The crew of International Space Station Expedition 40\/41, including NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, will participate in a NASA Television news conference and media interviews Tuesday, March 18, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. <\/p>\n
Wiseman, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst, and cosmonaut Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency will launch to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft May 28 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are scheduled to return to Earth in November. <\/p>\n
NASA TV will broadcast at 1:30 p.m. EDT pre-recorded footage of the crew preparing for their mission, followed by live coverage at 2 p.m. of the crew news conference. Reporters who wish to participate by telephone should call Johnson's newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. Those following the briefing on social media can ask questions using the hashtag #askNASA. <\/p>\n
After the news conference, interview opportunities are available in person at Johnson, by phone or online. To request credentials to attend in person, or to reserve an interview opportunity, media must contact Johnson's newsroom by 6 p.m. Monday, March 17. The deadline for international journalists to attend in person has passed. <\/p>\n
Wiseman, who grew up in Baltimore, is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md. As a naval aviator, Wiseman flew the FA-18F Super Hornet and served in numerous assignments around the world before his selection to NASA's astronaut corps in 2009. <\/p>\n
The crew members will share their experiences aboard the space station on Instagram and Twitter, at: <\/p>\n