JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

4th Space Educational Program from ISS
---Pinning Children's Dreams for the Earth on Stars--
The Intercommunication Program of "Wish on Stars" with ISS

National Space Development Agency of Japan

The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) will hold the 4th space educational program, titled the "Pinning Children's Dreams for the Earth on Stars-the Intercommunication Program of "Wish on Stars" with the International Space Station (ISS), together with the "Wish on Stars" Committee, a non-profit committee, which consists of volunteers from IHI AEROSPACE, FM Tokyo, and JTB Yokohama Branch.
NASDA has held the space educational program three times (June 2001, November 2001, September 2002). As part of the utilization of ISS/KIBO, the coming space educational program will be performed on the basis of the public proposal selected in the framework of public recruitment for educational purpose with the following details:

Organizer:

NASDA

Planning & Execution:

"Wish on Stars" Committee

Date & Hour:

February 25, 2003, one hour out of the duration from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm (JST)
(including about 15- minutes talk with the astronauts in ISS)

Venue:

At the "JETSTREAM's Banquet Room"
10 F TOKYO FM (1-7 Koujimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan)

Participants to be Recruited:

20 Parent-Child Pairs (total 40 people) by lot.
Among them, 5 children are to make a direct contact with the astronauts.

Astronauts to be Contacted in Orbit:

NASA Astronaut Kenneth Bowersox
NASA Astronaut Donald Pettit
Russian Cosmonaut Nicolai Budarin
(Above three astronauts have been aboard ISS for a long-stay since November 25, 2002)

Astronaut to Respond to At the Venue:

Mr. Akihiko Hoshide (planned) NASDA Astronaut

Content:

5 children at the venue will make an on-live direct intercommunication with the astronauts on board ISS. They give several questions and the astronauts respond to them. During the Q&A session, Astronaut Hoshide (planned) at the venue will brief them about ISS and Space in an understandable way and try to respond to them in advance by simulating such intercommunication with the astronauts.
TOKYO FM will broadcast such intercommunication in five series under the program of "Supreme by Rei Shibata" in the middle of March. Taking children's messages into consideration, the "Wish on Stars" Committee plans to hold various events for a year after the space educational program.
For more information, please contact the Website (available from February 3) of the "Wish on Stars" Committee.