Celebration Planned For Tuesday In Austin

NASA is heading back to the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 26, for Space Day, a celebration highlighting achievements in human space exploration throughout Texas.

The day-long schedule of events and exhibits focusing on exploration, astronauts and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education will include astronaut visits, interactive exhibits and legislative proclamations.

NASA's Johnson Space Center will take over the Capitol ground-floor rotunda from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CST Tuesday, and share its accomplishments and those of its academic and commercial partners from across the state, as together we explore the solar system and expand humanity's frontier in space.

Exhibits will feature Johnson's Office of STEM Engagement's High School Aerospace Scholars program, the International Space Station orbital laboratory, the Commercial Crew Program on the cusp of sending American astronauts back to space from American soil and the Orion spacecraft being developed for deep space missions. Interactive events will feature NASA STEM engagement programs, a virtual reality experience showcasing Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, a future lunar lander prototype from Intuitive Machines, and more.

At 10 and 11 a.m., proclamations celebrating NASA's 20th anniversary of the International Space Station, the 20th anniversary of High School Aerospace Scholars, and the 50th anniversary of humanity's first visit to the Moon will be read in the Texas House and Senate chambers respectively. From noon to 1 p.m., Astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson will give a presentation about living and working in space and sign autographs.

NASA's impact in Texas is strong. Johnson Space Center in Houston has served as the iconic site for some of the greatest moments in American history, from landing humans on the Moon to assembling the International Space Station.

For nearly 60 years, NASA has led the world in human space exploration. Today, it is pushing forward to the Moon. NASA's workforce in Texas includes more than 10,000 aerospace employees and more than $2 billion in contracts and federal salaries in 2018.

(Source: NASA news release)

FMI: www.nasa.gov