NASA astronaut Sidney Gutierrez will celebrate Space Day with local students at the Virginia Air & Space Center Friday, May 6, 10 a.m. to noon. A veteran of two space flights, Gutierrez was the first Hispanic Space Shuttle commander and, during his tenure at NASA, logged nearly 500 hours in space.

Image to right: NASA astronaut Sidney Gutierrez

Gutierrez will return to celebrate Space Day with Virginia air & Space Center visitors on Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. He will speak about his experiences in space and sign autographs.

Take part in the journey. The theme of this year's Space Day is, appropriately, "A Journey to our Future." The priority for NASA's Vision for space exploration is returning the Shuttle to flight. Then it's back to the Moon, on to Mars . . . and beyond.

Learn by doing. Joining Gutierrez and contributing to the international flair of Space Day will be Hispanic researchers from NASA's Langley Research Center. These aerospace experts will lead educational activities investigating life in space, Mars exploration, and aeronautical advancements. And a bonus -- learn just how many of the things we use today are spinoffs of aerospace research.

Brush up on your Spanish. NASA Langley's Distance Learning Center will showcase “Noticiencias NASA,” the Spanish version of NASA's Kids Science News Network. This series of one-minute news breaks on aerospace topics feature students from the Hampton Roads area. Meet some of them Saturday.

Created in 1997, Space Day is designed to encourage students to consider careers in space exploration and study math, science, engineering and technology.

For more information on NASA's Vision for space exploration, visit:

www.nasa.gov

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