In the continuing quest to inspire the next generation
of explorers, NASA on Thursday will provide students across
the country an opportunity to interact over the Internet with
a popular music star who hopes to become the youngest person
to travel in space later this year.
Lance Bass, a member of the pop singing group ‘N Sync, will
be at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this week to
train for an upcoming space mission in which he would join
two others in a Russian Soyuz flight to deliver a replacement
“lifeboat” to the International Space Station. During a Web
chat, Bass is expected to share his experiences to date in
training for space travel, and to discuss what inspired him
to seek out this space flight opportunity.
The Web chat, hosted by NASA’s Distance Learning Outpost and
education Web portal, Quest, will take place from 6 to 7 p.m.
EDT Thursday, August 29.
An audience of 9- to 12-year-old students from Pearl Hall
Elementary School, Pasadena, Texas, will join Bass in the
Johnson studio and ask questions face-to-face. Thousands of
students from around the United States also will be able to
submit questions via the on-camera host, Erika Guillory, who
will then ask questions of Bass.
The webcast also will look at the importance of music
education — how music is metered, structured and formed, and
still allows the mind to be creative. Similar approaches are
needed for problem solving in math, science and technology or
in design challenges related to space exploration.
“What a great opportunity for students to interact with a
popular figure who can help inspire them to pursue careers in
the space industry,” said Susan Anderson, distance-learning
manager at Johnson.
To participate in the Web chat, students and teachers should
visit either the Distance Learning Outpost site at:
or the Quest web site at:
For more information about the International Space Station,
the Expedition 5 crew and the taxi crew of which Bass will be
a member, visit the NASA Human Spaceflight Web at:
