NASA Sets Briefing on New Space Station Science Experiments

NASA will hold a briefing at 1 p.m. EDT, Sunday, Aug. 23, to discuss new science experiments using the International Space Station's unique research environment. The briefing will originate from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

Briefing participants will attempt to answer as many of the submitted questions as possible.

Space shuttle Discovery’s STS-128 mission marks the start of the transition from assembling the space station to using it for continuous scientific research as a national and multinational laboratory. Assembly and maintenance activities have dominated the astronaut work time. But as completion of the orbiting laboratory nears, additional facilities and the crew to operate them will enable an increase in time devoted to research.

The briefing participants include:
- Mark Uhran, assistant associate administrator for space station, NASA Headquarters in Washington
- Julie Robinson, International Space Station program scientist, NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
- Jeanne Becker, chief science officer, Astrogenetix in Austin, Texas
- Martin Zell, head of the space station utilization department at the European Space Agency