NASA astronauts come to Imperial College London

A unique chance to quiz the crew of the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery Flight - <em>News Release</em>

Tuesday 28 November 2006
By Naomi Weston

The crew of the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-121, which launched in July this year, are coming to Imperial College London as part of their UK tour on Thursday 30 November.

Professor David Phillips OBE, from the Department of Chemistry, and Imperial’s Senior Science Ambassador for Schools, will be hosting the event which will consist of a question and answer session with the astronauts. This is a rare opportunity to quiz the NASA crew and hear first-hand about their experiences as astronauts.

Crew members - Mission Specialists Michael E. Fossum, Lisa M. Nowak, Piers J. Sellers and Stephanie D. Wilson, Pilot Mark E.Kelly and Engineer Tomas Gonzales Torres - will all be at the event.

Their 13-day five million-mile journey was a success. The mission tested new safety procedures, delivered supplies, and performed crucial repair work to the International Space Station.

The event has been organised by the Outreach Office at the College. Mel Thody, Head of Imperial Outreach, explains: "We all need role models. Space-explorers like Sellers and Kelly occupy the same sort of role as Livingston and Burton did for Victorian children, in that they have to have all of the intrepid bravery of facing danger and the unknown."

She added: "The important difference is that today's explorers also exemplify the huge technological and scientific prowess of mankind; these explorers are not amateurs, but highly professional scientists and engineers, utilising the latest in technology, and hence showcasing it to the world."

This year Imperial College will be working on an innovative programme led by the Ideas Foundation with the International Space School Education Trust (ISSET), called 'Creative Space'. Students will have an opportunity to work on real briefs set by leading scientific creative explorers. Piers Sellers has set the most ambitious brief to date: Mars Exploration: Why? How? When? Imperial’s own Professor Michelle Dougherty will be contributing to the programme when students look at the Cassini mission to Saturn.

Chris Barber, Director of ISSET explained: "Imperial College is an ideal partner for our programmes. The whole outreach team is committed to inspiring the new generation of scientists."

Robin Wight, Chair of the Ideas Foundation said, "We want to work with Imperial College and other partners to nurture the next generation of scientific creative explorers."

The question and answer session will start at 6pm in Lecture Theatre 220, the Mechanical Engineering building. If you would like to attend please register in advance at outreach@imperial.ac.uk.