ISS Astronauts To Host A Google+ Hangout

NASA has announced that on 22 February, three astronauts currently working on the International Space Station will answer the questions from the public via the first ever space ‘Hangout’ on Google+ social network.

The session will provide a first-hand account of life 240 miles above the Earth, and feature questions posted in advance, as well as in real-time.

Social space

Later this month, Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn from NASA, along with Chris Hadfield from the Canadian Space Agency, will answer questions about living in space. The session will last for an hour between 11 AM and 12 PM EST (4 and 5 PM GMT).

According to NASA, the astronauts have a lot to talk about. “Crews conduct a variety of science experiments and perform station maintenance during their six-month stay on the outpost. Their life aboard the station in near-weightlessness requires different approaches to everyday activities such as eating, sleeping and exercising,” states a press release from the US space agency.

The questions can be submitted in advance until February 12. To interact with the astronauts, participants will need to pose their query in a short (under 30 seconds) video on YouTube that mentions the poster’s name, location and is tagged #askAstro.

The responses will then be provided by the ISS crew and astronauts on the ground. “Unique and original questions are more likely to be selected,” says NASA.

The astronauts will also tackle real-time questions submitted on Google+, Twitter and Facebook featuring the same #askAstro tag. It should be noted that the Facebook thread will only open on the morning of the event.

The Hangout will be broadcast live on NASA’s Google+ page and YouTube channel.

Even though Google+, launched in the summer of 2011, has only half as much users as Facebook, Google’s social network offers services not seen anywhere else. For example, Hangouts allow as many as 10 people to chat face-to-face, while thousands more can tune in to watch the conversation live on YouTube.

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