A date is still pending for the upcoming link-up between local students and the International Space Station; however, the list of questions and those asking them may be finalized soon.
That’s according to Emporia State University Peterson Planetarium Director Mark Brown during an interview on KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment Monday morning.
Brown also explained exactly how that list will be finalized, noting there is some specific criteria that have to be met.
The link-up with the ISS and local students, as KVOE News has reported previously, comes through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, for which Emporia State University was announced as a participant last November. Brown says the exact date for that event is still pending and will likely remain so for the time being, after a medical emergency led to an abrupt early end to the Crew-11 Mission.
Brown says plans are for the link-up to take place in the spring; however, should those plans be altered, local coordinators will continue working with NASA to adjust as needed.
Brown’s appearance on KVOE’s Morning Show also included an update on the latest show at the planetarium that is set to debut Thursday. “Unveiling the Invisible Universe” will discuss the contribution through Galileo’s telescope invention, as well as the impact of X-ray and gamma ray radiation, gravitational waves and other items invisible to the naked eye.
A Q&A between attendees and Brown will follow the show and a chance to tour the night sky over Emporia.
The show schedule is as follows:
*Thursday at 4 pm
*Feb 11 at 6 pm
*Feb 14 at 10 am
*Feb 19 at 4 pm
*Feb 25 at 6 pm
As if this were not enough to generate excitement, Brown also discussed the upcoming NASA Artemis II mission, which is currently scheduled to launch Sunday evening. That is dependent on how pre-mission “wet dress rehearsals” go, with the first taking place Monday.
Brown says the previous Artemis mission required four rehearsals before launching. Should the schedule hold with the mission taking off February 8th, Brown says there is a chance he may host a watch party or festivities of some kind at the planetarium for the launch; however, with the launch coinciding with the Super Bowl, Brown says he is not locking in any plans at this time.
Artemis II will follow the unmanned Artemis I mission launched in 2022, demonstrating the “broad range of capabilities needed on deep space missions,” according to NASA’s website. The flight will be the first manned flight aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft with Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen making up the four-person crew.
