will connect an auditorium filled with hundreds of middle school students and teachers with the space station crew members to learn more about what life is like in space and how gravity affects our lives on Earth.

Reporters interested in attending the event should contact Terry Wood at 414-573-1700 or by e-mail at tmwood@interact.ccsd.net.

Jim Bridger Middle School is an alumnus of the NASA Explorer Schools Program. The program offers a three-year partnership between NASA and school teams, consisting of teachers and education administrators from diverse communities across the country. Focusing on underserved populations, the program is designed for education communities at the fourth to ninth grade levels to help middle schools improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and math education.

The downlink event is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad. It is an integral component of NASA’s Teaching from Space Program. The program promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of human spaceflight.

The downlink will air live on NASA Television and be streamed on the NASA Web site at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA’s education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For more information about Jim Bridger Middle School, visit:

http://ccsd.net/schools/bridger