2018 2018: UMass Dartmouth to Speak with NASA Astronaut on Space Station

The university will host panel discussion on space travel and downlink discussion with NASA Astronaut and UMass Dartmouth graduate Scott Tingle ('87)

Students from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth will speak with NASA astronaut and graduate Scott Tingle, who is living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station at 12:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, March 6. The 20 minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The students from the university and area K-12 school districts will make the call to Expedition 55 flight engineer Tingle aboard the space station, posing questions about life aboard the space station, NASA’s deep space exploration plans, and doing science in space.

Tingle graduated from Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass Dartmouth) with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering in 1987. The conversation will provide students from UMass Dartmouth and area K-12 school districts an opportunity to discuss with a graduate how to apply their degrees. A #UMassDinSpace panel of faculty will kick-off the live downlink event the night before at 7:00 PM in the Claire T. Carney Library Living Room and is open to all 8,500 university students, area K-12 school districts, regional community members and UMass Dartmouth alumni. To learn more about both events and register, please visit UMass Dartmouth’s dedicated Scott Tingle site.

Media interested in attending the event should contact John Hoey via email at jhoey@umassd.edu, or phone at 508-999-8071. The event will take place in the Main Auditorium at the Campus Center at UMass Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road Dartmouth. Doors will open at 11:30, with scheduled programming to begin promptly at 12noon.

Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of NASA’s Year of Education on Station, which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. Astronauts living on the orbiting laboratory are able to participate in these educational calls, and communicate 24 hours a day with the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, through the agency Space Network’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.

Follow the astronauts on social media.

See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station.