MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- Journalists are invited to join a group of Las Vegas students who have "struck it rich" on Wednesday, Sept. 17. These lucky students will chat with NASA's Expedition 17 astronauts aboard the International Space Station from 11:15 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. PDT at the Jim Bridger Middle School. The school is located at 2505 North Bruce Street in Las Vegas.

A live educational downlink will connect an auditorium filled with hundreds of middle school students and teachers with space station crewmembers. The goal is to learn more about what life is like in space and how gravity affects people on Earth. Reporters interested in attending the event must contact Terry Wood at 414-573-1700 or by e-mail at: tmwood@interact.ccsd.net.

Jim Bridger Middle School is a participant in the NASA Explorer Schools Program. The program offers a three-year partnership between NASA and school teams, which consists of teachers and education administrators from diverse communities across the country. Focusing on underserved populations, the program is designed for education communities at the grade 4-9 levels to help middle schools improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and math.

The downlink event is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad. It is an integral component of NASA's Teaching from Space Program. The program promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of human space flight.

The downlink will air live on NASA Television and be streamed on the NASA Web site at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA's education programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For more information about Jim Bridger Middle School, visit:

http://ccsd.net/schools/bridger