New York Students Get Space Station Call Next Week

Students across New York are about to get the coolest science class ever when two astronauts call down from space.

NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams will answer prerecorded questions from students on Wednesday, March 11, while floating aboard the International Space Station. The Queens Borough Public Library is hosting the event for students in grades K through 12, plus community members who want to listen in.

The Earth-to-space call starts at 12:05 p.m. Eastern Time and streams live on NASA's Learn With NASA YouTube channel. Anyone with an internet connection can watch astronauts in orbit share what life is like 250 miles above our planet.

The event gives young people a chance to hear directly from scientists doing real space exploration work. Students submitted their questions ahead of time, covering topics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The Ripple Effect

This conversation represents more than just a fun field trip moment. For over 25 years, astronauts have lived continuously aboard the space station, conducting research that helps people on Earth while preparing humanity for deeper space travel.

The work happening right now in orbit lays the groundwork for NASA's Artemis program, which will send astronauts back to the Moon and eventually to Mars. When kids see real astronauts doing real work, space careers stop feeling like science fiction and start feeling possible.

Events like this create pipeline moments where a single conversation can redirect a young person's entire future. A fifth grader watching Wednesday might become the engineer who designs the first Mars habitat, or the scientist who discovers life on another world.

The astronauts stay connected to Mission Control in Houston 24 hours a day through NASA's Near Space Network, the same technology that will make Wednesday's call possible. That constant communication allows astronauts to work safely while conducting experiments that would be impossible under Earth's gravity.

Wednesday's event proves that inspiration doesn't require a rocket launch or a spacewalk. Sometimes all it takes is two people in space taking time to answer questions from curious kids on the ground.