Former astronaut and current Director of NASA's Langley Research Center Roy D. Bridges, Jr., will visit Sandhills Middle School at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, to share the agency's vision for space exploration with the next generation of explorers. Bridges will be accompanied by astronaut Lee Archambault.

"I've had the good fortune to experience exploration first-hand - as an Air Force test pilot and NASA astronaut," said Bridges. "I want to share with today's students both the excitement of discovery and how they can prepare to play a role in our nation's future in space."

Bridges will talk with Sandhills students about America's heritage as explorers and outline NASA's stepping-stone approach to exploring Earth, returning to the Moon, then moving on to Mars and beyond.

"We won't know what lies on these distant shores until we see, touch and learn by doing - first with robots and eventually as humans," said Bridges.

Media interested in arranging interviews with Bridges or Archambault should contact Kimberly W. Land at 757-864-9885, 757-344-8611 (mobile) by close of business Tues., Oct. 26, or by calling Marny Skora at 757-344-6111, who will be present at the event.

Archambault, an Astronaut Office representative, joined the astronaut corps in 1999. In 2001, he was assigned to the Shuttle Branch, where he supports launch and landing operations at the Kennedy Space Center. He will serve in technical assignments until assigned to a space flight.

Sandhills Middle School is an Explorer School and is participating in a three-year partnership with NASA. Stimulating student imaginations and creativity via NASA discoveries, the partnership seeks to inspire young people and help them pursue careers in science, technology and engineering.

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

http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA's new vision for space exploration, visit:

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

For more information about NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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