The director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, accompanied by Astronaut Jim Reilly, will visit Fort Worth’s W.C. Stripling Middle School, a NASA Explorer School, Feb. 20 to share the agency’s new vision for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. Media are invited to attend.

When: Feb. 20/9 a.m.
Who: NASA Johnson Space Center Director Gen. Jefferson D. Howell Jr. and Astronaut Jim Reilly
Where: W.C. Stripling Middle School, 2100 Clover Lane, Fort Worth, Texas

“The President’s new vision for space exploration is exciting and engaging for all of us, but it is the next generation of young people who will truly fulfill the experience and this call to exploration,” said Howell. “I'm excited to talk with students at W.C. Stripling Middle School to share this vision of exploration with them. They will meet the challenges of the future and it will be their imagination and excitement that will help us to fulfill our destiny as explorers.”

Howell will talk with students about our destiny as explorers, NASA's stepping stone approach to exploring Earth, the moon, Mars and beyond, how space impacts our lives, and how people and machines rely on each other in space. Reilly, a Dallas native, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.

For media interested in arranging interviews with Howell in conjunction with his visit to W.C. Stripling Middle School, please contact Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters/281-483-5111.

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For information about the NASA Explorer Schools Program on the Internet, visit:

http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

For more information about the President’s new vision for space exploration on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/bush_vision.html

For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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