Buchanan’s Columbia Space Mission Hosts NASA Astronaut

On May 6 students at Buchanan High School students who are part of the Columbia Space Mission Project will welcome NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff, Expedition 17 flight engineer, and meet him for the first time on this planet.  Columbia students first met Chamitoff in August of 2008 via satellite downlink from the International Space Station and again through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) in October 2008.

The Columbia Space Mission is a unique club in which students simulate a NASA mission, just like Chamitoff would on the International Space Station. Founded by former Buchanan teacher Jim Esquivel, the club annually carries out a 48-hour mission, complete with astronauts, rocket fabrication, and mission control. To wrap up the third mission in August, Columbia III astronauts and student leaders in a Buchanan classroom spoke with Chamitoff via satellite feed aboard the International Space Station.

Now, nine months later, these same students have the opportunity to personally meet the astronaut. Chamitoff will visit the school Wednesday, May 6 to talk with math and science students at the school.