Tuesday Zoom presentation by retired astronaut kicks off busy summer for NESSP

CWU students and faculty are invited to attend a special online presentation by retired astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger on Tuesday, June 20, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Retired astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger will give a special Zoom presentation on Tuesday, June 20, at 4:30 p.m.

The Zoom event, hosted by the Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pathways Program's (NESSP), is part of the Meet an Astronaut and Artemis ROADS Virtual Awards Ceremony.

Metcalf-Lindenburger, who was a Mission Specialist for STS-131 and logged more than 362 hours in space, will give a presentation followed by a Q&A session. The event is open to all CWU or NESSP-affiliated teachers and students.

Metcalf-Lindenburger is originally from Colorado and earned a teacher certification from CWU in 1999 after completing her undergraduate degree in geology at Whitman College. She also commanded the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 16, an underwater mission that simulated spacewalks and tools relevant to a mission to a near-Earth asteroid.

Participants are asked to submit questions in advance on the event page (a form appears at the bottom). A link to the virtual presentation and Q&A is also available on the event page.

NESSP, which is based at CWU and directed by Associate Professor of Physics Darci Snowden, seeks to connect educators and students with authentic hands-on STEM experiences related to NASA missions, science, and engineering.

CWU will be hosting two free, weeklong Summer Academies on the Ellensburg campus for students with a strong interest in science, engineering, and math. Preference will be given to low-income, underrepresented, first-generation, college-bound students. Participants will work in small groups and have the opportunity to either build a rocket and program a robot, or pilot an airship.

• High-Altitude Balloon Academy: The on-campus event from July 16-21 is for students entering grades 11-12, teaching them to plan, build, and pre-launch a high-altitude balloon. Hands-on activities will teach participants about flight, sensors, payloads, and ballooning. Students can apply here.
• Explore Mars Academy: The July 23-28 event will take students entering grades 9-10 on a journey to space as they plan a mission to return samples from Mars. The academy will feature hands-on activities, teaching participants about planetary geology, space flight, robots, and rockets. Students can apply here.

Learn more about all of NESSP's programs and opportunities at nessp.org.