NASA Astronauts Take Missouri Students’ Questions Live

Space will feel a lot closer to Missouri on Thursday when NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station answer students’ questions live from orbit.

NASA says astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway will respond to prerecorded questions focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics during an Earth-to-space call set to begin at 10:50 a.m. EDT on April 30. The event will stream live on the agency’s Learn With NASA YouTube channel, giving students and families a direct window into life and work aboard the station.

For students, the moment turns STEM from an abstract subject into a live conversation with people floating hundreds of miles above Earth.

The format matters as much as the spectacle. By putting student questions at the center, NASA connects classroom curiosity to real missions, real research, and real people doing the work in space. Reports indicate the event will highlight how the agency uses direct outreach to make complex science feel immediate and personal.

The call also underscores a broader strategy that NASA has leaned on for years: use access to astronauts and active missions to spark interest in science education. A live exchange from the space station carries a simple message with unusual force — the path from a school question to a space mission is shorter than many students think.

What happens next extends beyond a single broadcast. If the event lands with students, teachers, and parents, it could reinforce the kind of early curiosity that shapes future study and careers in STEM. For NASA, that makes this more than a feel-good outreach moment; it is a small but visible investment in the next generation of engineers, scientists, and explorers.